UnitedHealthcare’s March 2026 Radiologic Diagnostic Procedures Applicable Codes section now explicitly lists unlisted diagnostic nuclear medicine codes by anatomic system, including 78399 for musculoskeletal studies. The update enumerates other unlisted codes (78299, 78499, 78599, 78699, 78799) for GI, cardiovascular, respiratory, nervous system, and genitourinary procedures alongside specific pulmonary nuclear medicine CPTs (78579, 78580, 78582, 78597, 78598). No clinical criteria, documentation requirements, billing guidance, or frequency limits are included in the extract; the change is limited to code inclusion. Providers should treat 78399 as the designated unlisted code for musculoskeletal diagnostic nuclear medicine when no specific CPT exists and anticipate needing to supply supporting documentation per usual unlisted-code practice.
March 2026 Revision: Applicable Codes Emphasis
This revision presents an enumerated list of applicable CPT/HCPCS codes within the Radiologic Diagnostic Procedures policy for musculoskeletal and related diagnostic nuclear medicine procedures. The document explicitly includes several unlisted procedure codes across body systems, and retains specific pulmonary nuclear medicine procedure codes with descriptions. No other contextual narrative or clinical criteria are provided in the source text.
The listing includes 78799, 78699, 78599, 78499, 78399, and 78299 as unlisted diagnostic nuclear medicine procedure codes for genitourinary, nervous system, respiratory, cardiovascular, musculoskeletal, and gastrointestinal systems, respectively. The presence of these unlisted codes in the Applicable Codes section is the principal content change reflected in this extract.
Inclusion of `78399` — Unlisted Musculoskeletal Diagnostic Nuclear Medicine
The policy’s Applicable Codes section explicitly lists 78399 with the description "Unlisted musculoskeletal procedure, diagnostic nuclear medicine." This identifies 78399 as the code the payer recognizes in the category for musculoskeletal nuclear medicine procedures when no specific CPT code applies.
No additional details (such as clinical indications, documentation requirements, or allowed frequency) for 78399 are provided in the extracted text. The code appears alongside other unlisted codes, indicating that the policy groups unlisted diagnostic nuclear medicine procedures by anatomic system.
Pulmonary Nuclear Medicine Codes (`78579`–`78598`) Present in Applicable Codes
The list includes pulmonary nuclear medicine procedure codes 78579, 78580, and 78582, described as pulmonary ventilation imaging, pulmonary perfusion imaging, and combined ventilation/perfusion imaging, respectively. Quantitative differential perfusion and combined perfusion/ventilation quantitative procedures are represented by 78597 and 78598 with explicit mention that imaging is included when performed.
These pulmonary codes are presented alongside the unlisted procedure codes, indicating that the policy’s Applicable Codes section covers both specific nuclear medicine procedures with defined CPT codes and broader unlisted categories for other systems.
Presence of Multiple Unlisted Diagnostic Nuclear Medicine Codes by System
The Applicable Codes block shows a pattern of including an unlisted diagnostic nuclear medicine code for multiple anatomic systems: 78299 (gastrointestinal), 78399 (musculoskeletal), 78499 (cardiovascular), 78599 (respiratory), 78699 (nervous system), and 78799 (genitourinary). Each of these is labeled as an "Unlisted ... procedure, diagnostic nuclear medicine," indicating standardized code selection when no specific CPT exists for a nuclear medicine study in that system.
The extract does not provide guidance on how these unlisted codes are adjudicated, billed with supporting documentation, or how to select among them beyond their descriptions. The list is limited to code numbers and short descriptions without ancillary policy language.
Trek Health ingests and normalizes Transparency in Coverage data and payer policy updates to give provider organizations a clear view of how commercial reimbursement behaves across markets, payers, and services. Our platform transforms raw payer disclosures into structured intelligence that supports contract evaluation, payer negotiations, and service line strategy. By combining market benchmarks with ongoing policy visibility, Trek helps teams identify variability, risk, and opportunity in commercial reimbursement. The result is faster insight, stronger negotiating positions, and more informed financial decisions.