The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has assigned a new level III current procedural terminology (CPT) code for automated quantification and characterization of coronary atherosclerotic plaque with coronary CT angiography (CCTA).
Payment for the new level III code became effective October 1. The new code is the first to provide reimbursement for computerized coronary plaque quantification and characterization using CCTA, noted RSNA in a news release.
The new code was announced in CMS's October 2022 update of the Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System. In the update, CMS assigned a payment rate of $900-$1000 for the procedures, which assess the severity of coronary disease.
RSNA applauded the release of the new CPT code and said the move aligns with the mission and goals of its Quantitative Imaging Biomarkers Alliance, an initiative it launched in 2007 to advance quantitative imaging in clinical trials and practice.
![Images show the pectoralis muscles of a healthy male individual who never smoked (age, 66 years; height, 178 cm; body mass index [BMI, calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared], 28.4; number of cigarette pack-years, 0; forced expiratory volume in 1 second [FEV1], 97.6% predicted; FEV1: forced vital capacity [FVC] ratio, 0.71; pectoralis muscle area [PMA], 59.4 cm2; pectoralis muscle volume [PMV], 764 cm3) and a male individual with a smoking history and chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD) (age, 66 years; height, 178 cm; BMI, 27.5; number of cigarette pack-years, 43.2, FEV1, 48% predicted; FEV1:FVC, 0.56; PMA, 35 cm2; PMV, 480.8 cm3) from the Canadian Cohort Obstructive Lung Disease (i.e., CanCOLD) study. The CT image is shown in the axial plane. The PMV is automatically extracted using the developed deep learning model and overlayed onto the lungs for visual clarity.](https://img.auntminnie.com/mindful/smg/workspaces/default/uploads/2026/03/genkin.25LqljVF0y.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&crop=focalpoint&dpr=2&fit=crop&h=167&q=70&w=250)
