CPT 76942: Ultrasound Guidance for Needle Placement
CPT 76942 reports ultrasonic guidance for needle placement (biopsy, aspiration, injection, or localization), including imaging supervision and interpretation. In 2026 Medicare pays about $64.13 for the global service, split into a professional (modifier 26) and technical (modifier TC) component. It is heavily governed by NCCI bundling edits.
- Code type
- Ultrasound guidance, needle placement
- 2026 Medicare (global)
- $64.13
- Components
- Professional (26) + Technical (TC); PC/TC indicator 1
- Global period
- XXX (concept does not apply)
What is CPT 76942 used for?
CPT 76942 reports ultrasonic guidance for needle placement, imaging supervision and interpretation. It is billed alongside a procedure — a biopsy, aspiration, cyst drainage, injection, or localization-device placement — when real-time ultrasound is used to steer the needle and the primary procedure code does not itself include imaging guidance. Common companions are soft-tissue biopsies, thyroid and breast aspirations, and paracentesis or thoracentesis when guidance is not already bundled.
The key gate is whether the primary procedure descriptor already includes guidance. If it does, 76942 is not separately reportable. If it does not, 76942 captures the imaging work.
How much does 76942 pay in 2026, and how does the 26/TC split work?
The 2026 national Medicare allowed amount for the global guidance is about $64.13. With a PC/TC indicator of 1, it divides into professional and technical components:
| Component | Modifier | Covers | Approx. 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Professional | 26 | Imaging supervision and interpretation | ~$21 |
| Technical | TC | Ultrasound equipment, staff, overhead | ~$43 |
| Global | (none) | Both, same entity | ~$64.13 |
The two components always sum to the global figure. In a hospital, the physician bills 76942-26 while the facility captures the technical side; an office that owns the machine bills global. Confirm your locality amount with the Medicare fee calculator.
How do NCCI bundling edits control 76942?
This is where 76942 lives or dies. Example: a physician performs an ultrasound-guided knee arthrocentesis. If they bill 20611 (arthrocentesis WITH ultrasound guidance) plus 76942, the 76942 denies — guidance is already inside 20611. Reporting both is unbundling.
- Check whether the primary procedure descriptor already includes ultrasound guidance (20604, 20606, 20611 do).
- If guidance is bundled, do not report 76942 at all.
- Do not report 76942 with fluoroscopic guidance 77002 for the same procedure — they are an NCCI edit pair.
- Document a saved guidance image and the supervision/interpretation to support any standalone 76942.
How does 76942 fit the imaging guidance family?
Guidance codes are chosen by imaging modality, and each is subject to bundling with the primary procedure.
- 76942 — ultrasound guidance for needle placement.
- 77002 — fluoroscopic guidance for needle placement.
- 77012 — CT guidance for needle placement.
The professional and technical split applies across all of these — see modifier 26 and modifier TC. Bundling behavior is governed by NCCI edits. For the diagnostic abdominal ultrasound code, see 76700.
Frequently asked questions
The 2026 national Medicare allowed amount for the global ultrasound needle guidance is about $64.13. That global fee is the sum of the professional component (supervision and interpretation, modifier 26) and the technical component (equipment and staff, modifier TC). Medicare pays 80 percent after the deductible; the patient or secondary owes 20 percent.
Append modifier 26 when the physician provides the imaging supervision and interpretation but does not own the equipment — the professional component. Append modifier TC when your facility owns the ultrasound equipment used for guidance but a different physician supervises. Bill 76942 global only when the same entity owns the equipment and performs the supervision and interpretation.
76942 is bundled by NCCI into primary procedures that already include ultrasound guidance in their descriptor — for example arthrocentesis codes 20604, 20606, and 20611. It is also an NCCI edit pair with fluoroscopic guidance 77002 when performed together. Do not report 76942 when the procedure code already includes guidance, or the claim will be denied as bundled.
Sources & further reading
Reviewed by the ImmediCare Solutions RCM team
Certified billers and coders handling claims across 50+ specialties nationwide. This entry is reviewed against current payer policy and CMS rules. Last review: Jul 5, 2026.
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