A9581 — Injection, gadoxetate disodium, 1 ml
A9581 is a HCPCS Level II code for injection, gadoxetate disodium, 1 ml. It belongs to the Transportation, Medical & Surgical Supplies, Administrative section. Whether Medicare pays it depends on the coverage rule below.
Medicare coverage: Carrier judgment
Coverage is decided by your Medicare contractor, not by national policy. Whether this is paid depends on the LCD for your jurisdiction and on what the documentation supports.
From the coverage field of the CMS Alpha-Numeric HCPCS File, release 2026Q3-Jul. This states Medicare’s position on the code, not on your particular claim.
Physician fee schedule statusX
Statutory exclusion. The item or service is not within the statutory definition of 'physician services', so the fee schedule never pays it.
Global period: XXX
Want the dollar amount for your locality? The fee calculator applies your GPCI and the current conversion factor.
Medically Unlikely Edits — units per day
The most units of A9581 Medicare will pay on one date of service. Bill more on a single line and it is denied. The limit is not the same in every setting, so the row that matters is the one matching the claim you are building.
- practitioner
- 20 units MAI 3 — Date of Service Edit: Clinical · Clinical: Data
- outpatient
- 20 units MAI 3 — Date of Service Edit: Clinical · Clinical: Data
The adjudication indicator decides whether exceeding the limit is worth appealing at all: MAI 1 is a line edit you can support with documentation, MAI 3 is a date-of-service edit that is also appealable, and MAI 2 is absolute — no documentation overrides it. CMS MUE 2026Q3.
The CMS record for A9581
- Long descriptor
- Injection, gadoxetate disodium, 1 ml
- Short descriptor
- Gadoxetate disodium inj
- Added
- January 1, 2010
- BETOS
- I2D
- Pricing indicator
- 51 — Other
The official wording. This is what the code means.
CMS's 28-character form, which is what shows up on a remittance advice.
When CMS introduced the code.
Berenson-Eggers Type of Service — CMS's own analytic grouping.
Drugs.
Codes adjacent to A9581
HCPCS has no hierarchy — related items simply sit next to each other in the numbering. If A9581 is not quite right, the correct code is very often within a few positions of it.
- A9573Injection, gadopiclenol, 1 ml
- A9574Injection, ferumoxytol, 1 mg
- A9575Injection, gadoterate meglumine, 0.1 ml
- A9576Injection, gadoteridol, (prohance multipack), per ml
- A9577Injection, gadobenate dimeglumine (multihance), per ml
- A9578Injection, gadobenate dimeglumine (multihance multipack), per ml
- A9579Injection, gadolinium-based magnetic resonance contrast agent, not otherwise specified (nos), per ml
- A9580Sodium fluoride f-18, diagnostic, per study dose, up to 30 millicuries
- A9582Iodine i-123 iobenguane, diagnostic, per study dose, up to 15 millicuries
- A9583Injection, gadofosveset trisodium, 1 ml
- A9584Iodine 1-123 ioflupane, diagnostic, per study dose, up to 5 millicuries
- A9585Injection, gadobutrol, 0.1 ml
- A9586Florbetapir f18, diagnostic, per study dose, up to 10 millicuries
- A9587Gallium ga-68, dotatate, diagnostic, 0.1 millicurie
- A9588Fluciclovine f-18, diagnostic, 1 millicurie
- A9589Instillation, hexaminolevulinate hydrochloride, 100 mg
Questions about A9581
What is HCPCS code A9581?
A9581 is a HCPCS Level II code for injection, gadoxetate disodium, 1 ml. It sits in the Transportation, Medical & Surgical Supplies, Administrative section.
Does Medicare cover A9581?
The CMS HCPCS file marks A9581 as "Carrier judgment". Coverage is decided by your Medicare contractor, not by national policy. Whether this is paid depends on the LCD for your jurisdiction and on what the documentation supports.
How is A9581 paid under the physician fee schedule?
A9581 carries PFS status code X. Statutory exclusion. The item or service is not within the statutory definition of 'physician services', so the fee schedule never pays it.