C8921 — Transthoracic echocardiography with contrast, or without contrast followed by with contrast, for congenital cardiac anomalies; complete
C8921 is a HCPCS Level II code for transthoracic echocardiography with contrast, or without contrast followed by with contrast, for congenital cardiac anomalies; complete. It belongs to the Outpatient Prospective Payment System section. Whether Medicare pays it depends on the coverage rule below.
Medicare coverage: Special coverage instructions apply
There are published conditions attached to this code. Check the applicable coverage policy before billing it: the code being valid is not the same as the service being covered.
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.
Medically Unlikely Edits — units per day
The most units of C8921 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
- 1 unit MAI 3 — Date of Service Edit: Clinical · Nature of Service/Procedure
- outpatient
- 1 unit MAI 3 — Date of Service Edit: Clinical · Nature of Service/Procedure
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 C8921
- Long descriptor
- Transthoracic echocardiography with contrast, or without contrast followed by with contrast, for congenital cardiac anomalies; complete
- Short descriptor
- Tte w or w/o fol w/cont, com
- Added
- January 1, 2008
- BETOS
- I3C
- Pricing indicator
- 53 — 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.
Statute.
Codes adjacent to C8921
HCPCS has no hierarchy — related items simply sit next to each other in the numbering. If C8921 is not quite right, the correct code is very often within a few positions of it.
- C8910Magnetic resonance angiography without contrast, chest (excluding myocardium)
- C8911Magnetic resonance angiography without contrast followed by with contrast, chest (excluding myocardium)
- C8912Magnetic resonance angiography with contrast, lower extremity
- C8913Magnetic resonance angiography without contrast, lower extremity
- C8914Magnetic resonance angiography without contrast followed by with contrast, lower extremity
- C8918Magnetic resonance angiography with contrast, pelvis
- C8919Magnetic resonance angiography without contrast, pelvis
- C8920Magnetic resonance angiography without contrast followed by with contrast, pelvis
- C8922Transthoracic echocardiography with contrast, or without contrast followed by with contrast, for congenital cardiac anomalies; follow-up or limited study
- C8923Transthoracic echocardiography with contrast, or without contrast followed by with contrast, real-time with image documentation (2d), includes m-mode recording, when performed, complete, without spectral or color doppler echocardiography
- C8924Transthoracic echocardiography with contrast, or without contrast followed by with contrast, real-time with image documentation (2d), includes m-mode recording, when performed, follow-up or limited study
- C8925Transesophageal echocardiography (tee) with contrast, or without contrast followed by with contrast, real time with image documentation (2d) (with or without m-mode recording); including probe placement, image acquisition, interpretation and report
- C8926Transesophageal echocardiography (tee) with contrast, or without contrast followed by with contrast, for congenital cardiac anomalies; including probe placement, image acquisition, interpretation and report
- C8927Transesophageal echocardiography (tee) with contrast, or without contrast followed by with contrast, for monitoring purposes, including probe placement, real time 2-dimensional image acquisition and interpretation leading to ongoing (continuous) assessment of (dynamically changing) cardiac pumping function and to therapeutic measures on an immediate time basis
- C8928Transthoracic echocardiography with contrast, or without contrast followed by with contrast, real-time with image documentation (2d), includes m-mode recording, when performed, during rest and cardiovascular stress test using treadmill, bicycle exercise and/or pharmacologically induced stress, with interpretation and report
- C8929Transthoracic echocardiography with contrast, or without contrast followed by with contrast, real-time with image documentation (2d), includes m-mode recording, when performed, complete, with spectral doppler echocardiography, and with color flow doppler echocardiography
Questions about C8921
What is HCPCS code C8921?
C8921 is a HCPCS Level II code for transthoracic echocardiography with contrast, or without contrast followed by with contrast, for congenital cardiac anomalies; complete. It sits in the Outpatient Prospective Payment System section.
Does Medicare cover C8921?
The CMS HCPCS file marks C8921 as "Special coverage instructions apply". There are published conditions attached to this code. Check the applicable coverage policy before billing it: the code being valid is not the same as the service being covered.