Q9953 — Injection, iron-based magnetic resonance contrast agent, per ml
Q9953 is a HCPCS Level II code for injection, iron-based magnetic resonance contrast agent, per ml. It belongs to the Temporary Codes 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.
Physician fee schedule statusE
Excluded from the physician fee schedule by regulation. Payment, where it exists, comes from another fee schedule (drugs via ASP, supplies via DMEPOS, and so on).
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 Q9953 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
- 10 units MAI 3 — Date of Service Edit: Clinical · Prescribing Information
- outpatient
- 10 units MAI 3 — Date of Service Edit: Clinical · Prescribing Information
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 Q9953
- Long descriptor
- Injection, iron-based magnetic resonance contrast agent, per ml
- Short descriptor
- Inj fe-based mr contrast,1ml
- Added
- April 1, 2005
- BETOS
- I1F
- Pricing indicator
- 57 — 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.
Other carrier priced.
Codes adjacent to Q9953
HCPCS has no hierarchy — related items simply sit next to each other in the numbering. If Q9953 is not quite right, the correct code is very often within a few positions of it.
- Q5170Injection, aflibercept-boav (eydenzelt), biosimilar, 1 mg
- Q5171Injection, denosumab-mobz (boncresa), biosimilar, 1 mg
- Q9001Assessment by chaplain services
- Q9002Counseling, individual, by chaplain services
- Q9003Counseling, group, by chaplain services
- Q9004Department of veterans affairs whole health partner services
- Q9950Injection, sulfur hexafluoride lipid microspheres, per ml
- Q9951Low osmolar contrast material, 400 or greater mg/ml iodine concentration, per ml
- Q9954Oral magnetic resonance contrast agent, per 100 ml
- Q9955Injection, perflexane lipid microspheres, per ml
- Q9956Injection, octafluoropropane microspheres, per ml
- Q9957Injection, perflutren lipid microspheres, per ml
- Q9958High osmolar contrast material, up to 149 mg/ml iodine concentration, per ml
- Q9959High osmolar contrast material, 150-199 mg/ml iodine concentration, per ml
- Q9960High osmolar contrast material, 200-249 mg/ml iodine concentration, per ml
- Q9961High osmolar contrast material, 250-299 mg/ml iodine concentration, per ml
Questions about Q9953
What is HCPCS code Q9953?
Q9953 is a HCPCS Level II code for injection, iron-based magnetic resonance contrast agent, per ml. It sits in the Temporary Codes section.
Does Medicare cover Q9953?
The CMS HCPCS file marks Q9953 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.
How is Q9953 paid under the physician fee schedule?
Q9953 carries PFS status code E. Excluded from the physician fee schedule by regulation. Payment, where it exists, comes from another fee schedule (drugs via ASP, supplies via DMEPOS, and so on).