X-Ray Chest price: Medicare anchor and facility lever
Anchor for X-Ray Chest - CPT 71046
$32.64
Professional (26) $10.16 plus technical (TC) $22.48.
A two-view chest X-ray is a small anchor in dollars, and that is exactly why the setting matters in proportion. CPT 71046 can be priced as one modest global amount at an office or imaging center, or as a hospital facility payment plus a radiologist reading. One-view and three-view studies use different codes.
CPT code
71046
Radiologic examination, chest; 2 views
CPT 71046 is two views. One view is 71045 and three views is 71047. Portable single-view studies in a facility often use 71045.
The codes this visit can be billed under
| CPT | PFS office or global | PFS facility (professional) | Global period | Hospital single-service APC | Minimum Medicare copay at hospital |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 71046 (this page) | $32.64 | $32.64 | not a surgical global | $88.91 (APC 5521) | $17.79 |
| 71045 | $25.19 | $25.19 | not a surgical global | $88.91 (APC 5521) | $17.79 |
Billed in a hospital, 71046 maps to CY2026 APC 5521 at $88.91, with a minimum unadjusted copayment of $17.79. The global fee schedule anchor at an office or imaging center is $32.64, so the hospital facility line alone is more than double the full global amount before the radiologist's fee.
One view, 71045, maps to the same hospital APC while its global anchor is lower at $25.19. If the order says one view and the bill says two, or the reverse, ask the billing office to match the code to the images actually taken.
The professional share of a chest X-ray is small: $10.16 of the $32.64 global anchor for 71046. That means a hospital bill for a chest X-ray is mostly the facility line, and a Medicare patient's minimum unadjusted hospital copayment of $17.79 can exceed the entire professional fee. For a scheduled X-ray, the setting decides the price far more than the reading does.
Inside and outside the 71046 anchor
Covered by the anchor
- Image acquisition for two views
- Radiologist interpretation and written report (professional component)
Billed outside it
- Additional views billed under a different code
- The ordering visit and follow-up visit
- Comparison with prior imaging when billed as a separate interpretation in limited circumstances
Why prices vary for CPT 71046
Chest X-ray is a low-anchor imaging service, so the dollar gap between settings is smaller than for MRI or CT. The pattern is the same: hospital facility payment plus professional fee versus office or imaging-center global payment. Because the anchor is small, a bundled cash price at an office or imaging center is often close to the Medicare global anchor, while a hospital bill can be several times higher once the facility portion is added. Confirm your price in writing before service.
If you have a choice of site, ask for the global cash price at an office or imaging center and compare it with the hospital outpatient quote for the same 71046 code.
Questions specific to Chest X-ray
- Is the order for one view (71045), two views (71046), or more?
- Is the price a global amount, or will a radiologist bill the reading separately?
- If the X-ray is done during another visit, will it appear as a separate line?
- Is the location a hospital department, and if so is a facility charge included?
X-Ray Chest: billing questions
Why does a hospital chest X-ray cost so much more than the anchor?
A hospital is paid an OPPS facility amount for the imaging service, and the radiologist bills the professional fee on top. In CY2026 the hospital single-service APC for 71046 is larger than the entire global fee schedule amount an office would bill.
Does it matter whether one or two views were taken?
Yes for the fee schedule. 71045 and 71046 have different global anchors. In a hospital both map to the same APC, so the facility line may not change, but the professional fee does.
Is a chest X-ray at urgent care billed the same way?
It depends on who owns the urgent care. A physician-owned clinic generally bills the global amount; a hospital-owned site may bill a facility charge as well. Ask the clinic which applies before the visit.
What does a Medicare patient pay a hospital for a chest X-ray?
The CY2026 OPPS Addendum B lists a minimum unadjusted copayment of $17.79 for 71046 billed alone, before wage-index adjustment, plus the radiologist's coinsurance on the professional fee. In an office, coinsurance applies to one global fee schedule amount instead.