Question 1

What does CPT code 70450 mean on a medical bill?

Accepted Answer

This is a CT scan of your head done without contrast dye, the standard scan after a head injury, a sudden severe headache, or a stroke concern. Because no dye was used, there should be no dye or contrast charge attached to the same scan. Like all imaging, it comes in two halves: the hospital charges for the scanner and technologist, and a radiologist charges separately for reading the images.

Question 2

What does CPT code 70450 usually cost?

Accepted Answer

Split into a hospital charge for the scanner and staff and a radiologist charge for the reading, which often arrives as its own bill. The same scan is priced differently at a hospital than at a freestanding imaging center.

Question 3

What should I watch out for with CPT code 70450?

Accepted Answer

A contrast or dye charge attached to a scan the report describes as done without dye. The same head scan billed twice, once by the hospital and once under an all-in-one imaging code. A second scan billed on the same day — ask whether one was really repeated or whether the first was simply re-read.