CPT code 01937: Spinal procedure anesthesia, cervical or thoracic region2026 Medicare rate & RVUs in Illinois
Anesthesia for percutaneous image-guided cervical or thoracic spinal injections, drainage, or aspiration, reported by the anesthesia professional for the associated procedure.
CMS doesn’t publish an office rate for 01937 in Illinois.
Medicare allowed amount for participating (non-QP) physicians, before deductible, coinsurance and claim adjustments. Not a patient’s bill or a hospital charge.
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On this page 9 sections
What 01937 covers
This anesthesia service accompanies percutaneous, image-guided injection, drainage, or aspiration involving the cervical or thoracic spine or spinal cord. An anesthesia professional reports the anesthesia service while the proceduralist reports the intervention.
Choose 01937 for cervical or thoracic work in this category; 01938 is the lumbar or sacral counterpart. Cervical or thoracic procedures using a neurolytic agent or involving neuromodulation or intervertebral work belong to the corresponding anesthesia categories instead. The record should establish the spinal region, percutaneous image-guided approach, intervention performed, and anesthesia start and end times. The code has 4 base units. Medicare payment is (base units + time units) × the locality’s anesthesia conversion factor. Anesthesia time is reported in minutes and converted to 15-minute units computed to one decimal place; it starts with patient preparation for anesthesia and ends when the practitioner is no longer in personal attendance and the patient can safely be placed under postoperative care.
This summary was written with AI assistance from CMS physician fee schedule data and checked against the CMS billing rules shown here. Rates on this page come directly from CMS files.
Where 01937 pays more and less in Illinois
The same RVUs, adjusted for each area’s costs. Open a locality for its calculation, history and nearby areas.
| Payment locality | Office | Facility |
|---|---|---|
| Chicago, IL | Unavailable | Unavailable |
| East St. Louis, IL | Unavailable | Unavailable |
| Rest of Illinois | Unavailable | Unavailable |
| Suburban Chicago, IL | Unavailable | Unavailable |
How the 01937 rate is calculated
Each of 01937’s three RVUs is multiplied by a geographic index (GPCI) for the payment locality, added up, and multiplied by the conversion factor. Drag the indexes or enter a ZIP to see what moves the rate.
How the rate is built · 01937
RVUs × geographic indexes × conversion factor
Work0.00
0.00 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI
Practice expense0.00
0.00 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI
Malpractice0.00
0.00 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI
Adjusted RVUs
0.0000
Conversion factor
$33.4009
Medicare rate
$0.00
Every GPCI starts at 1.000, the national rate. Enter a ZIP or drag a slider.
Payment rules and modifiers for 01937
01937 has no global surgery period, no multiple-procedure, bilateral or assistant-at-surgery adjustment, and no professional/technical split. What changes the payment is where the service happens: the place of service on the claim decides whether Medicare pays the office or the facility rate.
Place of service · 01937
Which rate does Medicare pay?
The POS code on the claim line (CMS-1500 box 24B).
POS 11 · non-facility rate · national
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01937 isn’t priced in this setting.
01937 compared with similar codes
Compare codes · National
4 codes, side by side
How to choose
- 01938Spinal procedure anesthesiaLumbar or sacral
- The procedure category is similar, but 01938 applies to the lumbar or sacral region; 01937 applies to cervical or thoracic procedures.
- 01939Neurolysis anesthesiaCervical or thoracic
- Use 01939 for cervical or thoracic procedures involving a neurolytic agent, rather than the injection, drainage, or aspiration category represented by 01937.
- 01941Spine procedure anesthesiaCervical or thoracic
- 01941 is for cervical or thoracic neuromodulation or intervertebral procedures, not the image-guided injection, drainage, or aspiration category of 01937.
01937 billing questions
When should 01937 be selected instead of 01938?
Use 01937 for the specified percutaneous image-guided injection, drainage, or aspiration procedures in the cervical or thoracic region. Use 01938 for the lumbar or sacral region.
How does 01937 differ from anesthesia for neurolytic procedures?
01937 covers the injection, drainage, or aspiration category. Procedures involving a neurolytic agent in the cervical or thoracic region are represented by 01939.
Does 01937 report the spinal intervention or the anesthesia?
It reports the anesthesia service; the proceduralist reports the spinal intervention. The anesthesia record should support the service and its time.
What should the anesthesia and procedure records show?
Document the cervical or thoracic region, percutaneous image-guided approach, and whether the intervention was an injection, drainage, or aspiration. The anesthesia record should identify the provider and show the start and end times.
How are Medicare anesthesia units calculated for 01937?
The code has 4 base units, and Medicare payment uses base units plus time units multiplied by the locality’s anesthesia conversion factor. Time is converted from minutes into 15-minute units computed to one decimal place.
Where these rates come from
FeeBase calculates base physician payments from CMS work, practice-expense and malpractice RVUs, adjusted by each locality’s geographic indexes and the conversion factor. Services without a published rate are labeled, never given a made-up amount. Amounts are Medicare allowed amounts before claim adjustments: not a patient’s bill or a commercial rate.
CMS RVU26D · effective Oct 1, 2026 through the day before Jan 1, 2027
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