CPT code 20560: Dry needling, 1-2 muscles2026 Medicare rate & RVUs

Medicare pays $24.72 for 20560 nationally in the office and $12.36 in a hospital or facility. Local office rates run $22.58–$31.90.

Medicare allowed amount for participating (non-QP) physicians, before deductible, coinsurance and claim adjustments. Not a patient’s bill or a hospital charge.

What 20560 covers

Code 20560 represents dry needling: a clinician inserts one or more fine needles into one or two muscles, without injecting medication or another substance. Physical therapists commonly perform it in outpatient rehabilitation for myofascial pain or muscle-related movement limitation; other qualified practitioners may perform it within their scope. The target is muscle tissue, rather than a tendon sheath, ligament, or tendon origin.

Choose 20560 by the number of muscles treated, not by needle passes, needles, or trigger points. When three or more muscles are treated, assess the related 20561 level. The record should identify each muscle treated, describe needle insertion without injection, and connect the procedure to the patient's condition and treatment plan. CMS assigns work, practice-expense, and malpractice relative value units to this service; its practice-expense inputs differ between office and facility settings.

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 20560 pays more and less

The same RVUs, adjusted for each area’s costs. Open a locality for its calculation, history and nearby areas.

109 of 109 payment localities

20560 rates by state

Office rate range in each state. Select a state to see its payment localities.

How the 20560 rate is calculated

Each of 20560’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.

Payment rules and modifiers for 20560

20560 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.

20560 compared with similar codes

How to choose

20561Dry needlingThree or more muscles

Both describe dry needling without injection; choose 20560 for one or two muscles and 20561 for three or more.

20552Trigger point injectionOne or two muscles

20560 is dry needling without injection. 20552 describes trigger-point injection for up to two trigger points.

20553Trigger point injectionThree or more muscles

20560 represents dry needling without injection. 20553 describes injection of three or more trigger points.

Codes related to 20560

Related codes aren’t interchangeable: bill the code that matches the service performed.

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

Open CMS sourceHow we calculate rates