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CPT code 20936: Spinal autograft, local, same incision2026 Medicare rate & RVUs

Reports use of a patient’s own local bone, obtained through the spinal operative incision and used as graft material during spine surgery.

CMS RVU26DEffective Oct 1, 2026109 payment localities

Medicare rate · 20936

Spinal autograft, local, same incision

Office or facility?

Work RVUs
0
Total RVUs
0.00
Global days
XXX

National rate · 2026

—

Not priced in the facility setting.

See every locality for 20936 →Billed by an NP, PA or therapist? →

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

Your location

Medicare pays by the payment locality where the service is performed.

On this page 10 sections
  1. Medicare rate
  2. What 20936 covers
  3. By payment locality
  4. Rate map
  5. How it’s calculated
  6. Payment rules
  7. Similar codes
  8. Related codes
  9. Billing questions
  10. Sources

What 20936 covers

This add-on code describes use of the patient’s own bone as graft material during spine surgery. The bone is obtained through the same incision as the spinal procedure and may include local bone removed during the operation, such as spinous-process or laminar fragments. Spine surgeons report it with the related spinal procedure when local bone is prepared and used as graft material, including during spinal fusion.

Medicare assigns this code physician fee schedule status B: it is bundled and never paid separately, with payment included in payment for other services. Report it as an add-on with the applicable primary spinal procedure, not by itself. The selection turns on graft source and access: the patient’s own bone is obtained locally through the operative incision. Autograft harvested through a separate incision is distinguished by whether it is morselized or structural; donor allograft is a different graft material.

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 20936 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

20936 office and facility rates by payment locality
Payment localityOfficeFacility
AlabamaUnavailableUnavailable
AlaskaUnavailableUnavailable
ArizonaUnavailableUnavailable
ArkansasUnavailableUnavailable
Atlanta, GAUnavailableUnavailable
Austin, TXUnavailableUnavailable
Bakersfield, CAUnavailableUnavailable
Baltimore area, MDUnavailableUnavailable
Beaumont, TXUnavailableUnavailable
Brazoria, TXUnavailableUnavailable

20936 rates by state

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

MEWIVTNHMTNDMNMINYMARIWAIDWYSDIAILINOHPANJCTORNVUTCONEMOKYWVVAMDDECAAZNMKSOKARTNNCSCDCTXLAMSALGAFLAKHI

Explore a state

Local rates. Clear comparisons.

Hover or focus a tile to see its rate range. Select it to open the state’s fee schedule.

View every state and territory as a table
20936 office rate range by state
State / territoryOffice rate rangeLocalities
AKNo published base rate1
ALNo published base rate1
ARNo published base rate1
AZNo published base rate1
CANo published base rate29
CONo published base rate1
CTNo published base rate1
DCNo published base rate1
DENo published base rate1
FLNo published base rate3
GANo published base rate2
GUNo published base rate1
HINo published base rate1
IANo published base rate1
IDNo published base rate1
ILNo published base rate4
INNo published base rate1
KSNo published base rate1
KYNo published base rate1
LANo published base rate2
MANo published base rate2
MDNo published base rate3
MENo published base rate2
MINo published base rate2
MNNo published base rate1
MONo published base rate3
MSNo published base rate1
MTNo published base rate1
NCNo published base rate1
NDNo published base rate1
NENo published base rate1
NHNo published base rate1
NJNo published base rate2
NMNo published base rate1
NVNo published base rate1
NYNo published base rate5
OHNo published base rate1
OKNo published base rate1
ORNo published base rate2
PANo published base rate2
PRNo published base rate1
RINo published base rate1
SCNo published base rate1
SDNo published base rate1
TNNo published base rate1
TXNo published base rate8
UTNo published base rate1
VANo published base rate2
VINo published base rate1
VTNo published base rate1
WANo published base rate2
WINo published base rate1
WVNo published base rate1
WYNo published base rate1

How the 20936 rate is calculated

Each of 20936’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 · 20936

RVUs × geographic indexes × conversion factor

Office or facility?

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 20936

20936 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 · 20936

Which rate does Medicare pay?

The POS code on the claim line (CMS-1500 box 24B).

POS 11 · non-facility rate · national

—

20936 isn’t priced in this setting.

20936 compared with similar codes

Compare codes · National

5 codes, side by side

Office or facility?

  • 20936

    Spinal autograft, local, same incision0 wRVU

    Not priced

  • 20937

    Spinal bone graft, morselized, separate incision2.72 wRVU

    Not priced

  • 20938

    Spinal bone graft, structural autograft, separate incision2.94 wRVU

    Not priced

  • 20930

    Spinal graft material, morselized allograft0 wRVU

    Not priced

  • 20931

    Spinal bone graft, structural allograft1.76 wRVU

    Not priced

How to choose

20937Spinal bone graftMorselized, separate incision
20936 is for local autograft obtained through the spinal incision; 20937 is for morselized autograft obtained from a separate incision.
20938Spinal bone graftStructural autograft, separate incision
20936 covers local bone from the spinal incision; 20938 covers structural autograft obtained from a separate incision.
20930Spinal graft materialMorselized allograft
20936 uses the patient’s own locally obtained bone. Code 20930 is for morselized donor allograft used in spine surgery.
20931Spinal bone graftStructural allograft
20936 uses the patient’s local bone from the operative incision; 20931 describes structural donor allograft.

Codes related to 20936

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

Codes related to 20936
CodeHow it relatesNational office range
Same family
20937Spinal bone graft, morselized, separate incisionMorselized spinal autograft obtained from a separate incision.No office rate
20938Spinal bone graft, structural autograft, separate incisionStructural spinal autograft obtained from a separate incision.No office rate
Used instead
20930Spinal graft material, morselized allograftMorselized donor allograft rather than the patient’s local bone.No office rate
20931Spinal bone graft, structural allograftStructural donor allograft rather than the patient’s local bone.No office rate

20936 billing questions

When should 20936 be chosen over 20937?

Use 20936 when the patient’s own bone is obtained locally through the spinal procedure incision. Code 20937 describes morselized autograft obtained from a separate incision.

How does 20936 differ from 20938?

Code 20936 covers local autograft from the spinal operative incision. Code 20938 describes structural autograft obtained from a separate incision.

Can 20936 be reported by itself?

No. It is an add-on for spine surgery and is reported with the applicable primary spinal procedure.

Does Medicare pay 20936 separately?

No. Medicare assigns status B, so the code is bundled and its payment is included in payment for other services.

What should the operative note establish?

Document that the patient’s local bone was obtained through the same incision as the spinal procedure and used as graft material.

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

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