CPT code 22551: ACDF, one cervical interspace with decompression2026 Medicare rate & RVUs in Montana

In Montana, Medicare pays $1,604.36 for 22551 in a facility. There’s no office rate.

Check a contract rate as a % of Medicare · 22551 nationwide

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

What 22551 covers

This code describes an anterior cervical discectomy and fusion at a single interspace below C2 that includes removal of disc and bone material to decompress the spinal cord or nerve roots. A spine surgeon, commonly an orthopedic surgeon or neurosurgeon, performs the operation in an operating room. The surgeon prepares the disc space and fuses the adjacent vertebrae, often using graft material and an interbody device. Typical indications include cervical disc disease or osteophytes causing radiculopathy or myelopathy when decompression and fusion are performed at that level.

Report 22551 for one treated interspace when the operative documentation supports both decompression and fusion; the documented level and work distinguish it from fusion without decompression. Additional cervical interspaces may be reported with add-on code 22552. Disc removal, osteophyte removal, and decompression at the coded level are included. CMS assigns a 90-day global period, including the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care. In the same session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and other procedures receive the standard multiple-procedure reduction. Modifier 50 is inappropriate for this anatomy. Assistant-at-surgery payment may be made, co-surgeons are permitted, and team surgery is not permitted.

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.

How Montana compares for 22551

Across 109 of 109 payment localities, the facility rate for 22551 runs from $1,392.81 in Wisconsin to $2,046.86 in Miami, FL. Montana pays $1,604.36. The RVUs are the same everywhere; the geographic indexes change the dollars.

Every other payment area

22551 rates by state

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

See 22551 in every payment locality

How the 22551 rate is calculated

Each of 22551’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 22551

22551 has a 90-day global period: related visits in that window are included in the surgery payment.

What modifiers do to the payment

When to use modifier 51

Codes related to 22551

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

How 22551 has changed in Montana

Price 22551 for an earlier date of service

Where the Montana rate applies

Montana is a Medicare payment area, not a city. Our Census mapping connects it to 497 cities and communities in Montana. Some span more than one payment area; confirm with the service ZIP.

• Absarokee
• Acton
• Alberton
• Alder
• Alzada
• Amsterdam
• Anaconda-Deer Lodge County
• Antelope

Browse all communities in Montana

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