CPT code 31570: Vocal fold injection, direct, without optical magnification2026 Medicare rate & RVUs

Medicare pays $344.36 for 31570 nationally in the office and $196.40 in a hospital or facility. Local office rates run $306.62–$436.72.

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

What 31570 covers

An otolaryngologist performs direct laryngoscopy and injects a therapeutic agent into one or both vocal folds. A typical use is botulinum toxin treatment for spasmodic dysphonia. The code describes the direct approach without an operating microscope or telescope, unlike 31571, and is commonly furnished in an operative setting.

Select 31570 when documentation supports direct laryngeal access and therapeutic injection, rather than flexible-scope injection, lesion treatment, or a diagnostic-only examination. Document the indication, target vocal fold or folds, injected agent, approach, and therapeutic purpose. The 0-day global period includes same-day preoperative and postoperative care. When related endoscopies are performed together, endoscopy-family pricing applies. The descriptor covers vocal cord(s), so a bilateral adjustment is inappropriate. Medicare does not pay for an assistant at surgery for this service; co-surgeons and team surgery are 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.

Where 31570 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

31570 rates by state

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

How the 31570 rate is calculated

Each of 31570’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 31570

The CMS indicators that decide how 31570 is paid alongside other services.

What modifiers do to the payment

When to use modifier 51

31570 compared with similar codes

How to choose

31571Vocal fold injectionMicroscope or telescope

Use 31571 when direct laryngoscopy with injection includes an operating microscope or telescope; 31570 describes the direct approach without those optics.

31573LaryngoscopyTherapeutic injection

31573 uses flexible laryngoscopy for therapeutic injection. Choose 31570 for the direct laryngoscopic approach.

31574Vocal fold injectionFlexible scope, unilateral

31574 describes flexible laryngoscopy with injection for vocal-fold augmentation; 31570 is the direct approach with therapeutic injection.

31575LaryngoscopyFlexible, diagnostic

31575 is a diagnostic flexible laryngoscopy without therapeutic injection. It does not describe the direct laryngoscopy and injection reported with 31570.

Codes related to 31570

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