CPT code 62272: Therapeutic lumbar puncture, CSF drainage2026 Medicare rate & RVUs

Medicare pays $216.77 for 62272 nationally in the office and $84.84 in a hospital or facility. Local office rates run $188.06–$281.29.

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

What 62272 covers

A clinician uses a spinal puncture to drain cerebrospinal fluid for treatment, rather than primarily to collect a diagnostic specimen. A typical situation is therapeutic lumbar drainage for pressure relief in a patient with idiopathic intracranial hypertension. Neurologists, neurosurgeons, and other clinicians who perform spinal procedures may provide the service in an office, hospital, or other facility setting.

Report the code for the therapeutic drainage procedure, supported by documentation of the indication and the drainage performed. Record the puncture site and technique, along with pressure measurements or the amount removed when obtained. The code has a 0-day global period, so same-day preoperative and postoperative care is included. When multiple procedures occur in the same session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and other procedures are subject to the standard 50% reduction. Modifier 50 is inappropriate. Medicare does not pay an assistant at surgery for this service, and 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 62272 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

62272 rates by state

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

How the 62272 rate is calculated

Each of 62272’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 62272

The CMS indicators that decide how 62272 is paid alongside other services.

What modifiers do to the payment

When to use modifier 51

62272 compared with similar codes

How to choose

62270Lumbar punctureDiagnostic, no imaging guidance

Choose 62270 for a diagnostic spinal puncture, such as CSF collection for testing; choose 62272 when the purpose is therapeutic drainage.

62273Epidural blood patchBlood or clot patch

62273 treats a CSF leak with an epidural blood patch; it is not the code for draining CSF through a spinal puncture.

62223CSF shunt creationPeritoneal, pleural, or other terminus

62223 establishes a brain-cavity shunt for CSF diversion, whereas 62272 describes therapeutic drainage by spinal puncture.

Codes related to 62272

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