CPT code 62329: Therapeutic spinal puncture, fluoroscopic or CT guidance2026 Medicare rate & RVUs

Medicare pays $273.55 for 62329 nationally in the office and $92.85 in a hospital or facility. Local office rates run $240.29–$361.92.

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

What 62329 covers

This service involves placing a needle or catheter into the spinal canal to drain cerebrospinal fluid for treatment, with fluoroscopy or CT used to guide placement. A typical clinical use is therapeutic drainage to reduce elevated CSF pressure, such as in a patient with idiopathic intracranial hypertension. Radiologists, neurologists, and other clinicians who perform image-guided spinal procedures may provide it in a hospital or outpatient setting.

Select this code when the puncture is performed to drain CSF therapeutically and imaging guidance is used; a diagnostic CSF sample alone points to a different service. The record should identify the therapeutic reason, the drainage performed, and the imaging guidance used. The code has a 0-day global period, so same-day preoperative and postoperative care is included. When multiple procedures are performed in one session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and the others at 50%. Medicare does not pay 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 62329 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

62329 rates by state

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

How the 62329 rate is calculated

Each of 62329’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 62329

The CMS indicators that decide how 62329 is paid alongside other services.

What modifiers do to the payment

When to use modifier 51

62329 compared with similar codes

How to choose

62328Lumbar punctureDiagnostic, with imaging

Use 62329 when CSF is drained for treatment; use 62328 when the puncture is diagnostic. Both include fluoroscopic or CT guidance.

62272Therapeutic lumbar punctureCSF drainage

Use 62329 for therapeutic drainage with fluoroscopic or CT guidance. Use 62272 for therapeutic drainage without that guidance.

62270Lumbar punctureDiagnostic, no imaging guidance

62270 describes a diagnostic spinal puncture without imaging guidance. It is not the choice for image-guided therapeutic CSF drainage.

Codes related to 62329

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