CPT code 64489: TAP block, bilateral continuous infusion2026 Medicare rate & RVUs

Medicare pays $403.15 for 64489 nationally in the office and $70.81 in a hospital or facility. Local office rates run $352.63–$557.84.

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

What 64489 covers

A transversus abdominis plane (TAP) block places local anesthetic in the fascial plane of the abdominal wall to provide analgesia. This code describes the block on both sides with continuous infusion through catheters; catheter insertion is included when performed. Anesthesia professionals commonly place these blocks around abdominal operations to support postoperative pain control, often in a hospital or surgical facility.

Choose this code when the service is bilateral and uses continuous catheter infusion, rather than a single injection. Document the block sites, bilateral service, catheter placement when performed, and the infusion plan. CMS assigns the code a 0-day global period, so same-day preoperative and postoperative care is included. When multiple procedures occur in one session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and the others are subject to the standard 50% reduction. The code is priced as bilateral, so modifier 50 does not increase payment. CMS does not pay an assistant at surgery and does not permit co-surgeon or team-surgery payment for this code.

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 64489 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

64489 rates by state

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

How the 64489 rate is calculated

Each of 64489’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 64489

The CMS indicators that decide how 64489 is paid alongside other services.

What modifiers do to the payment

When to use modifier 51

64489 compared with similar codes

How to choose

64488TAP blockBilateral, injection technique

Use 64488 for a bilateral TAP block performed by injection. Use 64489 when the bilateral block uses continuous catheter infusion.

64487TAP blockUnilateral, continuous infusion

64487 describes continuous-infusion TAP blocks on one side; 64489 describes the bilateral service.

64486TAP blockUnilateral injection

64486 describes a unilateral TAP block by injection, not bilateral continuous infusion.

Codes related to 64489

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