CPT code 95886: Needle EMG add-on, complete study, each extremity2026 Medicare rate & RVUs

Medicare pays $99.87 for 95886 nationally in the office. Local office rates run $89.40–$133.79.

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

What 95886 covers

This code covers a full needle electromyography exam of a single arm or leg, performed with a nerve conduction study at the same session. The electromyographer inserts a recording needle into a set of muscles, along with related paraspinal muscles when sampled, and records insertional activity, spontaneous activity, and motor unit recruitment. A complete study samples at least five muscles innervated by at least three nerves or representing at least four spinal levels. Typical uses are radiculopathy, plexopathy, peripheral neuropathy, and motor neuron disease workups. Neurologists and physiatrists perform it in offices, EMG labs, and hospital outpatient departments.

Report one unit per extremity tested, with a nerve conduction code from 95907-95913. CMS treats 95886 as an add-on paid within the primary procedure’s global period. Each side is paid separately at 100% when both legs or both arms are studied. The code has a professional component for interpretation, billed with modifier 26, and a technical component for equipment and staff, billed with modifier TC. Billing without a component modifier reports the global service. The report should list each muscle sampled, the nerves or root levels represented, and the findings supporting the complete-study threshold.

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 95886 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

95886 rates by state

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

How the 95886 rate is calculated

Each of 95886’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 95886

The CMS indicators that decide how 95886 is paid alongside other services.

What modifiers do to the payment

When to use modifier 26

95886 compared with similar codes

How to choose

95885Needle EMGLimited, with nerve conduction

Both are per-extremity add-ons with nerve conduction. 95886 requires at least five muscles representing at least three nerves or four spinal levels; 95885 is for a limb exam that does not meet those criteria.

95887Needle EMGNon-extremity, with nerve conduction

95887 covers non-limb muscles, such as cranial nerve-supplied or thoracic paraspinal muscles, studied with nerve conduction. 95886 covers an arm or leg and its related paraspinals.

95861Needle EMGTwo extremities

95861 is a standalone two-limb needle EMG with no same-day nerve conduction study. When nerve conduction is performed, report per-limb units of 95885 or 95886 instead.

Codes related to 95886

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