HCPCS code J0179: Brolucizumab, per 1 mg2026 Medicare rate & RVUs in California

CMS doesn’t publish an office rate for J0179 in California.

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

What J0179 covers

Brolucizumab is an anti-VEGF medicine administered by injection into the vitreous of the eye for retinal disease, including neovascular age-related macular degeneration and diabetic macular edema. Ophthalmologists, often retina specialists, report J0179 for the medication furnished for an intravitreal treatment. J0179 identifies the drug quantity, while CPT 67028 identifies the intravitreal injection procedure when separately reportable.

Each J0179 unit represents 1 mg of brolucizumab, so a 6 mg amount corresponds to 6 units. CMS excludes this code from the physician fee schedule under status E. When Medicare covers the drug, it generally pays as a Part B drug using CMS’s quarterly Average Sales Price drug pricing files. Coverage is determined by the Medicare contractor.

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 J0179 pays more and less in California

The same RVUs, adjusted for each area’s costs. Open a locality for its calculation, history and nearby areas.

29 of 29 payment localities

How the J0179 rate is calculated

Each of J0179’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 J0179

J0179 has no global surgery period, no multiple-procedure, bilateral or assistant-at-surgery adjustment, and no professional/technical split. What changes the payment is where the service happens: the place of service on the claim decides whether Medicare pays the office or the facility rate.

J0179 compared with similar codes

How to choose

J0178Aflibercept injectionPer 1 mg

J0178 reports aflibercept, while J0179 reports brolucizumab. Select the code for the drug administered.

J0177Aflibercept HDPer 1 mg

J0177 reports high-dose aflibercept; J0179 reports brolucizumab. These are different drugs, not different strengths of the same drug.

J2777Faricimab injectionPer 0.1 mg

J2777 reports faricimab, while J0179 reports brolucizumab. Use the code matching the medication administered.

67028Intravitreal injectionMedication delivered into vitreous cavity

CPT 67028 describes the intravitreal injection procedure; J0179 identifies the brolucizumab drug in 1 mg units.

Codes related to J0179

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