HCPCS code J1010: Methylprednisolone acetate, per 1 mg2026 Medicare rate & RVUs in California

CMS doesn’t publish an office rate for J1010 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 J1010 covers

J1010 represents the depot corticosteroid methylprednisolone acetate in an injectable suspension. Clinicians use it for inflammatory conditions, commonly by injection into a joint, bursa, or other soft tissue, or by intramuscular administration when systemic corticosteroid treatment is indicated. The drug is typically reported by the professional or facility furnishing it in an office, clinic, or hospital outpatient setting; the route and clinical use depend on the prescribed treatment.

Medicare assigns physician fee schedule status E, excluding the code from the physician fee schedule. When Medicare covers the drug, payment is made under another payment method; the HCPCS pricing method identifies it as a Part B drug generally priced using CMS quarterly Average Sales Price drug pricing files. Special Medicare coverage instructions apply. Report units according to the amount administered: one unit represents 1 mg, so a 40 mg dose is 40 units. The code identifies the medication, not the administration service.

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 J1010 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 J1010 rate is calculated

Each of J1010’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 J1010

J1010 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.

J1010 compared with similar codes

How to choose

J3301Triamcinolone injectionPer 10 mg

J3301 is triamcinolone acetonide, a different injectable corticosteroid. Use the code matching the drug actually administered.

Codes related to J1010

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