HCPCS code J3303: Triamcinolone hexacetonide, per 5 mg2026 Medicare rate & RVUs

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

What J3303 covers

This code identifies injectable triamcinolone hexacetonide, a long-acting corticosteroid used mainly for injection into an affected joint to reduce inflammation in conditions such as inflammatory arthritis and synovitis. Rheumatologists, orthopedists, and other clinicians may administer it in an office or outpatient setting as part of joint-directed treatment. The drug code represents the medication dose, not the clinical work of performing the injection.

Medicare assigns status E, excluding J3303 from the physician fee schedule. When Medicare covers the item or service, payment is made through another method; CMS classifies it as a Part B drug and generally uses its quarterly ASP drug pricing files when covered. Special Medicare coverage instructions apply. Each unit represents 5 mg; report the total administered dose in 5-mg increments. For example, a 20-mg dose is 4 units.

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 J3303 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

J3303 rates by state

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

How the J3303 rate is calculated

Each of J3303’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 J3303

J3303 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.

J3303 compared with similar codes

How to choose

J3300Triamcinolone injectionPreservative-free, per 1 mg

J3300 identifies a preservative-free triamcinolone acetonide formulation. Use J3303 for triamcinolone hexacetonide.

J3301Triamcinolone injectionPer 10 mg

J3301 identifies triamcinolone acetonide, not hexacetonide. Choose based on the formulation administered.

J3302Triamcinolone diacetatePer 5 mg

J3302 identifies triamcinolone diacetate. J3303 is specific to triamcinolone hexacetonide.

J3304Triamcinolone injectionExtended-release, per 1 mg

J3304 identifies extended-release triamcinolone acetonide; J3303 identifies triamcinolone hexacetonide.

Codes related to J3303

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