HCPCS code J3420: Vitamin B12 injection, up to 1,000 mcg2026 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 J3420 covers

J3420 represents cyanocobalamin, an injectable form of vitamin B12. Clinicians commonly administer it intramuscularly, and it may also be given subcutaneously, to replace B12 in patients with deficiency, including deficiency associated with pernicious anemia or impaired absorption. Physicians and other qualified practitioners report the drug when it is administered in an office or other treatment setting; the administration service is separate from the drug code when separately reportable.

CMS assigns status E, excluding J3420 from the physician fee schedule by regulation. When Medicare covers the item, payment is under another payment method. CMS classifies it as a Part B drug, generally priced from its quarterly Average Sales Price drug pricing files when covered, and identifies special Medicare coverage instructions. Each unit represents up to 1,000 mcg of cyanocobalamin; report units according to the amount administered.

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 J3420 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

J3420 rates by state

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

How the J3420 rate is calculated

Each of J3420’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 J3420

J3420 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.

J3420 compared with similar codes

How to choose

J3424Hydroxocobalamin injectionIntravenous, per 25 mg

Use J3420 for cyanocobalamin. J3424 identifies intravenous hydroxocobalamin and has a different drug and dose unit.

J3425Hydroxocobalamin injectionPer 10 mcg

Use J3420 for cyanocobalamin. J3425 identifies intramuscular hydroxocobalamin, not cyanocobalamin.

J3490Unclassified drugNo drug-specific code

J3490 is for an unclassified injectable drug when no more specific code describes it. J3420 specifically identifies cyanocobalamin.

Codes related to J3420

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