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Billing code 63048: Spinal decompressionMedicare rate & RVUs

Reports each additional vertebral segment decompressed during extensive laminectomy, facetectomy, and foraminotomy for spinal canal or nerve-root compression.

CMS RVU26DEffective Oct 1, 2026109 payment localities151.3K Medicare services in 2024

Medicare pays $187.38 for 63048 nationally in a facility.

Medicare rate · 63048

Spinal decompression

Swap in your local Medicare rate.

Work RVUs
3.38
Total RVUs
5.61
Global days
ZZZ

National rate · 2026

$187.38

Facility setting, before claim adjustments.

See every locality for 63048 → · Billed by an NP, PA or therapist? →

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

On this page 10 sections
  1. Medicare rate
  2. What 63048 covers
  3. By payment locality
  4. Rate map
  5. How it’s calculated
  6. Payment rules
  7. Similar codes
  8. Related codes
  9. Billing questions
  10. Sources

What 63048 covers

Code 63048 captures each additional vertebral segment decompressed after the first during an extensive laminectomy, facetectomy, and foraminotomy for spinal canal or nerve-root compression. The work may include removing lamina and facet bone and enlarging the foramen to free the spinal cord, cauda equina, or nerve roots. Neurosurgeons and orthopedic spine surgeons commonly perform this operation in an operating room for multilevel stenosis. It can accompany cervical, thoracic, or lumbar primary decompression codes.

Report 63048 only with the applicable primary code—63045, 63046, or 63047—and only for segments beyond the first. The operative report should identify the spinal region and each decompressed vertebral segment and support the extent of bony decompression, rather than a limited laminotomy alone. Count additional segments, not sides; bilateral work at one segment does not create another segment. As an add-on, it is paid within the primary procedure's global period.

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 63048 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

63048 office and facility rates by payment locality
Payment localityOfficeFacility
AlabamaUnavailable$166.72
Alaska*Unavailable$229.78
ArizonaUnavailable$180.92
ArkansasUnavailable$164.24
AtlantaUnavailable$195.71
AustinUnavailable$185.61
BakersfieldUnavailable$178.78
Baltimore/Surr. CntysUnavailable$200.65
BeaumontUnavailable$181.37
BrazoriaUnavailable$179.86

63048 rates by state

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

MEWIVTNHMTNDMNMINYMARIWAIDWYSDIAILINOHPANJCTORNVUTCONEMOKYWVVAMDDECAAZNMKSOKARTNNCSCDCTXLAMSALGAFLAKHI

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Local rates. Clear comparisons.

Hover or focus a tile to see its rate range. Select it to open the state’s fee schedule.

View every state and territory as a table
63048 office rate range by state
State / territoryOffice rate rangeLocalities
AKNo published base rate1
ALNo published base rate1
ARNo published base rate1
AZNo published base rate1
CANo published base rate29
CONo published base rate1
CTNo published base rate1
DCNo published base rate1
DENo published base rate1
FLNo published base rate3
GANo published base rate2
GUNo published base rate1
HINo published base rate1
IANo published base rate1
IDNo published base rate1
ILNo published base rate4
INNo published base rate1
KSNo published base rate1
KYNo published base rate1
LANo published base rate2
MANo published base rate2
MDNo published base rate3
MENo published base rate2
MINo published base rate2
MNNo published base rate1
MONo published base rate3
MSNo published base rate1
MTNo published base rate1
NCNo published base rate1
NDNo published base rate1
NENo published base rate1
NHNo published base rate1
NJNo published base rate2
NMNo published base rate1
NVNo published base rate1
NYNo published base rate5
OHNo published base rate1
OKNo published base rate1
ORNo published base rate2
PANo published base rate2
PRNo published base rate1
RINo published base rate1
SCNo published base rate1
SDNo published base rate1
TNNo published base rate1
TXNo published base rate8
UTNo published base rate1
VANo published base rate2
VINo published base rate1
VTNo published base rate1
WANo published base rate2
WINo published base rate1
WVNo published base rate1
WYNo published base rate1

How the 63048 rate is calculated

Each of 63048’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.

How the rate is built · 63048

RVUs × geographic indexes × conversion factor

Swap in your local Medicare rate.

Work 3.38Practice expense 1.13Malpractice 1.10

5.6100 adjusted RVUs×$33.4009 conversion factor=$187.38

All indexes start at 1.000 (the national rate). Enter a ZIP or drag a slider.

Payment rules and modifiers for 63048

The CMS indicators that decide how 63048 is paid alongside other services.

CMS payment indicators · 63048

Spinal decompression

RuleCMS valueWhat it means
Global periodZZZAdd-on code: falls within the primary procedure’s global period.
Multiple procedures0No multiple-procedure reduction.
Bilateral (modifier 50)0The 150% bilateral adjustment doesn’t apply.
Assistant at surgery (80/81/82/AS)2Paid.
Co-surgeons (62)2Permitted.
Team surgery (66)0Not permitted.
Professional/technical0Physician service: no professional/technical split.

What modifiers do to the payment

Modifier 80 · payment effect

With and without the modifier

63048 without 80 · national facility

$187.38

Spinal decompression

63048-80 · Assistant: 16%

$29.98

A physician assistant at surgery is paid 16% of the surgeon’s fee schedule amount.

When to use modifier 80

63048 compared with similar codes

Compare codes

63048 vs 63047 vs 63035 vs 63053: national Medicare rates

Swap in your local Medicare rate.

  • 63048
    Spinal decompression · 3.38 wRVU
    —
  • 63047
    Lumbar decompression · 14.99 wRVU
    —
  • 63035
    Nerve-root decompression · 3.76 wRVU
    —
  • 63053
    Lumbar decompression · 3.69 wRVU
    —

How to choose

63047Lumbar decompression
63047 reports the first lumbar segment treated with extensive decompression. Use 63048 for each additional segment in that procedure.
63035Nerve-root decompression
63035 covers additional-level laminotomy and nerve-root decompression, a more limited service. Code 63048 is for additional segments treated with laminectomy, facetectomy, and foraminotomy.
63053Lumbar decompression
63053 reports additional lumbar decompression segments when the work is performed during posterior interbody arthrodesis; 63048 accompanies the non-fusion decompression family.

Codes related to 63048

Related codes aren’t interchangeable: bill the code that matches the service performed.

Codes related to 63048
CodeHow it relatesNational office range
Primary code
63045Cervical decompressionPrimary cervical decompression code for which 63048 reports additional segments.No office rate
63046Thoracic decompressionPrimary thoracic decompression code for which 63048 reports additional segments.No office rate
63047Lumbar decompressionPrimary lumbar decompression code for which 63048 reports additional segments.No office rate
Used instead
63053Lumbar decompressionReports additional lumbar decompression segments when the work is performed during posterior interbody arthrodesis.No office rate
63035Nerve-root decompressionAdditional-level code for a more limited laminotomy and nerve-root decompression service.No office rate

63048 billing questions

Which primary codes can be reported with 63048?

Report it with 63045 for cervical, 63046 for thoracic, or 63047 for lumbar decompression. It represents additional segments beyond the first treated by the primary procedure.

How should units be counted?

Count each additional vertebral segment decompressed after the first. Bilateral decompression at the same segment is still one segment.

Can 63048 be used for a limited laminotomy?

No. This code is for additional segments treated with the extensive laminectomy, facetectomy, and foraminotomy service; a limited laminotomy or nerve-root decompression is a different service.

What should the operative report identify?

Document the spinal region, each vertebral segment treated, and the decompressive work performed. The record should make clear which segment is covered by the primary code and which are additional.

How does a lumbar fusion change code selection?

When the lumbar decompression is performed during posterior interbody arthrodesis, compare the fusion-specific codes 63052 and 63053 with 63047 and 63048. The operative circumstances determine which code family describes the work.

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

Show the CMS file lines behind this rate
RVUs for 63048PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv, line 7,007 (RVU26D)

Open CMS sourceHow we calculate rates

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