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Billing code 63085: Thoracic corpectomyMedicare rate & RVUs

Reports partial or complete removal of a thoracic vertebral body to decompress the spinal cord or nerve root at one segment.

CMS RVU26DEffective Oct 1, 2026109 payment localities242 Medicare services in 2024

Medicare pays $1,820.02 for 63085 nationally in a facility.

Medicare rate · 63085

Thoracic corpectomy

Swap in your local Medicare rate.

Work RVUs
28.73
Total RVUs
54.49
Global days
090

National rate · 2026

$1,820.02

Facility setting, before claim adjustments.

See every locality for 63085 → · 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 63085 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 63085 covers

A spine surgeon reports this service when part or all of a thoracic vertebral body is removed to relieve pressure on the spinal cord or a nerve root. The work includes partial or complete removal of the disc at that level. Clinical reasons can include a thoracic vertebral tumor, destructive fracture, or infection causing neural compression. These operations are generally performed in a hospital operating room.

Select this code for one thoracic vertebral segment; document the level, the vertebral body resection, and the neural decompression performed. Additional thoracic segments are reported with the applicable add-on code, not by extending the single-segment service. CMS assigns a 90-day global period, including the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care. When multiple procedures are performed in the same session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and other procedures are subject to the standard 50% reduction. CMS permits assistant-at-surgery, co-surgeon, and team-surgery payment for this 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 63085 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

63085 office and facility rates by payment locality
Payment localityOfficeFacility
AlabamaUnavailable$1,613.07
Alaska*Unavailable$2,190.42
ArizonaUnavailable$1,757.00
ArkansasUnavailable$1,588.05
AtlantaUnavailable$1,896.17
AustinUnavailable$1,816.51
BakersfieldUnavailable$1,764.20
Baltimore/Surr. CntysUnavailable$1,950.93
BeaumontUnavailable$1,748.69
BrazoriaUnavailable$1,752.08

63085 rates by state

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

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Explore a state

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
63085 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 63085 rate is calculated

Each of 63085’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 · 63085

RVUs × geographic indexes × conversion factor

Swap in your local Medicare rate.

Work 28.73Practice expense 16.13Malpractice 9.63

54.4900 adjusted RVUs×$33.4009 conversion factor=$1,820.02

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

Payment rules and modifiers for 63085

63085 has a 90-day global period: related visits in that window are included in the surgery payment.

CMS payment indicators · 63085

Thoracic corpectomy

RuleCMS valueWhat it means
Global period090Major surgery: the day before, the day of, and 90 days after are included.
Multiple procedures2Standard reduction: highest-valued procedure at 100%, others at 50%.
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)2Permitted.
Professional/technical0Physician service: no professional/technical split.
Split (54/55/56)0.11/0.76/0.13Share of the payment for pre-op, the procedure itself, and post-op care.

Global surgery period · 63085

Thoracic corpectomy

90-day global period ends

Dec 30, 2026

Covers Sep 30, 2026 through Dec 30, 2026 (92 days, including the day before surgery).

Visit on Oct 31, 2026

Day 30 of the 90-day post-op period: related follow-up care is included in the surgical payment.

  • 24 Unrelated E/M visit by the same physician
  • 79 Unrelated procedure (starts its own global period)
  • 58 Staged, more extensive, or therapy procedure that was planned
  • 78 Unplanned return to the operating room for a related complication
SurgeryVisit
Sep 23, 2026Jan 10, 2027

Pre-op dayGlobal period

What modifiers do to the payment

Modifier 51 · payment effect

With and without the modifier

63085 without 51 · national facility

$1,820.02

Thoracic corpectomy

63085-51 · Second procedure: 50%

$910.01

When this isn’t the highest-valued procedure in the session, Medicare pays 50% of its fee schedule amount (the highest is paid at 100%).

When to use modifier 51

63085 compared with similar codes

Compare codes

63085 vs 63064 vs 63086 vs 63087 vs 63090: national Medicare rates

Swap in your local Medicare rate.

  • 63085
    Thoracic corpectomy · 28.73 wRVU
    —
  • 63064
    Spinal decompression · 25.56 wRVU
    —
  • 63086
    Vertebral corpectomy · 3.11 wRVU
    —
  • 63087
    Vertebral body removal · 36.59 wRVU
    —
  • 63090
    Vertebral corpectomy · 30.16 wRVU
    —

How to choose

63064Spinal decompression
Choose 63085 when thoracic vertebral body resection is performed for neural decompression. Code 63064 describes a different thoracic decompression approach without this corpectomy service.
63086Vertebral corpectomy
63085 represents the first thoracic vertebral segment; 63086 is the add-on code for each additional thoracic segment.
63087Vertebral body removal
Both describe vertebral body resection for neural decompression, but 63087 is for the thoracolumbar region rather than a thoracic segment.
63090Vertebral corpectomy
Use 63090 for lumbar vertebral body resection for neural decompression; 63085 is the corresponding single-segment service for the thoracic region.

Codes related to 63085

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

Codes related to 63085
CodeHow it relatesNational office range
Add-on codes
63086Vertebral corpectomyAdd-on code for each additional thoracic vertebral segment treated.No office rate
Used instead
63081Cervical corpectomyCorpectomy for neural decompression in the cervical region rather than the thoracic region.No office rate
63087Vertebral body removalCorpectomy for neural decompression in the thoracolumbar region.No office rate
63090Vertebral corpectomyCorpectomy for neural decompression in the lumbar region.No office rate
63064Spinal decompressionThoracic spinal cord decompression without the vertebral body resection represented here.No office rate

63085 billing questions

When should this code be used instead of a thoracic decompression code?

Use it when the surgeon removes part or all of a thoracic vertebral body for spinal cord or nerve root decompression. A decompression performed without vertebral body resection is represented by a different code.

Does the service include disc removal at the treated level?

Yes. Partial or complete discectomy at the corpectomy level is included in the service.

How are additional thoracic segments reported?

Report the single-segment service for the first thoracic segment and use 63086 for each additional thoracic segment when the documented work meets that code’s requirements.

What documentation supports reporting this code?

The operative report should identify the thoracic level, describe partial or complete vertebral body removal, and explain the spinal cord or nerve root decompression performed.

Can an assistant or co-surgeon be reported?

CMS permits payment for an assistant at surgery, co-surgeons, and team surgery for this service.

How does the multiple-procedure rule affect same-session services?

When multiple procedures are performed in the same session, CMS pays the highest-valued procedure in full and applies the standard 50% reduction to the others.

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 63085PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv, line 7,023 (RVU26D)

Open CMS sourceHow we calculate rates

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