FeeBase
Log inGet started
Menu

Billing code 63088: Vertebral resectionMedicare rate & RVUs

Reports each additional thoracolumbar vertebral segment removed through an anterior approach for spinal cord or nerve root decompression.

CMS RVU26DEffective Oct 1, 2026109 payment localities114 Medicare services in 2024

Medicare pays $234.47 for 63088 nationally in a facility.

Medicare rate · 63088

Vertebral resection

Swap in your local Medicare rate.

Work RVUs
4.21
Total RVUs
7.02
Global days
ZZZ

National rate · 2026

$234.47

Facility setting, before claim adjustments.

See every locality for 63088 → · 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 63088 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 63088 covers

This add-on represents removal of an additional vertebral body segment in the thoracolumbar region through an anterior approach to decompress the spinal cord or a nerve root. It may be part of surgery for a compressive lesion involving more than one vertebral segment. A spine surgeon, such as an orthopedic spine surgeon or neurosurgeon, typically performs the work in a hospital operating room.

Report 63088 only with the primary thoracolumbar vertebral body resection code, 63087. Use it for each additional segment beyond the primary segment, and document the operative levels and the additional vertebral body resection performed. The operative report should make clear which segment was primary and which additional segment or segments were treated. Under the CMS add-on rule, 63088 is paid within the global period of the primary procedure and is not reported by itself.

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 63088 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

63088 office and facility rates by payment locality
Payment localityOfficeFacility
AlabamaUnavailable$207.88
Alaska*Unavailable$286.16
ArizonaUnavailable$226.13
ArkansasUnavailable$204.70
AtlantaUnavailable$245.30
AustinUnavailable$231.93
BakersfieldUnavailable$222.73
Baltimore/Surr. CntysUnavailable$251.46
BeaumontUnavailable$226.94
BrazoriaUnavailable$224.61

63088 rates by state

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

MEWIVTNHMTNDMNMINYMARIWAIDWYSDIAILINOHPANJCTORNVUTCONEMOKYWVVAMDDECAAZNMKSOKARTNNCSCDCTXLAMSALGAFLAKHI

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
63088 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 63088 rate is calculated

Each of 63088’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 · 63088

RVUs × geographic indexes × conversion factor

Swap in your local Medicare rate.

Work 4.21Practice expense 1.37Malpractice 1.44

7.0200 adjusted RVUs×$33.4009 conversion factor=$234.47

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

Payment rules and modifiers for 63088

The CMS indicators that decide how 63088 is paid alongside other services.

CMS payment indicators · 63088

Vertebral resection

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)2Permitted.
Professional/technical0Physician service: no professional/technical split.

What modifiers do to the payment

Modifier 80 · payment effect

With and without the modifier

63088 without 80 · national facility

$234.47

Vertebral resection

63088-80 · Assistant: 16%

$37.52

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

When to use modifier 80

63088 compared with similar codes

Compare codes

63088 vs 63087 vs 63086 vs 63091: national Medicare rates

Swap in your local Medicare rate.

  • 63088
    Vertebral resection · 4.21 wRVU
    —
  • 63087
    Vertebral body removal · 36.59 wRVU
    —
  • 63086
    Vertebral corpectomy · 3.11 wRVU
    —
  • 63091
    Vertebral body removal · 2.95 wRVU
    —

How to choose

63087Vertebral body removal
63087 covers the primary thoracolumbar vertebral body resection. Use 63088 only for each additional segment and only with the primary procedure.
63086Vertebral corpectomy
63086 is the additional-segment code for a thoracic resection. Choose 63088 when the additional segment is in the thoracolumbar region.
63091Vertebral body removal
63091 covers each additional lumbar segment; 63088 is for each additional thoracolumbar segment.

Codes related to 63088

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

Codes related to 63088
CodeHow it relatesNational office range
Add-on codes
63087Vertebral body removalPrimary thoracolumbar vertebral body resection code with which 63088 is reported.No office rate
Used instead
63086Vertebral corpectomyAdditional-segment code for a thoracic rather than thoracolumbar resection.No office rate
63091Vertebral body removalAdditional-segment code for a lumbar rather than thoracolumbar resection.No office rate
63082Vertebral decompressionAdditional-segment code for cervical vertebral body resection.No office rate
63085Thoracic corpectomyPrimary vertebral body resection code for the thoracic region.No office rate
63090Vertebral corpectomyPrimary vertebral body resection code for the lumbar region.No office rate

63088 billing questions

Can 63088 be reported by itself?

No. It is an add-on code and must be reported with the primary thoracolumbar vertebral body resection code, 63087.

How many units should be reported?

Report one unit for each additional thoracolumbar vertebral segment resected beyond the primary segment. The operative documentation should identify each treated level.

How is 63088 different from 63086?

Both describe an additional vertebral segment, but 63088 is for the thoracolumbar region; 63086 is for the thoracic region.

What documentation supports the add-on?

The operative report should identify the primary segment, each additional thoracolumbar level resected, and the decompression performed through the anterior approach.

How does the CMS global-period rule affect 63088?

CMS pays this add-on within the primary procedure's global period, so report it with the qualifying primary procedure rather than as a standalone service.

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 63088PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv, line 7,026 (RVU26D)

Open CMS sourceHow we calculate rates

Did this answer your question about what 63088 pays?

Tell us what you were actually trying to work out. We’ll answer you directly, or build the page that does.

Fee sheets

Put 63088 and the rest of your codes on one sheet

Build a fee sheet from your own code list at your locality, put your payer contracts beside Medicare, and see what changed each quarter.

Build my fee sheetOr price your code list free →