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Billing code 63303: Vertebral resectionMedicare rate & RVUs

Reports removal of a lumbar or sacral vertebral body outside the dura, typically during surgery to address vertebral disease or decompress neural structures.

CMS RVU26DEffective Oct 1, 2026109 payment localities73 Medicare services in 2024

Medicare pays $2,239.20 for 63303 nationally in a facility.

Medicare rate · 63303

Vertebral resection

Swap in your local Medicare rate.

Work RVUs
32.71
Total RVUs
67.04
Global days
090

National rate · 2026

$2,239.20

Facility setting, before claim adjustments.

See every locality for 63303 → · 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 63303 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 63303 covers

This service is a lumbar or sacral corpectomy: the surgeon removes a vertebral body in the extradural space, commonly as part of treatment for a vertebral lesion or to relieve pressure on nearby neural structures. It is performed by a spine surgeon in an operating room, generally in a hospital setting. The code identifies the lumbar/sacral region and the extradural location of the resection; it is not selected solely because a lumbar decompression or fusion is performed.

Report one unit for the single vertebral segment represented by this code. Documentation should identify the vertebral level or levels removed and support that the resection was extradural. When an additional segment is resected, 63308 is the related add-on code. The service has a 90-day global period, including the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care. If multiple procedures are performed in the same session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and the others at 50%. Assistant-at-surgery payment may be made; co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation. Team surgery is not permitted, and modifier 50 is inappropriate for this code.

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 63303 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

63303 office and facility rates by payment locality
Payment localityOfficeFacility
AlabamaUnavailable$1,953.23
Alaska*Unavailable$2,622.74
ArizonaUnavailable$2,151.49
ArkansasUnavailable$1,918.73
AtlantaUnavailable$2,346.22
AustinUnavailable$2,228.49
BakersfieldUnavailable$2,145.23
Baltimore/Surr. CntysUnavailable$2,416.09
BeaumontUnavailable$2,144.77
BrazoriaUnavailable$2,140.22

63303 rates by state

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

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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
63303 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 63303 rate is calculated

Each of 63303’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 · 63303

RVUs × geographic indexes × conversion factor

Swap in your local Medicare rate.

Work 32.71Practice expense 20.51Malpractice 13.82

67.0400 adjusted RVUs×$33.4009 conversion factor=$2,239.20

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

Payment rules and modifiers for 63303

63303 has a 90-day global period: related visits in that window are included in the surgery payment.

CMS payment indicators · 63303

Vertebral resection

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)1Permitted with supporting documentation.
Team surgery (66)0Not permitted.
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 · 63303

Vertebral resection

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

63303 without 51 · national facility

$2,239.20

Vertebral resection

63303-51 · Second procedure: 50%

$1,119.60

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

63303 compared with similar codes

Compare codes

63303 vs 63302 vs 63307 vs 63308: national Medicare rates

Swap in your local Medicare rate.

  • 63303
    Vertebral resection · 32.71 wRVU
    —
  • 63302
    Vertebral body removal · 30.37 wRVU
    —
  • 63307
    Vertebral resection · 34.09 wRVU
    —
  • 63308
    Vertebral resection · 5.11 wRVU
    —

How to choose

63302Vertebral body removal
63302 applies to extradural vertebral body resection in the thoracolumbar region; 63303 is for the lumbar/sacral region.
63307Vertebral resection
Choose 63307 when the lumbar/sacral vertebral body resection is intradural. Code 63303 represents an extradural resection.
63308Vertebral resection
63308 is an add-on for an additional segment, not the code for the primary lumbar/sacral extradural resection.

Codes related to 63303

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

Codes related to 63303
CodeHow it relatesNational office range
Same family
63302Vertebral body removalExtradural vertebral body resection for the thoracolumbar region.No office rate
63307Vertebral resectionLumbar/sacral vertebral body resection when the resection is intradural.No office rate
63301Vertebral resectionExtradural vertebral body resection for the thoracic region.No office rate
Add-on codes
63308Vertebral resectionAdd-on code for an additional vertebral segment resected.No office rate

63303 billing questions

How does 63303 differ from 63307?

Both describe vertebral body resection in the lumbar/sacral region, but 63303 is for an extradural resection and 63307 is for an intradural resection. The operative report should support the applicable location.

When is 63308 reported with 63303?

63308 is the add-on code for an additional vertebral segment resected in the applicable vertebral body resection family. The operative documentation should identify the additional segment.

Can modifier 50 be used for 63303?

No. CMS identifies bilateral adjustment as inappropriate for this code because of its descriptor or anatomy.

What postoperative care is included?

The 90-day global period includes the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care.

Can an assistant or co-surgeon be reported?

Assistant-at-surgery payment may be made. Co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation; team surgery is not permitted.

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 63303PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv, line 7,067 (RVU26D)

Open CMS sourceHow we calculate rates

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