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Billing code 63305: Vertebral resectionMedicare rate & RVUs

Reports thoracic vertebral body resection performed to remove or access an intradural spinal lesion when that level and lesion location match the service.

CMS RVU26DEffective Oct 1, 2026109 payment localities

Medicare pays $2,419.90 for 63305 nationally in a facility.

Medicare rate · 63305

Vertebral resection

Swap in your local Medicare rate.

Work RVUs
35.33
Total RVUs
72.45
Global days
090

National rate · 2026

$2,419.90

Facility setting, before claim adjustments.

See every locality for 63305 → · 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 63305 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 63305 covers

This major spine operation removes part or all of a thoracic vertebral body as part of treating an intraspinal lesion located within the dura. Neurosurgeons and orthopedic spine surgeons may perform it in a hospital operating room, often for an intradural tumor such as a meningioma or schwannoma when vertebral body resection is part of the operative approach. The code is specific to the thoracic region and the intradural location; it does not describe an ordinary vertebral body tumor resection.

Select the code from the documented lesion location and spinal region, and retain the operative report describing the lesion and vertebral resection. The 90-day global period includes the day-before preoperative visit and related postoperative care. For multiple procedures in the same session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and other procedures at 50%. Modifier 50 is not appropriate for this service. Assistant-at-surgery payment may be made; co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation, and team surgery is not permitted.

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 63305 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

63305 office and facility rates by payment locality
Payment localityOfficeFacility
AlabamaUnavailable$2,110.82
Alaska*Unavailable$2,834.19
ArizonaUnavailable$2,325.11
ArkansasUnavailable$2,073.53
AtlantaUnavailable$2,535.53
AustinUnavailable$2,408.39
BakersfieldUnavailable$2,318.49
Baltimore/Surr. CntysUnavailable$2,611.07
BeaumontUnavailable$2,317.78
BrazoriaUnavailable$2,312.96

63305 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
63305 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 63305 rate is calculated

Each of 63305’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 · 63305

RVUs × geographic indexes × conversion factor

Swap in your local Medicare rate.

Work 35.33Practice expense 22.19Malpractice 14.93

72.4500 adjusted RVUs×$33.4009 conversion factor=$2,419.90

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

Payment rules and modifiers for 63305

63305 has a 90-day global period: related visits in that window are included in the surgery payment.

CMS payment indicators · 63305

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 · 63305

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

63305 without 51 · national facility

$2,419.90

Vertebral resection

63305-51 · Second procedure: 50%

$1,209.95

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

63305 compared with similar codes

Compare codes

63305 vs 63301 vs 63304 vs 63306 vs 63308: national Medicare rates

Swap in your local Medicare rate.

  • 63305
    Vertebral resection · 35.33 wRVU
    —
  • 63301
    Vertebral resection · 30.78 wRVU
    —
  • 63304
    Spinal lesion surgery · 33 wRVU
    —
  • 63306
    Vertebral resection · 34.66 wRVU
    —
  • 63308
    Vertebral resection · 5.11 wRVU
    —

How to choose

63301Vertebral resection
Use 63301 for a thoracic extradural lesion; use 63305 when the lesion is intradural. The operative report should support the lesion's relationship to the dura.
63304Spinal lesion surgery
63304 describes the intradural service in the cervical region. 63305 is for the thoracic region.
63306Vertebral resection
63306 is for the thoracolumbar region, while 63305 is limited to the thoracic region.
63308Vertebral resection
63308 is an add-on for an additional vertebral segment, not the primary thoracic intradural lesion service reported by 63305.

Codes related to 63305

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

Codes related to 63305
CodeHow it relatesNational office range
Same family
63301Vertebral resectionThoracic counterpart for an extradural rather than intradural lesion.No office rate
63304Spinal lesion surgeryCervical-region counterpart for an intradural lesion.No office rate
63306Vertebral resectionThoracolumbar-region counterpart for an intradural lesion.No office rate
63307Vertebral resectionLumbar or sacral counterpart for an intradural lesion.No office rate
Add-on codes
63308Vertebral resectionAdd-on code for each qualifying additional vertebral segment resected.No office rate

63305 billing questions

How does this differ from 63301?

Both codes are for the thoracic region, but 63305 addresses an intradural lesion and 63301 an extradural lesion. The operative documentation should establish which side of the dura contains the lesion.

When would 63308 be reported with 63305?

63308 is an add-on for each additional vertebral segment when the requirements for that additional resection are met. The operative report should identify the additional segment; it is not a replacement for the primary code.

Can modifier 50 be used?

No. This code describes work at the thoracic spine, not a paired left-and-right service, so modifier 50 is inappropriate.

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 63305PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv, line 7,069 (RVU26D)

Open CMS sourceHow we calculate rates

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