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Billing code 94610: Surfactant administrationMedicare rate & RVUs

Reports intrapulmonary surfactant delivery through an endotracheal tube, typically for a newborn with respiratory distress syndrome.

CMS RVU26DEffective Oct 1, 2026109 payment localities

Medicare pays $47.76 for 94610 nationally in a facility.

Medicare rate · 94610

Surfactant administration

Swap in your local Medicare rate.

Work RVUs
1.13
Total RVUs
1.43
Global days
XXX

National rate · 2026

$47.76

Facility setting, before claim adjustments.

See every locality for 94610 → · 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 94610 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 94610 covers

A neonatologist or other qualified clinician uses this service to deliver surfactant into the lungs through an endotracheal tube, most often for a premature newborn with respiratory distress syndrome. It is typically performed in a hospital setting such as a neonatal intensive care unit. The endotracheal intubation needed to administer the surfactant is part of the service; this is not a code for routine oxygen support or a nebulized bronchodilator treatment.

Report the service when surfactant is actually instilled through the tube, not merely ordered or prepared. Documentation should identify the clinical indication, the administration, and the route used. CMS assigns physician work, practice expense, and malpractice relative value units to the service under the physician fee schedule. The medical record should distinguish the surfactant procedure from the broader neonatal evaluation and management or critical care provided during the encounter.

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 94610 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

94610 office and facility rates by payment locality
Payment localityOfficeFacility
AlabamaUnavailable$45.79
Alaska*Unavailable$66.08
ArizonaUnavailable$47.19
ArkansasUnavailable$45.55
AtlantaUnavailable$48.47
AustinUnavailable$48.02
BakersfieldUnavailable$48.30
Baltimore/Surr. CntysUnavailable$49.48
BeaumontUnavailable$46.91
BrazoriaUnavailable$47.48

94610 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
94610 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 94610 rate is calculated

Each of 94610’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 · 94610

RVUs × geographic indexes × conversion factor

Swap in your local Medicare rate.

Work 1.13Practice expense 0.23Malpractice 0.07

1.4300 adjusted RVUs×$33.4009 conversion factor=$47.76

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

Payment rules and modifiers for 94610

94610 has no global surgery period, no multiple-procedure, bilateral or assistant-at-surgery adjustment, and no professional/technical split. What changes the payment is where the service happens: the place of service on the claim decides whether Medicare pays the office or the facility rate.

Place of service · 94610

Which rate does Medicare pay?

The POS code on the claim line (CMS-1500 box 24B).

Non-facility (office) rate · national

—

94610 isn’t priced in this setting.

94610 compared with similar codes

Compare codes

94610 vs 94640 vs 94642 vs 31500: national Medicare rates

Swap in your local Medicare rate.

  • 94610
    Surfactant administration · 1.13 wRVU
    —
  • 94640
    Inhalation treatment · 0 wRVU
    $8.68
  • 94642
    · 0 wRVU
    —
  • 31500
    Emergency intubation · 2.93 wRVU
    —

How to choose

94640Inhalation treatment
94610 describes surfactant instilled through an endotracheal tube. 94640 is used for an inhalation treatment such as a therapeutic aerosol or nebulizer treatment.
94642Aerosol inhalation treatment
94642 is for aerosolized pentamidine treatment; it is not the code for intrapulmonary surfactant delivered through an endotracheal tube.
31500Emergency intubation
31500 reports emergency endotracheal intubation. Intubation performed to deliver surfactant is included in 94610 rather than separately reported as that procedure.

Codes related to 94610

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

Codes related to 94610
CodeHow it relatesNational office range
Often billed with
99468Neonatal critical careInitial-day neonatal critical care may be reported for the broader encounter when its requirements are met.No office rate
99469Neonatal critical careSubsequent-day neonatal critical care may accompany a separately documented surfactant administration.No office rate
99477Neonatal careInitial hospital care for a newborn requiring intensive observation may be relevant to the same encounter.No office rate

94610 billing questions

When is 94610 appropriate instead of an inhalation treatment code?

Use 94610 for surfactant instilled into the lungs through an endotracheal tube, commonly for neonatal respiratory distress syndrome. Nebulized airway medication treatments are different services.

Can endotracheal intubation be billed separately?

Intubation performed to establish the route for surfactant delivery is included in this service. The note should show that the tube was used for the surfactant administration.

Can 94610 be reported with neonatal critical care?

It may be reported with neonatal critical care when both services are supported. Document the surfactant administration separately from the broader critical care work.

What documentation supports the service?

Record the indication for surfactant, that it was instilled through an endotracheal tube, and the clinician's performance of the administration.

How should repeat administrations be handled?

Document each administration distinctly, including the clinical circumstances and route. Follow the applicable code-set and claim instructions for reporting repeat services.

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 94610PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv, line 12,397 (RVU26D)

Open CMS sourceHow we calculate rates

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