Billing code 22015: Spinal abscess drainageMedicare rate & RVUs in Modesto

In Modesto, Medicare pays $910.15 for 22015 in a facility. There’s no office rate.

Check a contract rate as a % of Medicare · 22015 nationwide

Medicare allowed amount for participating (non-QP) physicians, before deductible, coinsurance and claim adjustments. Not a patient’s bill or a hospital charge.

What 22015 covers

This service involves surgically opening and draining a deep collection in the posterior tissues of the lumbar, sacral, or lumbosacral spine. It is typically performed by a neurosurgeon or orthopedic spine surgeon in an operating room, often for a deep spinal surgical-site infection or paraspinal abscess. The code is for a deep posterior collection, not a superficial skin abscess or an abscess within the spinal canal requiring a different operation.

Select the code based on the documented depth and posterior spinal region. The operative report should identify the collection’s location and depth and describe the drainage performed. CMS assigns a 90-day global period, including the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care. For multiple procedures in one session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and others are subject to a 50% reduction. Modifier 50 is inappropriate; assistant-at-surgery services are not paid, and co-surgeons and team surgery are 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.

How Modesto compares for 22015

Across 109 of 109 payment localities, the facility rate for 22015 runs from $808.31 in Arkansas to $1,125.43 in Nyc Suburbs/Long Island. Modesto pays $910.15. The RVUs are the same everywhere; the geographic indexes change the dollars.

Every other payment area

22015 rates by state

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

See 22015 in every payment locality

How the 22015 rate is calculated

Each of 22015’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.

Payment rules and modifiers for 22015

22015 has a 90-day global period: related visits in that window are included in the surgery payment.

What modifiers do to the payment

When to use modifier 51

Codes related to 22015

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

How 22015 has changed in Modesto

Price 22015 for an earlier date of service

Where the Modesto rate applies

Modesto is a Medicare payment area, not a city. Our Census mapping connects it to 33 cities and communities in California. Some span more than one payment area; confirm with the service ZIP.

• 22015 in Modesto
• 22015 in Airport
• 22015 in Bret Harte
• 22015 in Bystrom
• 22015 in Ceres
• 22015 in Cowan
• 22015 in Crows Landing
• 22015 in Del Rio

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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

Open CMS sourceHow we calculate rates