No office rate
This code covers the initial cervical segment; 63082 is for each additional cervical segment treated in the same corpectomy service.
On this page
CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
63081 Cervical corpectomy Medicare reimbursement rates in Alabama
Reports anterior removal of part or all of a cervical vertebral body to decompress the spinal cord or nerve roots at one segment. Compare 63081 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in Alabama.
Amounts below use the non-QP conversion factor for participating physicians. These are base physician payments before claim-level adjustments, not patient costs or total hospital charges.
What does Medicare pay for 63081 in Alabama?
Alabama has 1 payment locality in this comparison. Use the service location to choose the applicable amount. These are the supported base rates for the payment area shown below, using the same CMS release.
Office / nonfacility
No supported rate
Facility setting
$1469.61
1 of 1 localities have a supported rate.
Payment area: Alabama
One mapped payment locality.
These are locality ranges, not averages or address-specific quotes. A facility-setting amount covers the physician service; it does not include a hospital’s separate bill. Choose a locality below to inspect its calculation, compare other payment areas, or price a percentage of Medicare.
Spine surgery
About 63081: Anterior cervical vertebral body decompression
Reports anterior removal of part or all of a cervical vertebral body to decompress the spinal cord or nerve roots at one segment.
A spine surgeon performs this operation through an anterior neck approach, removing part or all of a cervical vertebral body to relieve spinal cord or nerve-root compression. It is commonly used for cervical myelopathy or other compression that cannot be adequately addressed by removing disc material alone. The procedure is typically performed in an operating room, often with reconstruction or fusion after decompression.
Report one unit for the single cervical segment treated; use the additional-segment code when the operation extends to further segments. The operative report should identify the cervical level, anterior approach, extent of vertebral-body resection, and the neural compression addressed. CMS assigns a 90-day global period, including the day-before preoperative visit and related postoperative care. When multiple procedures are performed in the same session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and others are subject to the standard 50% reduction. Assistant-at-surgery payment may be made; co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation, and team surgery is permitted.
CMS billing rules for 63081
- Global period
- Major surgery with a 90-day global period: the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care are included.
- Multiple procedures
- Standard multiple procedure reduction: the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and others at 50% when performed in the same session.
- Bilateral procedures
- Bilateral adjustment does not apply; the descriptor or anatomy makes modifier 50 inappropriate.
- Assistant at surgery
- Assistant at surgery may be paid.
- Co-surgeons
- Co-surgeons paid only with supporting documentation.
- Team surgery
- Team surgery permitted.
Where the value comes from
- Work RVU25.45 · 51%
- Practice expense (office) RVU15.61 · 31%
- Malpractice RVU8.64 · 17%
5K
Medicare services in 2024 · #1862 by national volume
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.
63081 compared with similar codes
Office rates for Alabama, from the same CMS release.
No office rate
Choose 63075 for anterior cervical disc decompression without vertebral-body resection. Choose this code when removal of vertebral-body bone is needed for decompression.
No office rate
63045 describes posterior cervical decompression. This code represents anterior cervical vertebral-body removal.
No office rate
63085 is the corresponding vertebral-body decompression code for the thoracic region; this code is for the cervical region.
Compare 63081 by payment locality
Find the payment area for your service address, then open its rate page for calculation inputs, release history and the percentage-of-Medicare tool. A city may cross payment-area boundaries; the ZIP lookup above helps resolve the location.
1 of 1 payment localities
Alabama →
Office / nonfacility
Unavailable
Facility
$1469.61
Need rates for a whole code list?
Fee-sheet and API access are in early access. Tell us which codes and locations your team needs.
How this local rate is calculated
Each RVU component is multiplied by its own geographic practice cost index (GPCI). The three adjusted components are added, then multiplied by the conversion factor. These are the inputs used for 63081 in Alabama.
PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv
7,021
- Code
- 63081
- Physician work
- 25.45
- Practice expense
- 15.61
- Malpractice
- 8.64
GPCI2026.csv
4
- Locality
- Alabama
- Physician work
- 1.000
- Practice expense
- 0.875
- Malpractice
- 0.566
| Component | RVU | Locality factor | Adjusted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Physician work | 25.45 | × 1.000 | 25.4500 |
| Practice expense | 15.61 | × 0.875 | 13.6587 |
| Malpractice | 8.64 | × 0.566 | 4.8902 |
| Total RVUs | 43.9990 | ||
| Conversion factor | × 33.4009 | ||
Facility rate, Alabama$1469.61
Explore RVUs, geographic factors and the full formula
Facility
| Component | RVU | Local GPCI |
|---|---|---|
| Work | 25.45 | 1 |
| Practice expense | 15.61 | 0.875 |
| Malpractice | 8.64 | 0.566 |
(25.45 × 1 + 15.61 × 0.875 + 8.64 × 0.566) × $33.4009 = $1469.61
The office and facility calculations use their respective practice-expense RVUs. The facility amount here is the physician fee, not a separate hospital or facility bill.
63081 billing questions
When is this code preferable to cervical discectomy code 63075?
Use this code when decompression requires removal of part or all of a cervical vertebral body. Code 63075 describes an anterior cervical disc procedure rather than vertebral-body resection.
Can the additional-segment code be reported with this procedure?
Yes. Report 63082 for each additional cervical segment treated beyond the segment represented by this code, with documentation identifying the additional level.
Can a separate discectomy be reported at the corpectomy level?
Disc removal that is part of the anterior corpectomy and decompression is integral to the operation. Separately report a distinct service only when it is independently supported and not part of that work.
What documentation supports reporting this code?
The operative report should establish the anterior cervical approach, the vertebral level, the extent of body removal, and the spinal cord or nerve-root compression treated.
How does the 90-day global period affect postoperative billing?
The day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care are included in the global period. CMS applies the standard multiple-procedure reduction when other procedures are performed in the same session.
May an assistant or co-surgeon be reported?
Assistant-at-surgery payment may be made. Co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation; team surgery is 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 indices and the applicable conversion factor. Unavailable or separately priced services are labeled rather than assigned a made-up amount.
Source: RVU26D. Effective 2026-10-01 through the day before 2027-01-01.
7,01863076,,Neck spine disk surgery,A,,3.94,1.30,NA,1.30,,1.26,6.50,6.50,0,ZZZ,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,0,2,2,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
7,01963077,,Spine disk surgery thorax,A,,22.31,12.21,NA,12.21,,4.75,39.27,39.27,0,090,0.11,0.76,0.13,2,0,2,2,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
7,02063078,,Spine disk surgery thorax,A,,3.20,1.12,NA,1.12,,1.33,5.65,5.65,0,ZZZ,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,0,2,2,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
7,02163081,,Remove vert body dcmprn crvl,A,,25.45,15.61,NA,15.61,,8.64,49.70,49.70,0,090,0.11,0.76,0.13,2,0,2,1,2,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
7,02263082,,Remove vertebral body add-on,A,,4.25,1.43,NA,1.43,,1.43,7.11,7.11,0,ZZZ,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,0,2,1,2,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
7,02363085,,Remove vert body dcmprn thrc,A,,28.73,16.13,NA,16.13,,9.63,54.49,54.49,0,090,0.11,0.76,0.13,2,0,2,2,2,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
7,02463086,,Remove vertebral body add-on,A,,3.11,0.98,NA,0.98,,1.03,5.12,5.12,0,ZZZ,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,0,2,2,2,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
1ADDENDUM E. FINAL CY 2026 GEOGRAPHIC PRACTICE COST INDICES (GPCIs) BY STATE AND MEDICARE LOCALITY,,,,,,
2,,,,,,
3Medicare Administrative Contractor (MAC),State,Locality Number,Locality Name,2026 PW GPCI (with 1.0 Floor)***,2026 PE GPCI,2026 MP GPCI
410112,AL,00,ALABAMA,1.000,0.875,0.566
502102,AK,01,ALASKA*,1.500,1.065,0.551
603102,AZ,00,ARIZONA,1.000,0.969,0.856
707102,AR,13,ARKANSAS,1.000,0.859,0.515