No office rate
63101 represents the primary thoracic segment. 63103 represents an additional segment and is reported with a qualifying primary procedure.
On this page
CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
63103 Vertebral body removal Medicare reimbursement rates in California
Report this add-on for each additional thoracic or lumbar vertebral segment removed to decompress the spinal cord or nerve roots during a qualifying primary procedure. Compare 63103 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in California.
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 63103 in California?
California has 29 payment localities in this comparison. Use the service location to choose the applicable amount. These are the supported base rates for the 29 payment areas shown below, using the same CMS release.
Office / nonfacility
No supported rate
Facility setting
$245.96–$278.82
29 of 29 localities have a supported rate.
Lowest: Chico
Highest: San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara (San Benito Cnty)
A spread of $32.86 per service.
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.
Where 63103 pays more and less in California
Spine surgery
About 63103: Additional vertebral body removal segment
Report this add-on for each additional thoracic or lumbar vertebral segment removed to decompress the spinal cord or nerve roots during a qualifying primary procedure.
This add-on represents removal of another vertebral body segment during an operation to relieve pressure on the spinal cord or nerve roots. A spine surgeon may perform the work when decompression requires more than the initial vertebral segment, such as when treating a lesion or structural problem spanning multiple levels. The code is for the additional segment, not the first segment treated.
Report 63103 only with the applicable primary vertebral body removal procedure, such as 63101 or 63102, and document the vertebral levels treated and the additional removal performed. The record should make clear that the work extends beyond the primary segment. CMS identifies this as an add-on code: it is billed only with a primary procedure and paid within that procedure’s global period.
CMS billing rules for 63103
- Global period
- Add-on code: billed only together with a primary procedure and paid within that procedure's global period.
Where the value comes from
- Work RVU4.70 · 60%
- Practice expense (office) RVU1.58 · 20%
- Malpractice RVU1.59 · 20%
323
Medicare services in 2024 · #3941 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.
63103 compared with similar codes
Office rates for California, from the same CMS release.
No office rate
63102 represents the primary lumbar segment. Use 63103 for additional segment work rather than treating it as the primary procedure.
No office rate
63082 is the additional-segment counterpart for cervical vertebral body removal; 63103 is used for the thoracic or lumbar context.
Compare 63103 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.
29 of 29 payment localities
| Payment locality | Office | Facility |
|---|---|---|
| Bakersfield | Office Unavailable | Facility $250.15 |
| Chico | Office Unavailable | Facility $245.96 |
| El Centro | Office Unavailable | Facility $246.22 |
| Fresno | Office Unavailable | Facility $245.96 |
| Hanford-Corcoran | Office Unavailable | Facility $245.96 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim (Los Angeles/Orange Cnty) | Office Unavailable | Facility $261.11 |
| Madera | Office Unavailable | Facility $245.96 |
| Merced | Office Unavailable | Facility $245.96 |
| Modesto | Office Unavailable | Facility $245.96 |
| Napa | Office Unavailable | Facility $263.41 |
| Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura | Office Unavailable | Facility $256.84 |
| Redding | Office Unavailable | Facility $245.96 |
| Rest Of California | Office Unavailable | Facility $245.96 |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario | Office Unavailable | Facility $262.95 |
| Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom | Office Unavailable | Facility $252.48 |
| Salinas | Office Unavailable | Facility $251.48 |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad | Office Unavailable | Facility $253.59 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley (Marin Cnty) | Office Unavailable | Facility $270.68 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley (San Francisco/San Mateo/Alameda/Contra Costa Cnty) | Office Unavailable | Facility $268.88 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara (San Benito Cnty) | Office Unavailable | Facility $278.82 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara (Santa Clara Cnty) | Office Unavailable | Facility $271.44 |
| San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles | Office Unavailable | Facility $248.23 |
| Santa Cruz-Watsonville | Office Unavailable | Facility $252.87 |
| Santa Maria-Santa Barbara | Office Unavailable | Facility $251.38 |
| Santa Rosa-Petaluma | Office Unavailable | Facility $254.97 |
| Stockton | Office Unavailable | Facility $245.96 |
| Vallejo | Office Unavailable | Facility $260.81 |
| Visalia | Office Unavailable | Facility $245.96 |
| Yuba City | Office Unavailable | Facility $245.96 |
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63103 billing questions
Can 63103 be reported by itself?
No. It is an add-on code and must be billed with a qualifying primary vertebral body removal procedure, such as 63101 or 63102.
When is 63103 appropriate instead of 63101 or 63102?
Use 63101 or 63102 for the primary segment, according to the applicable spinal region. Report 63103 for an additional segment removed during the same operative service.
What documentation supports an additional segment?
Document the vertebral levels involved and the additional vertebral body removal performed for decompression, in addition to the work represented by the primary code.
How does the global period affect payment?
CMS treats 63103 as an add-on paid within the primary procedure’s global period. It must accompany the primary procedure.
How many units should be reported?
Report the additional segment work performed, supported by documentation identifying each treated level. The first segment is represented by the primary procedure.
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.
7,02863091,,Remove vertebral body add-on,A,,2.95,0.93,NA,0.93,,0.85,4.73,4.73,0,ZZZ,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,0,2,2,2,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
7,02963101,,Remove vert body dcmprn thrc,A,,33.25,20.92,NA,20.92,,12.22,66.39,66.39,0,090,0.11,0.76,0.13,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
7,03063102,,Remove vert body dcmprn lmbr,A,,33.25,20.28,NA,20.28,,11.56,65.09,65.09,0,090,0.11,0.76,0.13,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
7,03163103,,Remove vertebral body add-on,A,,4.70,1.58,NA,1.58,,1.59,7.87,7.87,0,ZZZ,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
7,03263170,,Incise spinal cord tract(s),A,,21.65,16.38,NA,16.38,,9.16,47.19,47.19,0,090,0.11,0.76,0.13,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
7,03363172,,Drainage of spinal cyst,A,,19.27,14.48,NA,14.48,,8.13,41.88,41.88,0,090,0.11,0.76,0.13,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
7,03463173,,Drainage of spinal cyst,A,,23.70,17.09,NA,17.09,,10.02,50.81,50.81,0,090,0.11,0.76,0.13,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00