$25.67
Both describe dry needling without injection. Use 20560 for one or two muscles and 20561 for three or more.
On this page
CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
20561 Dry needling Medicare reimbursement rates in Colorado
Report this service for needle insertion without medication into three or more muscles during dry needling for musculoskeletal pain or dysfunction. Compare 20561 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in Colorado.
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 20561 in Colorado?
Colorado 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
$39.41
1 of 1 localities have a supported rate.
Payment area: Colorado
One mapped payment locality.
Facility setting
$19.87
1 of 1 localities have a supported rate.
Payment area: Colorado
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.
Musculoskeletal procedure
About 20561: Dry needling of three or more muscles
Report this service for needle insertion without medication into three or more muscles during dry needling for musculoskeletal pain or dysfunction.
Dry needling uses a solid needle inserted into muscle tissue without injecting medication, often to address myofascial pain, muscle sensitivity, or movement restrictions. Physical therapists commonly perform it in outpatient rehabilitation; other clinicians may perform it in musculoskeletal or pain-care settings when authorized and trained to do so. The service may target muscles with palpable taut bands or trigger points, but the code’s threshold is the number of muscles treated, not the number of trigger points or needle passes.
Choose 20561 when the session involves three or more distinct muscles; use the lower-level sibling when only one or two muscles are treated. Document the muscles treated and the dry-needling service, including that no substance was injected. Under the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule, the code has work, practice-expense, and malpractice values; practice expense is represented separately for office and facility settings.
Where the value comes from
- Work RVU0.47 · 41%
- Practice expense (office) RVU0.64 · 56%
- Malpractice RVU0.03 · 3%
1.6K
Medicare services in 2024 · #2643 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.
20561 compared with similar codes
Office rates for Colorado, from the same CMS release.
$61.59
20553 is for injection of three or more trigger points; 20561 is for dry needling of three or more muscles without injection.
$49.74
97810 describes acupuncture, not the dry-needling service represented by 20561. The treatment method determines which code fits.
Compare 20561 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
Colorado →
Office / nonfacility
$39.41
Facility
$19.87
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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 20561 in Colorado.
PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv
1,765
- Code
- 20561
- Physician work
- 0.47
- Practice expense
- 0.64
- Malpractice
- 0.03
GPCI2026.csv
37
- Locality
- Colorado
- Physician work
- 1.012
- Practice expense
- 1.064
- Malpractice
- 0.781
| Component | RVU | Locality factor | Adjusted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Physician work | 0.47 | × 1.012 | 0.4756 |
| Practice expense | 0.64 | × 1.064 | 0.6810 |
| Malpractice | 0.03 | × 0.781 | 0.0234 |
| Total RVUs | 1.1800 | ||
| Conversion factor | × 33.4009 | ||
Office / nonfacility rate, Colorado$39.41
Explore RVUs, geographic factors and the full formula
Office / nonfacility
| Component | RVU | Local GPCI |
|---|---|---|
| Work | 0.47 | 1.012 |
| Practice expense | 0.64 | 1.064 |
| Malpractice | 0.03 | 0.781 |
(0.47 × 1.012 + 0.64 × 1.064 + 0.03 × 0.781) × $33.4009 = $39.41
Facility
| Component | RVU | Local GPCI |
|---|---|---|
| Work | 0.47 | 1.012 |
| Practice expense | 0.09 | 1.064 |
| Malpractice | 0.03 | 0.781 |
(0.47 × 1.012 + 0.09 × 1.064 + 0.03 × 0.781) × $33.4009 = $19.87
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.
20561 billing questions
How is 20561 distinguished from 20560?
Select by the number of distinct muscles treated: 20561 is for three or more, while 20560 is for one or two. Needle passes or trigger points do not determine the level.
Does this code include an injection?
No medication or other substance is injected for the dry-needling service. When a substance is injected into trigger points, consider the trigger-point injection code that matches the number of points treated instead.
Is the code based on the number of needles inserted?
No. The distinction between 20560 and 20561 is the number of muscles treated, not the number of needles, insertions, or passes.
What should the note identify?
Document that dry needling was performed without injection and identify the muscles treated. The record should support treatment of at least three distinct muscles for 20561.
How does 20561 differ from trigger-point injection code 20553?
20561 describes dry needling without injection and is selected by muscles treated. 20553 describes injection treatment of three or more trigger points.
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.
1,76220553,,Njx 1/mlt trigger points 3/>,A,,0.73,0.98,,0.41,,0.08,1.79,1.22,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
1,76320555,,Place ndl musc/tis for rt,A,,5.85,2.06,NA,2.06,,0.46,8.37,8.37,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,0,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
1,76420560,,Ndl insj w/o njx 1 or 2 musc,A,,0.31,0.42,,0.05,,0.01,0.74,0.37,0,XXX,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
1,76520561,,Ndl insj w/o njx 3+ musc,A,,0.47,0.64,,0.09,,0.03,1.14,0.59,0,XXX,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
1,76620600,,Drain/inj joint/bursa w/o us,A,,0.64,0.96,,0.22,,0.08,1.68,0.94,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,1,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
1,76720604,,Drain/inj joint/bursa w/us,A,,0.87,1.63,,0.21,,0.11,2.61,1.19,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,1,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
1,76820605,,Drain/inj joint/bursa w/o us,A,,0.66,0.97,,0.22,,0.08,1.71,0.96,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,1,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3401112,CA,69,VISALIA,1.017,1.096,0.536
3501112,CA,70,YUBA CITY,1.017,1.096,0.536
3601112,CA,75,REST OF CALIFORNIA,1.017,1.096,0.536
3704112,CO,01,COLORADO,1.012,1.064,0.781
3813102,CT,00,CONNECTICUT,1.020,1.077,1.210
3912202,DC,01,DC + MD/VA SUBURBS,1.054,1.178,1.113
4012102,DE,01,DELAWARE,1.005,0.988,0.899