No office rate
Use 63045 for the comparable decompression in the cervical region; 63046 is for a thoracic segment.
On this page
CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
63046 Thoracic decompression Medicare reimbursement rates in Colorado
Reports surgical decompression of the spinal cord or nerve roots at one thoracic vertebral segment for stenosis using bone removal and foraminal enlargement. Compare 63046 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 63046 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
No supported rate
Facility setting
$1176.73
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.
Spine surgery
About 63046: Thoracic stenosis decompression, one segment
Reports surgical decompression of the spinal cord or nerve roots at one thoracic vertebral segment for stenosis using bone removal and foraminal enlargement.
A spine surgeon uses this service to relieve thoracic spinal canal, lateral recess, or foraminal narrowing at one vertebral segment. The operation removes portions of the lamina and facet and enlarges the foramen to free the spinal cord or affected nerve roots. It is commonly performed in a hospital operating room for thoracic stenosis causing cord compression or radicular symptoms.
Select the code by the thoracic location and the single vertebral segment treated, not by the number of sides or nerve roots decompressed. The operative report should identify the segment, the stenosis, and the decompression performed. A further treated segment may support the add-on code 63048. CMS includes the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care in the 90-day global period. When multiple procedures are performed in the same session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and other procedures are subject to the standard multiple-procedure reduction. The code is priced as bilateral, so modifier 50 does not increase payment. Assistant-at-surgery and co-surgeon services may be paid; team surgery is not permitted.
CMS billing rules for 63046
- 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
- The code is already priced as bilateral; modifier 50 does not increase payment.
- Assistant at surgery
- Assistant at surgery may be paid.
- Co-surgeons
- Co-surgeons permitted.
- Team surgery
- Team surgery not permitted.
Where the value comes from
- Work RVU16.82 · 47%
- Practice expense (office) RVU12.90 · 36%
- Malpractice RVU5.74 · 16%
6.5K
Medicare services in 2024 · #1706 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.
63046 compared with similar codes
Office rates for Colorado, from the same CMS release.
No office rate
Use 63047 for the comparable decompression in the lumbar region; 63046 is thoracic.
No office rate
63048 is an add-on for an additional treated segment. It is not the primary code for the first segment.
No office rate
63055 describes thoracic decompression through a transpedicular approach. Choose based on the approach and service documented, not just the thoracic location.
Compare 63046 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
Unavailable
Facility
$1176.73
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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 63046 in Colorado.
PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv
7,005
- Code
- 63046
- Physician work
- 16.82
- Practice expense
- 12.90
- Malpractice
- 5.74
GPCI2026.csv
37
- Locality
- Colorado
- Physician work
- 1.012
- Practice expense
- 1.064
- Malpractice
- 0.781
| Component | RVU | Locality factor | Adjusted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Physician work | 16.82 | × 1.012 | 17.0218 |
| Practice expense | 12.90 | × 1.064 | 13.7256 |
| Malpractice | 5.74 | × 0.781 | 4.4829 |
| Total RVUs | 35.2304 | ||
| Conversion factor | × 33.4009 | ||
Facility rate, Colorado$1176.73
Explore RVUs, geographic factors and the full formula
Facility
| Component | RVU | Local GPCI |
|---|---|---|
| Work | 16.82 | 1.012 |
| Practice expense | 12.9 | 1.064 |
| Malpractice | 5.74 | 0.781 |
(16.82 × 1.012 + 12.9 × 1.064 + 5.74 × 0.781) × $33.4009 = $1176.73
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.
63046 billing questions
How is 63046 different from 63045 or 63047?
63046 is for a thoracic segment. Use 63045 for the cervical region and 63047 for the lumbar region when the procedure is otherwise the same.
Can 63046 be reported for more than one thoracic segment?
Report 63046 for the first treated thoracic segment and consider add-on code 63048 for each additional segment supported by the operative report.
Should modifier 50 be added when both sides are decompressed?
CMS prices 63046 as bilateral, so modifier 50 does not increase payment. The code represents the treated segment rather than a separate charge for each side.
What postoperative care is included in the global period?
The 90-day global period includes the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care.
Can an assistant or co-surgeon be paid for this operation?
CMS permits payment for an assistant at surgery and co-surgeons for 63046. Team surgery is not permitted.
How does CMS handle 63046 when another procedure is performed in the same session?
Under the standard multiple-procedure reduction, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and other procedures are subject to a 50% reduction.
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.
7,00263043,,Laminotomy addl cervical,C,,0.00,0.00,,0.00,,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,ZZZ,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,1,2,2,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
7,00363044,,Laminotomy addl lumbar,C,,0.00,0.00,,0.00,,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,ZZZ,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,1,2,2,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
7,00463045,,Lam facetec & foramot crv,A,,17.50,13.58,NA,13.58,,6.33,37.41,37.41,0,090,0.11,0.76,0.13,2,2,2,2,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
7,00563046,,Lam facetec & foramot thrc,A,,16.82,12.90,NA,12.90,,5.74,35.46,35.46,0,090,0.11,0.76,0.13,2,2,2,2,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
7,00663047,,Lam facetec & foramot lumbar,A,,14.99,12.03,NA,12.03,,4.88,31.90,31.90,0,090,0.11,0.76,0.13,2,2,2,2,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
7,00763048,,Lam facetec &foramot ea addl,A,,3.38,1.13,NA,1.13,,1.10,5.61,5.61,0,ZZZ,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,0,2,2,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
7,00863050,,Cervical laminoplsty 2/> seg,A,,21.46,13.64,NA,13.64,,6.85,41.95,41.95,0,090,0.11,0.76,0.13,2,0,2,2,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
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