No office rate
63170 targets tracts within the spinal cord; 63185 describes incision directed at a spinal nerve.
On this page
CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
63170 Spinal cord surgery Medicare reimbursement rates in Colorado
Neurosurgical myelotomy interrupts spinal cord pain pathways when selected tract sectioning is performed to treat otherwise intractable pain. Compare 63170 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 63170 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
$1552.88
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.
Neurosurgery
About 63170: Spinal cord pain tract section
Neurosurgical myelotomy interrupts spinal cord pain pathways when selected tract sectioning is performed to treat otherwise intractable pain.
A neurosurgeon opens the spinal cord and interrupts selected pain-conduction tract or tracts, generally to palliate otherwise intractable pain. This is an intramedullary procedure, not a spinal nerve-root operation or vertebral decompression. It is performed in the operating room, typically in a facility setting, and requires documentation of the pain indication and the cord tracts and levels treated.
Report the service when the operative record supports sectioning of spinal cord tract or tracts, rather than drainage of a cyst or a procedure directed at spinal nerves. The code has a major-surgery 90-day global period, including the day-before preoperative visit and related postoperative care during that 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 50% reduction. An assistant at surgery may be paid; co-surgeons require supporting documentation, and team surgery is not permitted.
CMS billing rules for 63170
- 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 not permitted.
Where the value comes from
- Work RVU21.65 · 46%
- Practice expense (office) RVU16.38 · 35%
- Malpractice RVU9.16 · 19%
17
Medicare services in 2024 · #6020 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.
63170 compared with similar codes
Office rates for Colorado, from the same CMS release.
No office rate
Choose 63170 for spinal cord tract sectioning. 63190 describes spinal nerve incision, with the code distinction tied to the nerve procedure's extent.
No office rate
63172 describes drainage of a spinal cyst, not sectioning of spinal cord pain pathways.
No office rate
63197 describes a thoracic laminectomy with cordotomy. Use 63170 when the documented procedure is spinal cord tract sectioning rather than that laminectomy approach.
Compare 63170 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
$1552.88
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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 63170 in Colorado.
PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv
7,032
- Code
- 63170
- Physician work
- 21.65
- Practice expense
- 16.38
- Malpractice
- 9.16
GPCI2026.csv
37
- Locality
- Colorado
- Physician work
- 1.012
- Practice expense
- 1.064
- Malpractice
- 0.781
| Component | RVU | Locality factor | Adjusted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Physician work | 21.65 | × 1.012 | 21.9098 |
| Practice expense | 16.38 | × 1.064 | 17.4283 |
| Malpractice | 9.16 | × 0.781 | 7.1540 |
| Total RVUs | 46.4921 | ||
| Conversion factor | × 33.4009 | ||
Facility rate, Colorado$1552.88
Explore RVUs, geographic factors and the full formula
Facility
| Component | RVU | Local GPCI |
|---|---|---|
| Work | 21.65 | 1.012 |
| Practice expense | 16.38 | 1.064 |
| Malpractice | 9.16 | 0.781 |
(21.65 × 1.012 + 16.38 × 1.064 + 9.16 × 0.781) × $33.4009 = $1552.88
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.
63170 billing questions
How is this different from spinal nerve sectioning?
This procedure interrupts tracts within the spinal cord. Codes for spinal nerve incision describe treatment directed at spinal nerves rather than cord tracts.
What documentation supports reporting this code?
Document the pain indication, the spinal cord tracts and levels treated, and the operative technique showing that cord tract sectioning was performed.
Is drainage of a spinal cyst reported with this code?
No. A procedure directed at draining a spinal cyst is distinct; select the code that matches the operation actually performed.
How does the 90-day global period affect postoperative care?
The day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care are included in this major-surgery global period.
Can an assistant or co-surgeon be reported?
Assistant-at-surgery services may be paid. Co-surgeons are paid only when supporting documentation is provided.
What happens when another procedure is performed in the same session?
The highest-valued procedure is paid in full, and other procedures are subject to the standard multiple-procedure 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.
7,02963101,,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
7,03563185,,Incise spine nrv half segmnt,A,,16.08,14.17,NA,14.17,,6.77,37.02,37.02,0,090,0.11,0.76,0.13,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
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