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CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01

64738 Nerve neurectomy Medicare reimbursement rates in Colorado

Reports operative interruption or removal of a nerve serving the jaw, selected when the surgeon treats that specific nerve rather than another facial nerve. Compare 64738 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 64738 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

$423.53

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.

Find 64738 in your payment locality →

Peripheral nerve surgery

About 64738: Jaw nerve neurectomy

Reports operative interruption or removal of a nerve serving the jaw, selected when the surgeon treats that specific nerve rather than another facial nerve.

This operation surgically interrupts or removes a nerve serving the jaw, rather than simply releasing pressure around it. It may be performed for selected cases of severe neuralgic pain involving the jaw when the surgeon’s plan is to treat the identified nerve. Oral and maxillofacial surgeons, neurosurgeons, or other surgeons experienced with nerve procedures may perform it in an operating room.

Select the code based on the nerve treated, not just the location where the patient feels pain. The operative report should identify the jaw nerve and describe the surgical work, indication, and laterality. The 90-day global includes the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care. When multiple procedures occur in the same session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and the others at 50%. Bilateral reporting with modifier 50 is paid at 150%. An assistant at surgery may be paid; co-surgeons and team surgery are not permitted.

CMS billing rules for 64738

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 procedure with modifier 50 is paid at 150%.
Assistant at surgery
Assistant at surgery may be paid.
Co-surgeons
Co-surgeons not permitted.
Team surgery
Team surgery not permitted.

Where the value comes from

  • Work RVU6.20 · 50%
  • Practice expense (office) RVU5.36 · 43%
  • Malpractice RVU0.90 · 7%

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.

64738 compared with similar codes

Office rates for Colorado, from the same CMS release.

64736

Mental nerve surgery

Chin sensory nerve

No office rate

Use 64736 when the operative target is the chin nerve; use 64738 when the surgeon identifies the jaw nerve as the nerve treated.

64740

Nerve neurotomy

Tongue nerve

No office rate

Use 64740 for surgery on the tongue nerve. A jaw-pain presentation alone does not make that code appropriate.

64734

Nerve transection

Infraorbital nerve

No office rate

Use 64734 when the cheek nerve is treated; this code is for the jaw nerve.

Compare 64738 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

Office and facility base rates · shared scale starting at $0

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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 64738 in Colorado.

PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv

7,218

Code
64738
Physician work
6.20
Practice expense
5.36
Malpractice
0.90

GPCI2026.csv

37

Locality
Colorado
Physician work
1.012
Practice expense
1.064
Malpractice
0.781
Facility calculation for 64738 in Colorado
ComponentRVULocality factorAdjusted
Physician work6.20× 1.0126.2744
Practice expense5.36× 1.0645.7030
Malpractice0.90× 0.7810.7029
Total RVUs12.6803
Conversion factor× 33.4009

Facility rate, Colorado$423.53

Values as parsed from CMS release RVU26D, effective 2026-10-01. The amount is rounded to the nearest cent only at the end.
Explore RVUs, geographic factors and the full formula

Facility

Facility calculation inputs
ComponentRVULocal GPCI
Work6.21.012
Practice expense5.361.064
Malpractice0.90.781

(6.2 × 1.012 + 5.36 × 1.064 + 0.9 × 0.781) × $33.4009 = $423.53

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.

64738 billing questions

How is this code distinguished from the chin or tongue nerve codes?

Choose this code when the operative report identifies the jaw nerve as the nerve treated. The chin and tongue nerve codes apply when the surgeon treats those specifically identified nerves.

What documentation supports reporting this code?

The operative report should name the jaw nerve, describe its surgical interruption or removal, and state the indication and laterality. A symptom description alone does not establish which nerve was treated.

How is bilateral surgery reported?

For a bilateral procedure, report modifier 50; CMS pays it at 150% under the supplied fee schedule rule.

What happens when another procedure is performed in the same session?

The highest-valued procedure is paid in full and other procedures are paid at 50%. The 90-day global also includes the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care.

Can an assistant participate in this surgery?

CMS permits payment for an assistant at surgery. Co-surgeons and team surgery are not permitted for this code.

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.

RVUs for 64738PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv, line 7,218 (RVU26D)
Geographic factors for ColoradoGPCI2026.csv, line 37 (RVU26D)