No office rate
Use 22856 when the surgeon implants an artificial cervical disc to preserve motion. Use 22551 when the treated level is fused after anterior discectomy.
On this page
CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
22856 Artificial disc Medicare reimbursement rates in Iowa
Reports anterior cervical disc replacement at one interspace, including removal of the disc, endplate preparation, necessary decompression, and artificial disc placement. Compare 22856 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in Iowa.
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 22856 in Iowa?
Iowa 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
$1331.25
1 of 1 localities have a supported rate.
Payment area: Iowa
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 22856: Single-level cervical artificial disc replacement
Reports anterior cervical disc replacement at one interspace, including removal of the disc, endplate preparation, necessary decompression, and artificial disc placement.
22856 represents anterior cervical disc replacement at one intervertebral level. The surgeon removes the diseased disc, prepares the adjacent endplates, performs necessary decompression, and places an artificial disc while preserving motion rather than fusing the segment. Spine surgeons typically perform this operation in a facility operating room for selected patients with symptomatic cervical disc disease, including radiculopathy or myelopathy.
Report once for the treated cervical interspace. Documentation should identify the anterior approach, level, disc removal and endplate preparation, decompression performed, and prosthesis placement. For another cervical level treated during the same operation, report add-on code 22858. CMS assigns a 90-day global period, including the day-before preoperative visit and related postoperative care through day 90. When other procedures are performed in the same session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and the others are subject to the standard multiple-procedure reduction. Modifier 50 is inappropriate for this single-interspace service. Assistant-at-surgery payment and co-surgeon reporting are permitted; team-surgery billing is not permitted.
CMS billing rules for 22856
- 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 permitted.
- Team surgery
- Team surgery not permitted.
Where the value comes from
- Work RVU23.45 · 51%
- Practice expense (office) RVU14.72 · 32%
- Malpractice RVU7.40 · 16%
2.6K
Medicare services in 2024 · #2265 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.
22856 compared with similar codes
Office rates for Iowa, from the same CMS release.
No office rate
22856 reports the primary cervical interspace; 22858 reports each additional cervical interspace treated in the same arthroplasty session.
No office rate
22857 describes single-level total disc replacement in the lumbar spine. Code 22856 is for the cervical spine.
No office rate
22856 is for primary cervical artificial disc implantation. Code 22861 is for revision or replacement of an existing cervical artificial disc.
Compare 22856 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
Iowa →
Office / nonfacility
Unavailable
Facility
$1331.25
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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 22856 in Iowa.
PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv
2,127
- Code
- 22856
- Physician work
- 23.45
- Practice expense
- 14.72
- Malpractice
- 7.40
GPCI2026.csv
53
- Locality
- Iowa
- Physician work
- 1.000
- Practice expense
- 0.915
- Malpractice
- 0.397
| Component | RVU | Locality factor | Adjusted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Physician work | 23.45 | × 1.000 | 23.4500 |
| Practice expense | 14.72 | × 0.915 | 13.4688 |
| Malpractice | 7.40 | × 0.397 | 2.9378 |
| Total RVUs | 39.8566 | ||
| Conversion factor | × 33.4009 | ||
Facility rate, Iowa$1331.25
Explore RVUs, geographic factors and the full formula
Facility
| Component | RVU | Local GPCI |
|---|---|---|
| Work | 23.45 | 1 |
| Practice expense | 14.72 | 0.915 |
| Malpractice | 7.4 | 0.397 |
(23.45 × 1 + 14.72 × 0.915 + 7.4 × 0.397) × $33.4009 = $1331.25
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.
22856 billing questions
How is 22856 different from cervical fusion code 22551?
22856 reports cervical disc replacement with an artificial disc. Code 22551 is used when the surgeon performs anterior cervical discectomy and fusion instead.
How should a second treated cervical level be reported?
Report 22856 for the first cervical interspace and add-on code 22858 for each additional treated cervical interspace, when supported by the operative report.
Can the disc removal or decompression be billed separately?
The disc removal, endplate preparation, and decompression integral to the arthroplasty are included in 22856. The operative report should describe the work performed as part of the replacement.
Can an assistant or co-surgeon be reported?
CMS permits assistant-at-surgery payment and co-surgeon reporting for 22856. Team-surgery billing is not permitted for this code.
Does modifier 50 apply when both sides of the neck are treated?
Modifier 50 is inappropriate for 22856 because the service is defined by a single cervical interspace, not a paired structure.
What postoperative care is included in the global period?
The 90-day global period includes the day-before preoperative visit and related postoperative care through day 90.
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.
2,12422853,,Insj biomechanical device,A,,4.14,1.38,NA,1.38,,1.33,6.85,6.85,0,ZZZ,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,0,2,2,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,12522854,,Insj biomechanical device,A,,5.36,1.80,NA,1.80,,1.84,9.00,9.00,0,ZZZ,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,0,2,2,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,12622855,,Removal anterior instrmj,A,,15.46,11.10,NA,11.10,,4.90,31.46,31.46,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,12722856,,Tot disc arthrp 1ntrspc crv,A,,23.45,14.72,NA,14.72,,7.40,45.57,45.57,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,0,2,2,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,12822857,,Tot disc arthrp 1ntrspc lmbr,A,,26.45,14.89,NA,14.89,,5.63,46.97,46.97,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,0,2,2,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,12922858,,Tot disc arthrp 2nd lvl crv,A,,8.19,2.72,NA,2.72,,2.54,13.45,13.45,0,ZZZ,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,0,2,2,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,13022859,,Insj biomechanical device,A,,5.36,1.81,NA,1.81,,1.82,8.99,8.99,0,ZZZ,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,0,2,2,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
5006102,IL,15,SUBURBAN CHICAGO,1.007,1.027,1.772
5106102,IL,99,REST OF ILLINOIS,1.000,0.913,1.563
5208102,IN,00,INDIANA,1.000,0.927,0.486
5305102,IA,00,IOWA,1.000,0.915,0.397
5405202,KS,00,KANSAS,1.000,0.904,0.504
5515102,KY,00,KENTUCKY,1.000,0.889,0.915
5607202,LA,01,NEW ORLEANS,1.000,0.941,1.136