No office rate
Both describe thoracic canal decompression; choose 63003 for one or two segments and 63016 when more than two segments are treated.
On this page
CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
63003 Thoracic decompression Medicare reimbursement rates in Minnesota
Reports posterior thoracic canal decompression across one or two vertebral segments, such as for stenosis compressing the spinal cord. Compare 63003 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in Minnesota.
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 63003 in Minnesota?
Minnesota 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
$1057.92
1 of 1 localities have a supported rate.
Payment area: Minnesota
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 63003: Thoracic spinal canal decompression, one or two segments
Reports posterior thoracic canal decompression across one or two vertebral segments, such as for stenosis compressing the spinal cord.
A spine surgeon removes part of the posterior vertebral arch to enlarge the thoracic spinal canal and decompress the spinal cord across one or two vertebral segments. A typical clinical situation is thoracic spinal stenosis with cord compression or myelopathy. This code describes decompression without the additional work of facetectomy, foraminotomy, or discectomy. The service is generally performed in an operating room, commonly in a hospital facility, by an orthopedic spine surgeon or neurosurgeon.
Select the code based on the thoracic region, the number of segments treated, and the work documented in the operative report. The report should identify the treated segments and describe the decompression performed. Medicare assigns a 90-day global period, including the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care. For multiple procedures in one session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and other procedures are subject to the standard 50% reduction. Modifier 50 is inappropriate. Assistant-at-surgery and co-surgeon services may be paid; team surgery is not permitted.
CMS billing rules for 63003
- 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 RVU17.30 · 48%
- Practice expense (office) RVU12.11 · 34%
- Malpractice RVU6.46 · 18%
991
Medicare services in 2024 · #2978 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.
63003 compared with similar codes
Office rates for Minnesota, from the same CMS release.
No office rate
63003 is for decompression without facetectomy or foraminotomy. Choose 63046 when the thoracic decompression includes those procedures.
No office rate
The segment range is similar, but 63005 applies to the lumbar region; 63003 applies to the thoracic region.
No office rate
63055 describes thoracic cord decompression through a transpedicular approach; 63003 describes posterior canal decompression without that approach.
Compare 63003 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
Minnesota →
Office / nonfacility
Unavailable
Facility
$1057.92
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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 63003 in Minnesota.
PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv
6,989
- Code
- 63003
- Physician work
- 17.30
- Practice expense
- 12.11
- Malpractice
- 6.46
GPCI2026.csv
66
- Locality
- Minnesota
- Physician work
- 1.000
- Practice expense
- 1.029
- Malpractice
- 0.296
| Component | RVU | Locality factor | Adjusted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Physician work | 17.30 | × 1.000 | 17.3000 |
| Practice expense | 12.11 | × 1.029 | 12.4612 |
| Malpractice | 6.46 | × 0.296 | 1.9122 |
| Total RVUs | 31.6733 | ||
| Conversion factor | × 33.4009 | ||
Facility rate, Minnesota$1057.92
Explore RVUs, geographic factors and the full formula
Facility
| Component | RVU | Local GPCI |
|---|---|---|
| Work | 17.3 | 1 |
| Practice expense | 12.11 | 1.029 |
| Malpractice | 6.46 | 0.296 |
(17.3 × 1 + 12.11 × 1.029 + 6.46 × 0.296) × $33.4009 = $1057.92
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.
63003 billing questions
How does this differ from 63046?
63003 describes thoracic canal decompression without facetectomy or foraminotomy. 63046 is for thoracic decompression that includes facetectomy and foraminotomy.
What should the operative report document?
Document the thoracic vertebral segments treated and the decompression performed. The record should support that the service involved one or two segments and did not include the additional facetectomy, foraminotomy, or discectomy work described by other procedures.
Is modifier 50 appropriate for bilateral work?
No. CMS identifies bilateral adjustment as inappropriate for this code; modifier 50 should not be used.
How does the global period affect postoperative billing?
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 reported?
CMS allows payment for an assistant at surgery and permits co-surgeons. Team surgery is not permitted.
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.
6,98662370,,Anl sp inf pmp w/mdreprg&fil,A,,0.88,1.95,,0.22,,0.08,2.91,1.18,0,XXX,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
6,98762380,,Ndsc dcmprn 1 ntrspc lumbar,C,,0.00,0.00,,0.00,,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,090,0.11,0.76,0.13,2,1,2,2,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
6,98863001,,Remove spine lamina 1/2 crvl,A,,17.17,12.12,NA,12.12,,6.45,35.74,35.74,0,090,0.11,0.76,0.13,2,0,2,2,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
6,98963003,,Remove spine lamina 1/2 thrc,A,,17.30,12.11,NA,12.11,,6.46,35.87,35.87,0,090,0.11,0.76,0.13,2,0,2,2,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
6,99063005,,Remove spine lamina 1/2 lmbr,A,,16.02,13.56,NA,13.56,,6.12,35.70,35.70,0,090,0.11,0.76,0.13,2,0,2,2,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
6,99163011,,Remove spine lamina 1/2 scrl,A,,15.51,10.72,NA,10.72,,4.03,30.26,30.26,0,090,0.11,0.76,0.13,2,0,2,2,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
6,99263012,,Remove lamina/facets lumbar,A,,16.43,12.37,NA,12.37,,5.62,34.42,34.42,0,090,0.11,0.76,0.13,2,0,2,2,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
6314212,MA,99,REST OF MASSACHUSETTS,1.016,1.053,0.797
6408202,MI,01,DETROIT,1.000,0.965,1.686
6508202,MI,99,REST OF MICHIGAN,1.000,0.913,1.129
6606202,MN,00,MINNESOTA,1.000,1.029,0.296
6707302,MS,00,MISSISSIPPI,1.000,0.861,0.739
6805302,MO,02,METROPOLITAN KANSAS CITY,1.000,0.939,0.977
6905302,MO,01,METROPOLITAN ST. LOUIS,1.000,0.952,1.002