No office rate
63001 describes cervical decompression without facetectomy or foraminotomy and is for one or two vertebral segments. Use 63015 when the described facet and foraminal work is performed across more than two segments.
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CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
63015 Cervical decompression Medicare reimbursement rates in Pennsylvania
Posterior cervical decompression involving laminectomy, facetectomy, and foraminotomy across more than two vertebral segments for spinal cord or nerve root compression. Compare 63015 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in Pennsylvania.
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 63015 in Pennsylvania?
Pennsylvania has 2 payment localities in this comparison. Use the service location to choose the applicable amount. These are the supported base rates for the 2 payment areas shown below, using the same CMS release.
Office / nonfacility
No supported rate
Facility setting
$1388.88–$1528.00
2 of 2 localities have a supported rate.
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 63015: Multilevel cervical laminectomy decompression
Posterior cervical decompression involving laminectomy, facetectomy, and foraminotomy across more than two vertebral segments for spinal cord or nerve root compression.
A spine surgeon performs a posterior cervical decompression by removing lamina and, as needed for the decompression, portions of facets and bone around the neural openings. The operation addresses compression of the cervical spinal cord or nerve roots, such as multilevel cervical spinal stenosis. It is performed in an operating room, generally in a hospital or other surgical facility, rather than as an office service.
Report 63015 when the documented cervical decompression spans more than two vertebral segments and includes the described operative work; the operative report should identify the levels treated and the decompression performed. The lamina, facet, and foramen work is part of this service, not a separate report of the same operative work. Medicare applies a 90-day global period, including the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care. For multiple procedures in the same session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and others at 50%. Modifier 50 is inappropriate. Assistant-at-surgery payment and co-surgeons are permitted; team surgery is not.
CMS billing rules for 63015
- 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 RVU20.33 · 47%
- Practice expense (office) RVU15.08 · 35%
- Malpractice RVU7.84 · 18%
4.8K
Medicare services in 2024 · #1891 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.
63015 compared with similar codes
Office rates for Pennsylvania, from the same CMS release.
No office rate
63045 is the cervical laminectomy, facetectomy, and foraminotomy service for a single vertebral segment. 63015 is selected when the decompression spans more than two segments.
No office rate
63020 describes a laminotomy-based cervical nerve root decompression at one interspace. 63015 describes a broader multilevel cervical decompression for more than two vertebral segments.
Compare 63015 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.
2 of 2 payment localities
Metropolitan Philadelphia →
Office / nonfacility
Unavailable
Facility
$1528.00
Rest Of Pennsylvania →
Office / nonfacility
Unavailable
Facility
$1388.88
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63015 billing questions
When is 63015 selected instead of 63045?
63015 is for cervical decompression spanning more than two vertebral segments. 63045 describes the corresponding decompression at a single vertebral segment.
Can the laminectomy, facetectomy, and foraminotomy be reported separately?
Those elements comprise the decompression represented by 63015. Do not separately report the same operative work as though it were an independent service.
Should modifier 50 be appended for bilateral decompression?
No. CMS identifies bilateral adjustment as inappropriate for this code, even when the operative work is bilateral.
How many units should be reported for several cervical levels?
Select 63015 when more than two vertebral segments are treated; do not use units to count each treated segment. The operative report should establish the levels and extent of decompression.
How does Medicare handle other procedures performed in the same session?
Under the standard multiple procedure reduction, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and other procedures are paid at 50%.
Can an assistant or another surgeon be reported?
Assistant-at-surgery payment and co-surgeons are permitted for 63015. 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.
6,99063005,,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
6,99363015,,Remove spine lamina >2 crvcl,A,,20.33,15.08,NA,15.08,,7.84,43.25,43.25,0,090,0.11,0.76,0.13,2,0,2,2,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
6,99463016,,Remove spine lamina >2 thrc,A,,21.48,14.39,NA,14.39,,7.94,43.81,43.81,0,090,0.11,0.76,0.13,2,0,2,2,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
6,99563017,,Remove spine lamina >2 lmbr,A,,16.90,13.89,NA,13.89,,6.49,37.28,37.28,0,090,0.11,0.76,0.13,2,0,2,2,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
6,99663020,,Lamot dcmprn nrv rt 1 cerv,A,,14.54,12.56,NA,12.56,,4.76,31.86,31.86,0,090,0.11,0.76,0.13,2,1,2,2,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00