96450 is for CNS-directed delivery, such as intrathecal chemotherapy. 96401 is used for subcutaneous or intramuscular chemotherapy.
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CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
96450 Chemotherapy administration Medicare reimbursement rates in Pennsylvania
Report this service when chemotherapy is delivered into the central nervous system, such as intrathecally, including access by spinal puncture. Compare 96450 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 96450 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
$152.11–$167.13
2 of 2 localities have a supported rate.
Facility setting
$65.33–$68.73
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.
Chemotherapy administration
About 96450: Central nervous system chemotherapy administration
Report this service when chemotherapy is delivered into the central nervous system, such as intrathecally, including access by spinal puncture.
This service covers delivery of chemotherapy into the central nervous system, most commonly by an intrathecal route through a lumbar puncture. It may be performed in an oncology or hematology clinic, hospital outpatient department, or other setting where CNS-directed treatment is administered. Patients may receive it for conditions such as CNS leukemia or leptomeningeal disease. Administration through an intraventricular access device is also a CNS route.
Select this code based on the route of drug delivery, not the drug name or the diagnosis alone. Documentation should identify the medication, CNS route, access method, and completed administration. The spinal puncture used to access the treatment site is included in this service. The chemotherapy drug itself is separate from the administration service when separately reportable. CMS assigns a 0-day global period, so same-day preoperative and postoperative care is included. Modifier 50 is inappropriate. Assistant-at-surgery payment requires medical-necessity documentation; co-surgeons and team surgery are not permitted.
CMS billing rules for 96450
- Global period
- Minor procedure with a 0-day global period: same-day preoperative and postoperative care is included.
- Bilateral procedures
- Bilateral adjustment does not apply; the descriptor or anatomy makes modifier 50 inappropriate.
- Assistant at surgery
- Assistant at surgery is paid only with documentation of medical necessity.
- Co-surgeons
- Co-surgeons not permitted.
- Team surgery
- Team surgery not permitted.
Where the value comes from
- Work RVU1.53 · 32%
- Practice expense (office) RVU3.15 · 65%
- Malpractice RVU0.14 · 3%
8.1K
Medicare services in 2024 · #1587 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.
96450 compared with similar codes
Office rates for Pennsylvania, from the same CMS release.
Choose 96450 for delivery into the central nervous system; 96440 describes chemotherapy delivered into the pleural cavity.
Choose 96450 for CNS delivery; 96446 is for chemotherapy administered into the peritoneal cavity.
Compare 96450 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
$167.13
Facility
$68.73
Rest Of Pennsylvania →
Office / nonfacility
$152.11
Facility
$65.33
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96450 billing questions
When should 96450 be selected instead of another chemotherapy administration code?
Use it when chemotherapy is delivered into the central nervous system, such as intrathecally or through an intraventricular access device. Select other administration codes for different routes, such as subcutaneous, intramuscular, or intravenous delivery.
Is the spinal puncture separately reported with 96450?
The puncture used to gain access for the CNS chemotherapy administration is included in this service.
Does 96450 include the chemotherapy drug?
The code represents the administration service, not the drug product. Report the drug separately when it is separately billable and supported by the claim documentation.
Can modifier 50 be used for bilateral CNS administration?
No. CMS identifies bilateral adjustment as inappropriate for this code.
What documentation supports 96450?
Record the medication, the CNS route, the access method, and that administration was completed. CMS assigns a 0-day global period, so same-day preoperative and postoperative care is included.
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.
