No office rate
Both describe lumbar decompression without facetectomy or foraminotomy, but 63005 applies to one or two vertebral segments; 63017 applies to more than two.
On this page
CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
63017 Lumbar laminectomy Medicare reimbursement rates in Tennessee
Reports lumbar laminectomy to decompress the spinal cord or cauda equina across more than two vertebral segments, without facetectomy, foraminotomy, or discectomy. Compare 63017 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in Tennessee.
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 63017 in Tennessee?
Tennessee 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
$1102.60
1 of 1 localities have a supported rate.
Payment area: Tennessee
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 63017: Multilevel lumbar laminectomy for decompression
Reports lumbar laminectomy to decompress the spinal cord or cauda equina across more than two vertebral segments, without facetectomy, foraminotomy, or discectomy.
This service covers removal of lumbar lamina across more than two vertebral segments to relieve compression of the spinal cord or cauda equina, commonly in patients with multilevel spinal stenosis. A spine surgeon typically performs the operation in a hospital or other surgical facility. The operative work is a broader decompression than a limited laminotomy, but this code describes decompression without facetectomy, foraminotomy, or discectomy.
Select the code based on the lumbar region, the number of vertebral segments treated, and the documented surgical work. The operative report should identify the levels decompressed, the indication, and the extent of bone removal. CMS assigns a 90-day global period, including the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care. When multiple procedures are performed in the same 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 payment and co-surgeons are permitted; team surgery is not permitted.
CMS billing rules for 63017
- 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 RVU16.90 · 45%
- Practice expense (office) RVU13.89 · 37%
- Malpractice RVU6.49 · 17%
1K
Medicare services in 2024 · #2931 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.
63017 compared with similar codes
Office rates for Tennessee, from the same CMS release.
No office rate
Choose 63047 when the lumbar decompression includes facetectomy and foraminotomy. 63017 describes multilevel lumbar decompression without those procedures.
No office rate
63016 describes the corresponding multilevel laminectomy service in the thoracic region; 63017 is for the lumbar region.
No office rate
63030 is a limited lumbar nerve-root decompression at one interspace. 63017 describes decompression across more than two lumbar vertebral segments.
Compare 63017 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
Tennessee →
Office / nonfacility
Unavailable
Facility
$1102.60
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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 63017 in Tennessee.
PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv
6,995
- Code
- 63017
- Physician work
- 16.90
- Practice expense
- 13.89
- Malpractice
- 6.49
GPCI2026.csv
95
- Locality
- Tennessee
- Physician work
- 1.000
- Practice expense
- 0.909
- Malpractice
- 0.537
| Component | RVU | Locality factor | Adjusted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Physician work | 16.90 | × 1.000 | 16.9000 |
| Practice expense | 13.89 | × 0.909 | 12.6260 |
| Malpractice | 6.49 | × 0.537 | 3.4851 |
| Total RVUs | 33.0111 | ||
| Conversion factor | × 33.4009 | ||
Facility rate, Tennessee$1102.60
Explore RVUs, geographic factors and the full formula
Facility
| Component | RVU | Local GPCI |
|---|---|---|
| Work | 16.9 | 1 |
| Practice expense | 13.89 | 0.909 |
| Malpractice | 6.49 | 0.537 |
(16.9 × 1 + 13.89 × 0.909 + 6.49 × 0.537) × $33.4009 = $1102.60
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.
63017 billing questions
When is 63017 appropriate instead of 63005?
Use 63017 for lumbar decompression across more than two vertebral segments. Code 63005 is the related lumbar code for one or two segments.
How does 63017 differ from 63047?
63017 describes lumbar decompression without facetectomy or foraminotomy. Consider 63047 when the documented lumbar decompression includes facetectomy and foraminotomy.
Should modifier 50 be reported for bilateral decompression?
No. CMS identifies the bilateral adjustment as inapplicable for this code and modifier 50 as inappropriate.
What operative documentation supports 63017?
Document the lumbar levels treated, the indication for decompression, and the extent of the laminectomy. The record should support treatment of more than two vertebral segments and the work described by this code.
How does the multiple-procedure reduction affect this code?
For procedures performed in the same session, CMS pays the highest-valued procedure in full and applies the standard 50% reduction to the others.
What services are included in the global period?
The 90-day global includes the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care.
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.
6,99263012,,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
6,99763030,,Lamot dcmprn nrv rt 1 lmbr,A,,11.70,11.35,NA,11.35,,3.84,26.89,26.89,0,090,0.11,0.76,0.13,2,1,2,2,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
6,99863032,,Lamot rpr anulr dfct 1 lmbr,A,,2.50,0.79,NA,0.79,,0.79,4.08,4.08,0,ZZZ,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,0,2,2,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
9214412,RI,01,RHODE ISLAND,1.019,1.033,0.892
9311202,SC,01,SOUTH CAROLINA,1.000,0.924,0.850
9403402,SD,02,SOUTH DAKOTA**,1.000,1.000,0.336
9510312,TN,35,TENNESSEE,1.000,0.909,0.537
9604412,TX,31,AUSTIN,1.002,1.058,0.886
9704412,TX,20,BEAUMONT,1.000,0.910,0.929
9804412,TX,09,BRAZORIA,1.008,0.991,0.780