This code is for the shorter head or neck graft-length category; 64886 is the neighboring code for the longer category.
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CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
64885 Nerve graft Medicare reimbursement rates in Texas
Reports graft reconstruction of a nerve in the head or neck when the graft length falls in the under-4-cm category. Compare 64885 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in Texas.
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 64885 in Texas?
Texas has 8 payment localities in this comparison. Use the service location to choose the applicable amount. These are the supported base rates for the 8 payment areas shown below, using the same CMS release.
Office / nonfacility
No 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.
Where 64885 pays more and less in Texas
Peripheral nerve surgery
About 64885: Short head or neck nerve graft
Reports graft reconstruction of a nerve in the head or neck when the graft length falls in the under-4-cm category.
This code represents microsurgical placement of a nerve graft to bridge a gap in a head or neck nerve when the nerve ends cannot be joined directly without tension. It may be used in reconstruction after nerve injury, trauma, or removal of a head or neck tumor; facial nerve reconstruction is one familiar clinical setting. Neurosurgeons, otolaryngologists, and plastic or reconstructive surgeons may perform the procedure, commonly in a hospital operating room. The relevant distinction is the graft’s length category and the head or neck location.
The operative report should identify the nerve and site, explain the need for graft reconstruction, and document graft length and the work performed. 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 multiple procedure reduction. Modifier 50 is inappropriate. An assistant at surgery may be paid; co-surgeons require supporting documentation, and team surgery is not permitted.
CMS billing rules for 64885
- 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 paid only with supporting documentation.
- Team surgery
- Team surgery not permitted.
Where the value comes from
- Work RVU17.16 · 62%
- Practice expense (office) RVU8.15 · 29%
- Malpractice RVU2.50 · 9%
74
Medicare services in 2024 · #5113 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.
64885 compared with similar codes
Office rates for Texas, from the same CMS release.
Both involve nerve grafting in a short-length category, but 64890 is for a single-strand graft in the hand or foot rather than the head or neck.
64864 describes facial nerve repair, while 64885 is selected for graft reconstruction in the head or neck when the documented graft length fits its category.
Compare 64885 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.
8 of 8 payment localities
| Payment locality | Office | Facility |
|---|---|---|
| Austin | Office Unavailable | Facility $936.29 |
| Beaumont | Office Unavailable | Facility $898.45 |
| Brazoria | Office Unavailable | Facility $912.64 |
| Dallas | Office Unavailable | Facility $921.09 |
| Fort Worth | Office Unavailable | Facility $919.45 |
| Galveston | Office Unavailable | Facility $917.20 |
| Houston | Office Unavailable | Facility $962.96 |
| Rest Of Texas | Office Unavailable | Facility $906.90 |
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64885 billing questions
How is this code distinguished from 64886?
Both describe nerve grafting in the head or neck. Choose between them using the documented graft-length category; 64886 is the longer-graft neighbor.
Can modifier 50 be used for bilateral grafting?
No. CMS identifies bilateral adjustment as inappropriate for this code. Report the service based on the documented procedure and applicable coding instructions.
What documentation supports the graft-length category?
The operative report should identify the nerve and head or neck site, describe why a graft was needed, and record the graft length.
How does the 90-day global period affect postoperative visits?
The day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care are included in the global period.
How are other procedures in the same session paid?
Under CMS’s standard multiple procedure reduction, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and other procedures are paid at 50%.
May an assistant or co-surgeon be reported?
Assistant-at-surgery payment may be made. Co-surgeons are paid only with supporting documentation; 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.
