Billing code 64479: Epidural injectionMedicare rate & RVUs in Utah
Reports an image-guided transforaminal epidural injection at one cervical or thoracic level to deliver anesthetic and/or steroid near a spinal nerve root.
Medicare pays $272.32 for 64479 in the office in Utah (Utah). Which amount applies depends on the service address.
Medicare allowed amount for participating (non-QP) physicians, before deductible, coinsurance and claim adjustments. Not a patient’s bill or a hospital charge.
On this page 9 sections
What 64479 covers
This service places anesthetic and/or steroid into the epidural space through a transforaminal approach at one cervical or thoracic spinal level. The clinician guides a needle toward the targeted nerve root using fluoroscopy or CT. Pain medicine physicians, anesthesiologists, physiatrists, and other qualified clinicians commonly perform it for cervical or thoracic radicular symptoms, such as pain associated with nerve-root irritation from foraminal narrowing or a disc problem, in an office or facility setting.
Report 64479 for the first treated level in the cervical or thoracic region; documentation should identify the level and side, clinical indication, approach, imaging guidance, and injected agents. Code 64480 is used for each qualifying additional level. The service has a 0-day global period, so same-day preoperative and postoperative care is included. When multiple procedures occur in one session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and others at 50%. For a bilateral procedure reported with modifier 50, CMS pays at 150%. An assistant at surgery is not paid; co-surgeons and team surgery are not permitted.
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.
64479 in Utah
| Payment locality | Office | Facility |
|---|---|---|
| Utah | $272.32 | $113.76 |
How the 64479 rate is calculated
Each of 64479’s three RVUs is multiplied by a geographic index (GPCI) for the payment locality, added up, and multiplied by the conversion factor. Drag the indexes or enter a ZIP to see what moves the rate.
How the rate is built · 64479
RVUs × geographic indexes × conversion factor
Swap in your local Medicare rate.
Work 2.23Practice expense 6.11Malpractice 0.20
All indexes start at 1.000 (the national rate). Enter a ZIP or drag a slider.
Payment rules and modifiers for 64479
The CMS indicators that decide how 64479 is paid alongside other services.
CMS payment indicators · 64479
Epidural injection
| Rule | CMS value | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Global period | 000 | Same-day global: pre- and post-op care on the day of the procedure is included. |
| Multiple procedures | 2 | Standard reduction: highest-valued procedure at 100%, others at 50%. |
| Bilateral (modifier 50) | 1 | Bilateral with modifier 50 pays 150% of the fee schedule amount. |
| Assistant at surgery (80/81/82/AS) | 1 | Not paid (statutory restriction). |
| Co-surgeons (62) | 0 | Not permitted. |
| Team surgery (66) | 0 | Not permitted. |
| Professional/technical | 0 | Physician service: no professional/technical split. |
What modifiers do to the payment
Modifier 50 · payment effect
With and without the modifier
64479 without 50 · national office
$285.24
Epidural injection
64479-50 · Bilateral: 150%
$427.86
Both sides on one line with modifier 50 are paid at 150% of the fee schedule amount (subject to multiple-procedure rules with other procedures).
64479 compared with similar codes
Compare codes
64479 vs 64480 vs 64483 vs 62321 vs 64490: national Medicare rates
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How to choose
- 64480Epidural injection
- 64479 reports the first cervical or thoracic level. Use 64480 for each qualifying additional level in that region.
- 64483Transforaminal epidural injection
- Both describe first-level transforaminal epidural injection, but 64483 is for the lumbar or sacral region; 64479 is for cervical or thoracic.
- 62321Epidural injection
- This is a cervical or thoracic interlaminar epidural approach. Choose 64479 when the injection is transforaminal and directed toward a nerve root.
- 64490Facet injection
- 64490 targets a cervical or thoracic facet joint. Code 64479 targets the epidural space through a transforaminal route.
64479 billing questions
When should 64479 be chosen instead of 64483?
Use 64479 for a cervical or thoracic transforaminal epidural injection at the first level. Code 64483 describes the corresponding first-level service in the lumbar or sacral region.
How is an additional cervical or thoracic level reported?
Use add-on code 64480 for each qualifying additional level. It is reported with the primary-level service, not by itself.
Is imaging guidance included?
Yes. The service includes fluoroscopic or CT guidance for needle placement; the documentation should support the approach and targeted level.
What documentation supports this code?
Record the clinical indication, cervical or thoracic level, side, transforaminal approach, imaging guidance, and agents injected. The note should make clear whether an additional level was treated.
How does Medicare treat a bilateral service?
CMS identifies this as a bilateral procedure; when reported with modifier 50, it is paid at 150%.
What same-session payment rules apply?
The service has a 0-day global period, so same-day preoperative and postoperative care is included. Under the standard multiple procedure reduction, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and other procedures are paid at 50%.
Where these rates come from
FeeBase calculates base physician payments from CMS work, practice-expense and malpractice RVUs, adjusted by each locality’s geographic indexes and the conversion factor. Services without a published rate are labeled, never given a made-up amount. Amounts are Medicare allowed amounts before claim adjustments: not a patient’s bill or a commercial rate.
CMS RVU26D · effective Oct 1, 2026 through the day before Jan 1, 2027
Show the CMS file lines behind this rate
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