No office rate
Both describe posterior or posterolateral fusion at one interspace; 22610 is for the thoracic region, while 22600 is for cervical levels below C2.
On this page
CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
22600 Cervical fusion Medicare reimbursement rates in Washington
Reports posterior or posterolateral fusion across one cervical interspace below C2, typically performed by a spine surgeon for a condition requiring cervical stabilization. Compare 22600 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in Washington.
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 22600 in Washington?
Washington 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
$1269.05–$1390.70
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.
Spinal surgery
About 22600: Posterior cervical fusion, single interspace
Reports posterior or posterolateral fusion across one cervical interspace below C2, typically performed by a spine surgeon for a condition requiring cervical stabilization.
An orthopedic spine surgeon or neurosurgeon uses a posterior approach to prepare and fuse one cervical interspace below C2, joining the adjacent vertebrae with bone graft. The procedure is performed in an operating room, commonly for cervical instability or degenerative disease requiring fusion. Instrumentation or graft services may be separately reportable when performed and supported by the operative record.
Report 22600 for the first interspace treated with this technique; document the fused level and posterior approach. When additional eligible vertebral segments are fused, report add-on code 22614 for each additional segment. The 90-day global period includes the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care. In a session with multiple procedures, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and other procedures are subject to the standard 50% reduction. Assistant-at-surgery payment may be available, and co-surgeons are permitted; team-surgery payment is not permitted for this code.
CMS billing rules for 22600
- 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 RVU16.97 · 44%
- Practice expense (office) RVU15.37 · 40%
- Malpractice RVU6.07 · 16%
23K
Medicare services in 2024 · #1089 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.
22600 compared with similar codes
Office rates for Washington, from the same CMS release.
No office rate
22612 describes posterior or posterolateral fusion at a lumbar interspace. Use 22600 when the fused interspace is cervical and below C2.
No office rate
22630 describes lumbar posterior interbody fusion. It differs from 22600 in both spinal region and fusion approach.
Compare 22600 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
Rest Of Washington →
Office / nonfacility
Unavailable
Facility
$1269.05
Seattle (King Cnty) →
Office / nonfacility
Unavailable
Facility
$1390.70
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22600 billing questions
When should 22600 be selected instead of 22610 or 22612?
Use 22600 for a posterior or posterolateral fusion at a cervical interspace below C2. Codes 22610 and 22612 describe the same general technique in the thoracic and lumbar regions, respectively.
How are additional fused levels reported?
Report 22600 for the initial cervical interspace and 22614 for each additional eligible vertebral segment. The operative report should identify the levels fused.
Is spinal instrumentation included in 22600?
Instrumentation is not described by 22600. When instrumentation is performed, its separate reporting depends on the documented construct and the applicable instrumentation code.
What postoperative care is included?
The 90-day global period includes the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care.
Can an assistant or co-surgeon be reported?
CMS allows assistant-at-surgery payment and permits co-surgeons for 22600. Team-surgery payment is not permitted for this code.
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.
2,08922586,,Arthrd pre-sac ntrbdy l5-s1,A,,27.42,21.11,NA,21.11,,11.59,60.12,60.12,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,0,2,2,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,09022590,,Arthrd pst tq craniocervical,A,,21.22,17.41,NA,17.41,,8.05,46.68,46.68,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,0,2,2,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,09122595,,Arthrd pst tq atlas-axis,A,,20.12,17.09,NA,17.09,,7.67,44.88,44.88,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,0,2,2,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,09222600,,Arthrd pst tq 1ntrspc crv,A,,16.97,15.37,NA,15.37,,6.07,38.41,38.41,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,0,2,2,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,09322610,,Arthrd pst tq 1ntrspc thrc,A,,16.85,14.96,NA,14.96,,5.78,37.59,37.59,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,0,2,2,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,09422612,,Arthrd pst tq 1ntrspc lumbar,A,,22.94,14.38,NA,14.38,,6.62,43.94,43.94,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,0,2,2,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,09522614,,Arthrd pst tq 1ntrspc ea add,A,,6.27,2.11,NA,2.11,,2.08,10.46,10.46,0,ZZZ,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,0,2,2,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00