$383.25–$433.21
62290 reports discography injection at lumbar levels; 62291 is for cervical or thoracic levels.
On this page
CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
62291 Discography Medicare reimbursement rates in Washington
Reports contrast injection into cervical or thoracic intervertebral disc levels for discography, generally to assess disc structure and help evaluate suspected disc-related pain. Compare 62291 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 62291 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
$349.09–$393.85
2 of 2 localities have a supported rate.
Facility setting
$134.55–$143.86
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.
Spine procedures
About 62291: Cervical or thoracic discography injection
Reports contrast injection into cervical or thoracic intervertebral disc levels for discography, generally to assess disc structure and help evaluate suspected disc-related pain.
A physician, commonly a radiologist or spine specialist, places a needle into one or more cervical or thoracic intervertebral discs and injects contrast for discographic evaluation. The study can help assess disc morphology and whether injection reproduces a patient’s symptoms during evaluation of suspected disc-related pain. This code identifies the injection procedure at each level, not lumbar discography.
Report the code for each cervical or thoracic disc level injected, supported by the procedure note’s documented site and number of levels. Radiological supervision and interpretation for cervical or thoracic discography is represented by 72285 when performed and documented. The 0-day global includes same-day preoperative and postoperative care. When multiple procedures occur in the same session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and other procedures are subject to the standard 50% multiple-procedure reduction. Modifier 50 is inappropriate. Medicare does not pay an assistant at surgery for this service, and co-surgeon and team-surgery payment is not permitted.
CMS billing rules for 62291
- Global period
- Minor procedure with a 0-day global period: same-day preoperative and postoperative care is 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
- Statutory restriction: assistant at surgery is not paid.
- Co-surgeons
- Co-surgeons not permitted.
- Team surgery
- Team surgery not permitted.
Where the value comes from
- Work RVU2.84 · 28%
- Practice expense (office) RVU7.02 · 70%
- Malpractice RVU0.24 · 2%
670
Medicare services in 2024 · #3300 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.
62291 compared with similar codes
Office rates for Washington, from the same CMS release.
$150.65–$170.50
72285 represents radiological supervision and interpretation for cervical or thoracic discography, while 62291 reports the disc injection procedure.
$265.44–$295.78
62267 describes percutaneous aspiration of an intervertebral disc for diagnostic sampling; 62291 is the contrast injection used for discography.
Compare 62291 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
$349.09
Facility
$134.55
Seattle (King Cnty) →
Office / nonfacility
$393.85
Facility
$143.86
Need rates for a whole code list?
Fee-sheet and API access are in early access. Tell us which codes and locations your team needs.
62291 billing questions
When should 62291 be chosen instead of 62290?
Use 62291 for cervical or thoracic disc levels. Code 62290 is the lumbar discography injection counterpart.
How are units determined?
The code is reported for each cervical or thoracic disc level injected. Document the levels treated in the procedure note.
Is the imaging supervision and interpretation included?
Radiological supervision and interpretation for cervical or thoracic discography is represented by 72285 when performed and documented.
Should modifier 50 be used for bilateral discography?
No. The CMS bilateral adjustment does not apply, and modifier 50 is inappropriate for this code.
How does the multiple-procedure reduction affect payment?
For multiple procedures performed in the same session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and other procedures are subject to the standard 50% reduction.
Can an assistant or co-surgeon be reported?
Medicare does not pay an assistant at surgery for this service. Co-surgeons and team surgery are 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.
6,95462284,,Injection for myelogram,A,,1.50,3.73,,0.49,,0.16,5.39,2.15,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
6,95562287,,Dcmprn pq nuc pul 1/mlt lmbr,A,,9.03,6.02,NA,6.02,,0.93,15.98,15.98,0,090,0.11,0.76,0.13,2,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
6,95662290,,Njx px discography lumbar,A,,2.93,7.89,,1.08,,0.26,11.08,4.27,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
6,95762291,,Njx px discography crv/thrc,A,,2.84,7.02,,0.92,,0.24,10.10,4.00,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
6,95862292,,Njx chemonucleolysis lmbr,A,,9.24,5.07,NA,5.07,,0.96,15.27,15.27,0,090,0.11,0.76,0.13,2,0,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
6,95962294,,Injection into spinal artery,A,,12.55,10.76,NA,10.76,,5.29,28.60,28.60,0,090,0.11,0.76,0.13,2,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
6,96062302,,Myelography lumbar injection,A,,2.23,4.88,,0.61,,0.22,7.33,3.06,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00