Billing code 63075: Cervical discectomyMedicare rate & RVUs in Washington
Reports anterior removal of cervical disc material and compressive bone to relieve spinal cord or nerve-root pressure at one interspace below C2.
CMS doesn’t publish an office rate for 63075 in Washington.
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 63075 covers
A spine surgeon uses an anterior neck approach to remove disc material and, when needed, osteophytes compressing the spinal cord or nerve roots at one cervical interspace below C2. The operation is commonly performed in a hospital operating room for cervical radiculopathy or myelopathy associated with disc disease. The code represents decompression at one interspace, not removal of a vertebral body.
Documentation should identify the anterior approach, the treated interspace, and the disc or other compressive tissue removed to decompress the cord or nerve roots. Report 63076 for each additional cervical interspace treated when its add-on requirements are met. The 90-day global includes 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 others at 50%. Assistant-at-surgery payment and co-surgeons are permitted; team surgery is 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.
Where 63075 pays more and less in Washington
| Payment locality | Office | Facility |
|---|---|---|
| Rest Of Washington | Unavailable | $1,269.19 |
| Seattle (King Cnty) | Unavailable | $1,380.91 |
How the 63075 rate is calculated
Each of 63075’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 · 63075
RVUs × geographic indexes × conversion factor
Swap in your local Medicare rate.
Work 19.11Practice expense 13.12Malpractice 6.34
All indexes start at 1.000 (the national rate). Enter a ZIP or drag a slider.
Payment rules and modifiers for 63075
63075 has a 90-day global period: related visits in that window are included in the surgery payment.
CMS payment indicators · 63075
Cervical discectomy
| Rule | CMS value | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Global period | 090 | Major surgery: the day before, the day of, and 90 days after are included. |
| Multiple procedures | 2 | Standard reduction: highest-valued procedure at 100%, others at 50%. |
| Bilateral (modifier 50) | 0 | The 150% bilateral adjustment doesn’t apply. |
| Assistant at surgery (80/81/82/AS) | 2 | Paid. |
| Co-surgeons (62) | 2 | Permitted. |
| Team surgery (66) | 0 | Not permitted. |
| Professional/technical | 0 | Physician service: no professional/technical split. |
| Split (54/55/56) | 0.11/0.76/0.13 | Share of the payment for pre-op, the procedure itself, and post-op care. |
Global surgery period · 63075
Cervical discectomy
90-day global period ends
Dec 30, 2026
Covers Sep 30, 2026 through Dec 30, 2026 (92 days, including the day before surgery).
Visit on Oct 31, 2026
Day 30 of the 90-day post-op period: related follow-up care is included in the surgical payment.
Pre-op dayGlobal period
What modifiers do to the payment
Modifier 51 · payment effect
With and without the modifier
63075 without 51 · national facility
$1,288.27
Cervical discectomy
63075-51 · Second procedure: 50%
$644.14
When this isn’t the highest-valued procedure in the session, Medicare pays 50% of its fee schedule amount (the highest is paid at 100%).
63075 compared with similar codes
Compare codes
63075 vs 63076 vs 22551 vs 63077 vs 63081: national Medicare rates
Swap in your local Medicare rate.
How to choose
- 63076Cervical decompression
- 63075 represents the first cervical interspace; 63076 is the add-on for each additional cervical interspace treated.
- 22551ACDF
- 22551 reports anterior cervical fusion and includes disc removal and decompression at the fusion level. Use 63075 for the single-level anterior decompression when that work is not included in a fusion code.
- 63077Thoracic disc surgery
- 63077 is the corresponding anterior disc decompression code for a thoracic interspace; 63075 is for cervical levels below C2.
- 63081Cervical corpectomy
- 63081 describes cervical decompression that removes a vertebral body. 63075 is for disc-level decompression without that corpectomy work.
63075 billing questions
When is 63075 reported instead of 22551?
Use 63075 for anterior cervical disc decompression at one interspace when the service is not the discectomy/decompression included in a fusion reported with 22551. For fusion at that level, 22551 includes the disc work needed for decompression.
How is a second cervical interspace reported?
When an additional cervical interspace is treated in the same operative session, report add-on code 63076 for that additional level, subject to its coding requirements.
What documentation supports 63075?
The operative report should establish the anterior approach, the cervical interspace below C2, and the disc or compressive tissue removed to relieve spinal cord or nerve-root pressure.
Does the global period include related postoperative visits?
Yes. The 90-day global includes the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care.
Can an assistant or co-surgeon be reported?
CMS permits assistant-at-surgery payment and co-surgeons for this service. 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 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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