Home / Medicare fees / 20553

20553 Njx 1/mlt trigger points 3/>

What 20553 is

CMS fee schedule short descriptor: Njx 1/mlt trigger points 3/>.

Full CPT long descriptions are licensed by the American Medical Association and are not published on this site; the short descriptor above is the one CMS prints in its own fee schedule file. See About CPT.

Medicare payment for 20553 (CY2026)

Work RVUPractice expense RVUMalpractice RVUTotalMedicare rate
Non-facility (office)0.730.980.081.79$59.79
Facility (hospital, ASC)0.730.410.081.22$40.75

National rates: total RVUs x the CY2026 conversion factor of 33.4009 (non-QP), before geographic adjustment. Actual Medicare payment is 80% of the rate shown after the deductible; the patient or secondary payer owes the 20% coinsurance.


Status: Active - payable under the Physician Fee Schedule. Global period: Global concept does not apply (endoscopic or minor procedure: global period is the day of the procedure).

Advertisement

Medically Unlikely Edit (MUE)

Medicare caps 20553 at 1 unit per date of service for practitioner claims (MAI 2 - date of service edit (absolute): units above the MUE never pay), rationale: Code Descriptor / CPT Instruction. Units above the cap are denied unless the edit's adjudication rules allow an appeal with documentation.

Billed with 20553? These codes are bundled into it

20553 is a Column 1 code in 196 active NCCI PTP edits. When one of these Column 2 codes is reported on the same date of service, it is denied as bundled - unless the edit's modifier indicator is 1 and documentation supports a distinct service with an NCCI-associated modifier.

Column 2 codeShort descriptionModifier indicator
01991Anes dx/ther nrv blk&inj oth0 - no modifier bypassCheck pair
01992Anes dx/ther nrv blk&inj prn0 - no modifier bypassCheck pair
0213TNjx paravert w/us cer/thor1 - modifier may bypassCheck pair
0216TNjx paravert w/us lumb/sac1 - modifier may bypassCheck pair
0490TRegn cell tx scldr h mlt inj1 - modifier may bypassCheck pair
0596TTemp fml iu vlv-pmp 1st insj1 - modifier may bypassCheck pair
0597TTemp fml iu valve-pmp rplcmt1 - modifier may bypassCheck pair
0903TEcg alg 12 lead reduced i&r1 - modifier may bypassCheck pair
0904TEcg alg 12 ld rdcd trcg only1 - modifier may bypassCheck pair
0905TEcg alg 12 ld rdcd i&r only1 - modifier may bypassCheck pair
10030Img gid flu coll drg sft tis1 - modifier may bypassCheck pair
10160Pnxr aspir absc hmtma bulla1 - modifier may bypassCheck pair
11900Inject skin lesions </w 71 - modifier may bypassCheck pair
11901Inject skin lesions >71 - modifier may bypassCheck pair
20500Njx sinus tract therapeutic1 - modifier may bypassCheck pair
20526Ther injection carp tunnel1 - modifier may bypassCheck pair
20552Njx 1/mlt trigger point 1/20 - no modifier bypassCheck pair
20560Ndl insj w/o njx 1 or 2 musc1 - modifier may bypassCheck pair
20561Ndl insj w/o njx 3+ musc1 - modifier may bypassCheck pair
29075Appl cst elbw fngr short arm1 - modifier may bypassCheck pair
29105Application long arm splint1 - modifier may bypassCheck pair
29125Appl short arm splint static1 - modifier may bypassCheck pair
29130Appl finger splint static1 - modifier may bypassCheck pair
29260Strapping of elbow or wrist1 - modifier may bypassCheck pair
29405Appl short leg cast1 - modifier may bypassCheck pair
29425Appl short leg cast walking1 - modifier may bypassCheck pair
29450Application clubfoot cast1 - modifier may bypassCheck pair
29515Application short leg splint1 - modifier may bypassCheck pair
29530Strapping of knee1 - modifier may bypassCheck pair
29540Strapping ankle &/foot1 - modifier may bypassCheck pair

Showing 30 of 196 column 2 codes. Use the pair checker for any specific combination.

20553 is bundled into these codes

20553 appears as a Column 2 code in 472 active edits. Reported with one of these Column 1 codes on the same date of service, 20553 is the code that denies.

Column 1 codeShort descriptionModifier indicator
0335TInsj sinus tarsi implant1Check pair
0510TRmvl sinus tarsi implant1Check pair
0511TRmvl&rinsj sinus tarsi implt1Check pair
0566TAutol cell implt adps njx1Check pair
0632TPerq tcat us abltj nrv p-art1Check pair
0718TAdrc ther prtl rc tear njx1Check pair
11000Dbrdmt ecz/infected skin<10%1Check pair
11004Dbrdmt skin xtrnl gent&per1Check pair
11005Dbrdmt skin abdominal wall1Check pair
11006Dbrdmt skin xtrnl gent per1Check pair
11010Debride skin at fx site1Check pair
11011Debride skin musc at fx site1Check pair
11012Deb skin bone at fx site1Check pair
11042Dbrdmt subq tis 1st 20sqcm/<1Check pair
11043Dbrdmt musc&/fsca 1st 20/<1Check pair

Data: CMS CY2026 Physician Fee Schedule RVU file (October release, RVU26D) and Medicare NCCI PTP practitioner edits v32.3 (2026 Q4). Verify against the official files before billing or contracting decisions.