22208 Incis spine 3 column adl seg
What 22208 is
CMS fee schedule short descriptor: Incis spine 3 column adl seg.
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 22208 (CY2026)
| Work RVU | Practice expense RVU | Malpractice RVU | Total | Medicare rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Non-facility (office) | 9.42 | 3.19 | 3.20 | 15.81 | $528.07 |
| Facility (hospital, ASC) | 9.42 | 3.19 | 3.20 | 15.81 | $528.07 |
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: Add-on code: global period of the primary procedure applies.
Medically Unlikely Edit (MUE)
Medicare caps 22208 at 5 units per date of service for practitioner claims (MAI 3 - date of service edit (clinical): units above the MUE may pay with documentation on appeal), rationale: Clinical: Data. Units above the cap are denied unless the edit's adjudication rules allow an appeal with documentation.
Billed with 22208? These codes are bundled into it
22208 is a Column 1 code in 46 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 code | Short description | Modifier indicator | |
|---|---|---|---|
11000 | Dbrdmt ecz/infected skin<10% | 1 - modifier may bypass | Check pair |
11001 | Dbrdmt ecz/infct skn ea addl | 1 - modifier may bypass | Check pair |
11004 | Dbrdmt skin xtrnl gent&per | 1 - modifier may bypass | Check pair |
11005 | Dbrdmt skin abdominal wall | 1 - modifier may bypass | Check pair |
11006 | Dbrdmt skin xtrnl gent per | 1 - modifier may bypass | Check pair |
11042 | Dbrdmt subq tis 1st 20sqcm/< | 1 - modifier may bypass | Check pair |
11043 | Dbrdmt musc&/fsca 1st 20/< | 1 - modifier may bypass | Check pair |
11044 | Dbrdmt bone 1st 20 sq cm/< | 1 - modifier may bypass | Check pair |
11045 | Dbrdmt subq tiss each addl | 1 - modifier may bypass | Check pair |
11046 | Dbrdmt musc&/fsca ea addl | 1 - modifier may bypass | Check pair |
11047 | Dbrdmt bone each addl | 1 - modifier may bypass | Check pair |
22210 | Incis 1 vertebral seg cerv | 1 - modifier may bypass | Check pair |
22212 | Incis 1 vertebral seg thorac | 1 - modifier may bypass | Check pair |
22214 | Incis 1 vertebral seg lumbar | 1 - modifier may bypass | Check pair |
22216 | Incis addl spine segment | 1 - modifier may bypass | Check pair |
22226 | Osteot dsc ant 1vrt sgm ea | 1 - modifier may bypass | Check pair |
36591 | Draw blood off venous device | 0 - no modifier bypass | Check pair |
36592 | Collect blood from picc | 0 - no modifier bypass | Check pair |
38220 | Dx bone marrow aspirations | 0 - no modifier bypass | Check pair |
38222 | Dx bone marrow bx & aspir | 0 - no modifier bypass | Check pair |
38230 | Bone marrow harvest allogen | 0 - no modifier bypass | Check pair |
38232 | Bone marrow harvest autolog | 0 - no modifier bypass | Check pair |
63035 | Lamot dcmprn nrv rt ea addl | 1 - modifier may bypass | Check pair |
63043 | Laminotomy addl cervical | 1 - modifier may bypass | Check pair |
63044 | Laminotomy addl lumbar | 1 - modifier may bypass | Check pair |
63048 | Lam facetec &foramot ea addl | 1 - modifier may bypass | Check pair |
63057 | Decompress spine cord add-on | 1 - modifier may bypass | Check pair |
63066 | Decompress spine cord add-on | 1 - modifier may bypass | Check pair |
63076 | Neck spine disk surgery | 1 - modifier may bypass | Check pair |
63078 | Spine disk surgery thorax | 1 - modifier may bypass | Check pair |
Showing 30 of 46 column 2 codes. Use the pair checker for any specific combination.
22208 is bundled into these codes
22208 appears as a Column 2 code in 33 active edits. Reported with one of these Column 1 codes on the same date of service, 22208 is the code that denies.
| Column 1 code | Short description | Modifier indicator | |
|---|---|---|---|
22220 | Osteot dsc ant 1 vrt sgm crv | 1 | Check pair |
22222 | Osteot dsc ant 1vrt sgm thrc | 1 | Check pair |
22224 | Osteot dsc ant 1vrt sgm lmbr | 1 | Check pair |
22830 | Exploration of spinal fusion | 1 | Check pair |
62380 | Ndsc dcmprn 1 ntrspc lumbar | 1 | Check pair |
63001 | Remove spine lamina 1/2 crvl | 1 | Check pair |
63003 | Remove spine lamina 1/2 thrc | 1 | Check pair |
63005 | Remove spine lamina 1/2 lmbr | 1 | Check pair |
63011 | Remove spine lamina 1/2 scrl | 1 | Check pair |
63012 | Remove lamina/facets lumbar | 1 | Check pair |
63015 | Remove spine lamina >2 crvcl | 1 | Check pair |
63016 | Remove spine lamina >2 thrc | 1 | Check pair |
63017 | Remove spine lamina >2 lmbr | 1 | Check pair |
63020 | Lamot dcmprn nrv rt 1 cerv | 1 | Check pair |
63030 | Lamot dcmprn nrv rt 1 lmbr | 1 | Check 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.