CPT 22552

Across 13,783 services billed by 522 providers to 8,524 beneficiaries, Medicare allowed an average of $268.72 per service. That is 1.6 services per beneficiary, so this is a code patients typically receive more than once. The allowed amount is the figure that matters: it is what Medicare and the patient together owe, set by the fee schedule and adjusted for local practice costs. What a provider chose to submit has no bearing on it.

Two different numbers. Allowed is what Medicare actually allowed in that state, which includes the local practice-cost adjustment. Standardized strips that geographic adjustment out of the payment, so it is the column to use when comparing states — a difference there reflects how the code was billed, not what it costs to run a practice locally.

• 22558Fusion of lower spine bone through abdomen$707.92
• 22551Fusion of upper spine bone$1377.46
• 22585Fusion of spine bones through front of body$215.15
• 22514Treatment of broken lower spine bone$2517.60
• 22513Treatment of broken middle spine bone$2432.63
• 22515Treatment of broken spine bone$1212.70

An allowed amount is revenue to a practice, not income to a clinician. It funds staff, premises, equipment and supplies before anyone is paid. What clinicians actually earn is published separately by the Department of Labor, and what industry pays them is published separately again by CMS — this site carries both.

What doctors are paid →·Look up a clinician →·All procedure codes →