Cost analysis for CPT 64494 — Injection of lower or sacral spine facet joint using imaging guidance, second level
Average Medicare Payment
$73.93
2023 data
Total Payments (2023)
$27.3M
Services (2023)
356.2K
Price Change (2014–2023)
+6.9%
| Year | Avg Payment | Total Payments | Services | YoY Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | $69.17 | $27.9M | 382.4K | — |
| 2015 | $69.05 | $29.8M | 411.2K | -0.2% |
| 2016 | $68.86 | $31.0M | 432.9K | -0.3% |
| 2017 | $68.64 | $31.4M | 441.2K | -0.3% |
| 2018 | $68.95 | $32.0M | 450.8K | +0.5% |
| 2019 | $70.75 | $33.5M | 460.1K | +2.6% |
| 2020 | $73.09 | $27.7M | 368.2K | +3.3% |
| 2021 | $75.09 | $29.8M | 384.1K | +2.7% |
| 2022 | $74.47 | $28.6M | 372.6K | -0.8% |
| 2023 | $73.93 | $27.3M | 356.2K | -0.7% |
The most expensive state pays 2.0x more than the cheapest for this procedure. AK averages $109.01 vs WV at $53.52.
| State | Avg Payment | Total Payments | Services | Providers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AK | $109.01 | $55.7K | 511 | 10 |
| HI | $96.95 | $14.6K | 151 | 5 |
| CT | $94.69 | $276.7K | 2.9K | 51 |
| NY | $91.33 | $1.6M | 17.4K | 317 |
| VA | $89.55 | $1.1M | 12.1K | 135 |
| FL | $87.55 | $3.9M | 44.9K | 604 |
| UT | $85.90 | $314.6K | 3.7K | 65 |
| NC | $84.32 | $984.6K | 11.7K | 197 |
| NJ | $82.51 | $701.6K | 8.5K | 181 |
| AZ | $81.72 | $1.0M | 12.8K | 171 |
| MI | $81.22 | $541.4K | 6.7K | 161 |
| SC | $80.06 | $947.5K | 11.8K | 117 |
| OK | $79.59 | $531.4K | 6.7K | 83 |
| DC | $78.69 | $37.1K | 471 | 11 |
| MA | $77.91 | $821.3K | 10.5K | 163 |
| KY | $77.65 | $453.5K | 5.8K | 88 |
| IL | $77.22 | $890.4K | 11.5K | 204 |
| NV | $77.10 | $243.9K | 3.2K | 58 |
| DE | $76.15 | $151.0K | 2.0K | 33 |
| CA | $75.97 | $2.0M | 26.9K | 451 |
| TX | $75.04 | $2.0M | 26.9K | 523 |
| CO | $74.58 | $396.1K | 5.3K | 102 |
| NM | $74.07 | $164.9K | 2.2K | 39 |
| OR | $73.52 | $229.4K | 3.1K | 62 |
| AL | $73.10 | $456.9K | 6.3K | 87 |
| PA | $72.97 | $990.5K | 13.6K | 263 |
| NE | $72.45 | $155.3K | 2.1K | 37 |
| IA | $71.54 | $176.8K | 2.5K | 42 |
| WA | $70.37 | $322.1K | 4.6K | 89 |
| TN | $70.04 | $565.3K | 8.1K | 124 |
| RI | $69.98 | $44.4K | 634 | 13 |
| MD | $67.80 | $603.9K | 8.9K | 130 |
| MT | $66.54 | $67.9K | 1.0K | 19 |
| IN | $66.51 | $420.2K | 6.3K | 126 |
| ME | $66.07 | $63.6K | 962 | 21 |
| PR | $65.49 | $14.6K | 223 | 7 |
| NH | $65.03 | $129.3K | 2.0K | 35 |
| GA | $65.03 | $767.4K | 11.8K | 210 |
| MO | $64.68 | $369.9K | 5.7K | 96 |
| OH | $64.26 | $707.7K | 11.0K | 213 |
| LA | $64.04 | $348.5K | 5.4K | 91 |
| WY | $63.54 | $22.6K | 356 | 6 |
| AR | $63.07 | $356.8K | 5.7K | 75 |
| MN | $61.73 | $213.1K | 3.5K | 89 |
| MS | $60.26 | $311.9K | 5.2K | 54 |
| VT | $60.01 | $26.5K | 442 | 9 |
| WI | $59.88 | $270.7K | 4.5K | 112 |
| ID | $59.53 | $74.6K | 1.3K | 25 |
| KS | $57.16 | $169.5K | 3.0K | 56 |
| SD | $57.05 | $51.8K | 908 | 19 |
| ND | $53.67 | $28.0K | 521 | 11 |
| Provider | Specialty | State | Payments | Services | Avg/Service |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scott Sauer | Interventional Pain Management | SC | $83.7K | 821 | $102.01 |
| Kenneth Bradley | Pain Management | CA | $64.2K | 535 | $120.02 |
| Atul Bhat | Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation | MA | $56.1K | 487 | $115.09 |
| Brian Weaver | Anesthesiology | VA | $55.7K | 528 | $105.46 |
| Sridhar Pinnamaneni | Pain Management | FL | $53.9K | 503 | $107.24 |
| Daniel Kendall | Interventional Pain Management | VA | $47.8K | 400 | $119.56 |
| Nathaniel Lowen | Orthopedic Surgery | FL | $46.3K | 488 | $94.82 |
| Farzad Sabet | Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation | CA | $45.2K | 417 | $108.31 |
| Blake Christensen | Pain Management | OK | $43.3K | 476 | $90.98 |
| Forrest Monroe | Anesthesiology | CA | $43.1K | 409 | $105.28 |
| Omar Henriquez | Pain Management | FL | $40.8K | 424 | $96.17 |
| Simon Galapo | Pain Management | PA | $39.9K | 379 | $105.36 |
| Trusha Shah | Anesthesiology | NY | $39.4K | 340 | $115.86 |
| Bruce Johnson | Anesthesiology | SC | $35.9K | 365 | $98.33 |
| David Greschler | Pain Management | FL | $35.5K | 368 | $96.44 |
| Ellen Lin | Interventional Pain Management | TX | $35.4K | 344 | $102.76 |
| Donald Erb | Interventional Pain Management | FL | $34.8K | 347 | $100.17 |
| Joseph Richards | Interventional Pain Management | PA | $34.5K | 321 | $107.32 |
| Garlon Campbell | Interventional Pain Management | NC | $34.3K | 342 | $100.43 |
| Kiumars Arfai | Anesthesiology | CA | $34.3K | 572 | $60.00 |
Based on the data, CPT 64494 shows a 2.0x variation in pricing across states — moderate variation by Medicare standards.
Costs have increased 6.9% since 2014. Medicare's fee schedule attempts to standardize pricing, though some variation is expected due to geographic cost-of-living adjustments and practice expense differences.
This analysis is based on publicly available CMS data and does not account for patient complexity, comorbidities, or facility-specific factors that may justify pricing differences.
Note: All data is from publicly available Medicare records. OpenMedicare is an independent journalism project not affiliated with CMS.