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Data Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), Medicare Provider Utilization and Payment Data
Disclaimer: This site is an independent journalism project. Data analysis and editorial content are not affiliated with or endorsed by CMS or any government agency. All spending figures are based on publicly available Medicare payment records.
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Methodology•Download Data
  1. Home
  2. Procedures
  3. 64494
  4. Cost Analysis

How Much Does Injection of lower or sacral spine facet joint using imaging guidance, second level Cost on Medicare?

Cost analysis for CPT 64494 — Injection of lower or sacral spine facet joint using imaging guidance, second level

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Average Medicare Payment

$73.93

2023 data

Total Payments (2023)

$27.3M

Services (2023)

356.2K

Price Change (2014–2023)

+6.9%

📈 Year-over-Year Cost Trend

YearAvg PaymentTotal PaymentsServicesYoY Change
2014$69.17$27.9M382.4K—
2015$69.05$29.8M411.2K-0.2%
2016$68.86$31.0M432.9K-0.3%
2017$68.64$31.4M441.2K-0.3%
2018$68.95$32.0M450.8K+0.5%
2019$70.75$33.5M460.1K+2.6%
2020$73.09$27.7M368.2K+3.3%
2021$75.09$29.8M384.1K+2.7%
2022$74.47$28.6M372.6K-0.8%
2023$73.93$27.3M356.2K-0.7%

🗺️ State-by-State Cost Variation

The most expensive state pays 2.0x more than the cheapest for this procedure. AK averages $109.01 vs WV at $53.52.

StateAvg PaymentTotal PaymentsServicesProviders
AK$109.01$55.7K51110
HI$96.95$14.6K1515
CT$94.69$276.7K2.9K51
NY$91.33$1.6M17.4K317
VA$89.55$1.1M12.1K135
FL$87.55$3.9M44.9K604
UT$85.90$314.6K3.7K65
NC$84.32$984.6K11.7K197
NJ$82.51$701.6K8.5K181
AZ$81.72$1.0M12.8K171
MI$81.22$541.4K6.7K161
SC$80.06$947.5K11.8K117
OK$79.59$531.4K6.7K83
DC$78.69$37.1K47111
MA$77.91$821.3K10.5K163
KY$77.65$453.5K5.8K88
IL$77.22$890.4K11.5K204
NV$77.10$243.9K3.2K58
DE$76.15$151.0K2.0K33
CA$75.97$2.0M26.9K451
TX$75.04$2.0M26.9K523
CO$74.58$396.1K5.3K102
NM$74.07$164.9K2.2K39
OR$73.52$229.4K3.1K62
AL$73.10$456.9K6.3K87
PA$72.97$990.5K13.6K263
NE$72.45$155.3K2.1K37
IA$71.54$176.8K2.5K42
WA$70.37$322.1K4.6K89
TN$70.04$565.3K8.1K124
RI$69.98$44.4K63413
MD$67.80$603.9K8.9K130
MT$66.54$67.9K1.0K19
IN$66.51$420.2K6.3K126
ME$66.07$63.6K96221
PR$65.49$14.6K2237
NH$65.03$129.3K2.0K35
GA$65.03$767.4K11.8K210
MO$64.68$369.9K5.7K96
OH$64.26$707.7K11.0K213
LA$64.04$348.5K5.4K91
WY$63.54$22.6K3566
AR$63.07$356.8K5.7K75
MN$61.73$213.1K3.5K89
MS$60.26$311.9K5.2K54
VT$60.01$26.5K4429
WI$59.88$270.7K4.5K112
ID$59.53$74.6K1.3K25
KS$57.16$169.5K3.0K56
SD$57.05$51.8K90819
ND$53.67$28.0K52111

💰 Who Bills the Most for This Procedure?

ProviderSpecialtyStatePaymentsServicesAvg/Service
Scott SauerInterventional Pain ManagementSC$83.7K821$102.01
Kenneth BradleyPain ManagementCA$64.2K535$120.02
Atul BhatPhysical Medicine and RehabilitationMA$56.1K487$115.09
Brian WeaverAnesthesiologyVA$55.7K528$105.46
Sridhar PinnamaneniPain ManagementFL$53.9K503$107.24
Daniel KendallInterventional Pain ManagementVA$47.8K400$119.56
Nathaniel LowenOrthopedic SurgeryFL$46.3K488$94.82
Farzad SabetPhysical Medicine and RehabilitationCA$45.2K417$108.31
Blake ChristensenPain ManagementOK$43.3K476$90.98
Forrest MonroeAnesthesiologyCA$43.1K409$105.28
Omar HenriquezPain ManagementFL$40.8K424$96.17
Simon GalapoPain ManagementPA$39.9K379$105.36
Trusha ShahAnesthesiologyNY$39.4K340$115.86
Bruce JohnsonAnesthesiologySC$35.9K365$98.33
David GreschlerPain ManagementFL$35.5K368$96.44
Ellen LinInterventional Pain ManagementTX$35.4K344$102.76
Donald ErbInterventional Pain ManagementFL$34.8K347$100.17
Joseph RichardsInterventional Pain ManagementPA$34.5K321$107.32
Garlon CampbellInterventional Pain ManagementNC$34.3K342$100.43
Kiumars ArfaiAnesthesiologyCA$34.3K572$60.00

🤔 Is Injection of lower or sacral spine facet joint using imaging guidance, second level Overpriced?

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.

Data Sources

  • • Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)
  • • Medicare Provider Utilization and Payment Data (2014-2023)
  • • Medicare Physician Fee Schedule

Note: All data is from publicly available Medicare records. OpenMedicare is an independent journalism project not affiliated with CMS.