Cost analysis for CPT 64636 — Destruction of lower or sacral spinal facet joint nerves using imaging guidance, each additional facet joint
Average Medicare Payment
$130.31
2023 data
Total Payments (2023)
$30.6M
Services (2023)
223.6K
Price Change (2014–2023)
+40.2%
| Year | Avg Payment | Total Payments | Services | YoY Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | $92.94 | $25.9M | 268.1K | — |
| 2015 | $89.62 | $28.2M | 303.2K | -3.6% |
| 2016 | $89.55 | $31.9M | 347.7K | -0.1% |
| 2017 | $88.04 | $34.2M | 378.6K | -1.7% |
| 2018 | $88.77 | $36.6M | 404.3K | +0.8% |
| 2019 | $89.24 | $38.4M | 417.7K | +0.5% |
| 2020 | $91.32 | $34.5M | 361.8K | +2.3% |
| 2021 | $95.07 | $33.0M | 339.5K | +4.1% |
| 2022 | $126.71 | $32.7M | 248.8K | +33.3% |
| 2023 | $130.31 | $30.6M | 223.6K | +2.8% |
The most expensive state pays 3.8x more than the cheapest for this procedure. CT averages $229.70 vs WV at $59.74.
| State | Avg Payment | Total Payments | Services | Providers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CT | $229.70 | $246.5K | 1.1K | 30 |
| VA | $206.19 | $1.5M | 7.3K | 115 |
| AK | $202.74 | $38.5K | 190 | 7 |
| NY | $191.53 | $1.5M | 7.6K | 196 |
| KY | $188.16 | $819.1K | 4.4K | 84 |
| OK | $178.04 | $991.9K | 5.6K | 70 |
| NC | $171.05 | $1.3M | 7.7K | 152 |
| MI | $170.39 | $873.4K | 5.1K | 133 |
| UT | $167.30 | $574.7K | 3.4K | 65 |
| AZ | $163.85 | $1.7M | 10.2K | 157 |
| FL | $162.96 | $4.4M | 27.1K | 430 |
| SC | $154.66 | $937.7K | 6.1K | 99 |
| AL | $150.15 | $524.0K | 3.5K | 59 |
| NJ | $149.26 | $554.5K | 3.7K | 107 |
| MA | $141.62 | $561.9K | 4.0K | 93 |
| NV | $140.51 | $272.6K | 1.9K | 47 |
| TX | $140.16 | $2.9M | 20.9K | 437 |
| IL | $136.75 | $876.8K | 6.4K | 145 |
| CO | $134.06 | $450.3K | 3.4K | 79 |
| NM | $130.73 | $223.4K | 1.7K | 31 |
| DE | $129.46 | $152.2K | 1.2K | 25 |
| TN | $127.01 | $732.8K | 5.8K | 112 |
| NH | $125.89 | $155.9K | 1.2K | 32 |
| OR | $125.55 | $233.0K | 1.9K | 58 |
| CA | $124.41 | $1.5M | 12.3K | 292 |
| PA | $120.60 | $836.6K | 6.9K | 168 |
| DC | $120.34 | $24.9K | 207 | 9 |
| PR | $119.21 | $16.0K | 134 | 3 |
| ME | $117.43 | $66.3K | 565 | 18 |
| WA | $116.57 | $276.3K | 2.4K | 67 |
| WY | $115.66 | $16.5K | 143 | 5 |
| RI | $110.16 | $22.3K | 202 | 8 |
| NE | $105.95 | $201.6K | 1.9K | 29 |
| IN | $104.92 | $457.2K | 4.4K | 110 |
| AR | $104.34 | $546.3K | 5.2K | 69 |
| OH | $100.80 | $671.1K | 6.7K | 173 |
| VT | $99.66 | $29.4K | 295 | 10 |
| IA | $95.00 | $176.8K | 1.9K | 36 |
| MO | $89.67 | $339.1K | 3.8K | 79 |
| MD | $86.72 | $533.7K | 6.2K | 97 |
| MS | $84.24 | $287.7K | 3.4K | 45 |
| GA | $84.00 | $731.3K | 8.7K | 171 |
| ID | $82.74 | $83.3K | 1.0K | 24 |
| LA | $79.86 | $449.8K | 5.6K | 86 |
| MN | $78.56 | $193.9K | 2.5K | 74 |
| ND | $75.60 | $27.4K | 363 | 11 |
| SD | $72.27 | $44.7K | 618 | 17 |
| WI | $71.96 | $206.5K | 2.9K | 91 |
| KS | $71.92 | $146.5K | 2.0K | 48 |
| MT | $70.28 | $36.4K | 518 | 16 |
| WV | $59.74 | $99.2K | 1.7K | 23 |
| Provider | Specialty | State | Payments | Services | Avg/Service |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daniel Kendall | Interventional Pain Management | VA | $167.3K | 506 | $330.60 |
| Ellen Lin | Interventional Pain Management | TX | $131.9K | 499 | $264.30 |
| Sanjoy Sundaresan | Pain Management | TX | $106.2K | 396 | $268.28 |
| Martin Martucci | Pain Management | OK | $96.2K | 381 | $252.37 |
| Emad Attallah-Wasif | Anesthesiology | OK | $90.7K | 370 | $245.15 |
| Francis Pecoraro | Interventional Pain Management | NC | $90.1K | 489 | $184.29 |
| Farzad Sabet | Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation | CA | $87.8K | 296 | $296.50 |
| Larina Gutenberg | Interventional Pain Management | TX | $82.5K | 309 | $266.92 |
| Sergey Bogdan | Interventional Pain Management | NY | $80.6K | 306 | $263.30 |
| Theodore Workman | Pain Management | CA | $78.4K | 259 | $302.68 |
| Katiuska Dos Santos | Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation | FL | $75.5K | 409 | $184.51 |
| Yurii Borshch | Interventional Pain Management | TX | $72.9K | 282 | $258.34 |
| Donald Erb | Interventional Pain Management | FL | $71.4K | 304 | $234.72 |
| Jason Rosenberg | Pain Management | SC | $70.4K | 431 | $163.44 |
| Clifford Baker | Interventional Pain Management | AZ | $70.1K | 258 | $271.62 |
| Joseph Cartwright | Interventional Pain Management | FL | $67.5K | 364 | $185.41 |
| Yin Yu | Interventional Pain Management | NJ | $63.2K | 294 | $215.12 |
| Lee James | Interventional Pain Management | FL | $61.1K | 231 | $264.43 |
| Forrest Monroe | Anesthesiology | CA | $60.7K | 219 | $276.95 |
| Ji Han | Pain Management | NY | $60.4K | 170 | $355.03 |
The data suggests significant pricing inconsistencies for CPT 64636. With a 3.8x price gap between the most and least expensive states, geography plays an outsized role in what Medicare pays for this procedure.
Costs have risen 40.2% since 2014, outpacing inflation and raising questions about whether reimbursement rates reflect actual costs.
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.