Cost analysis for CPT J0881 — Injection, darbepoetin alfa, 1 microgram (non-esrd use)
Average Medicare Payment
$2.34
2023 data
Total Payments (2023)
$46.4M
Services (2023)
19.8M
Price Change (2014–2023)
-18.8%
| Year | Avg Payment | Total Payments | Services | YoY Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | $2.88 | $117.8M | 40.8M | — |
| 2015 | $3.11 | $116.1M | 37.2M | +8.0% |
| 2016 | $3.15 | $111.8M | 35.4M | +1.3% |
| 2017 | $3.01 | $95.6M | 31.7M | -4.4% |
| 2018 | $2.96 | $87.4M | 29.4M | -1.7% |
| 2019 | $3.00 | $86.2M | 28.6M | +1.4% |
| 2020 | $2.94 | $75.2M | 25.5M | -2.0% |
| 2021 | $2.62 | $60.9M | 23.2M | -10.9% |
| 2022 | $2.51 | $54.1M | 21.5M | -4.2% |
| 2023 | $2.34 | $46.4M | 19.8M | -6.8% |
The most expensive state pays 1.1x more than the cheapest for this procedure. AK averages $2.38 vs OH at $2.23.
| State | Avg Payment | Total Payments | Services | Providers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AK | $2.38 | $14.0K | 5.9K | 1 |
| ME | $2.37 | $328.9K | 138.9K | 7 |
| OR | $2.36 | $612.2K | 259.1K | 17 |
| ND | $2.36 | $97.0K | 41.1K | 2 |
| AZ | $2.36 | $1.2M | 491.1K | 50 |
| CO | $2.36 | $304.6K | 129.3K | 13 |
| IL | $2.36 | $2.6M | 1.1M | 69 |
| NJ | $2.35 | $947.6K | 402.4K | 31 |
| MN | $2.35 | $407.0K | 172.9K | 16 |
| NY | $2.35 | $3.4M | 1.4M | 83 |
| MO | $2.35 | $820.9K | 349.1K | 13 |
| PA | $2.35 | $3.3M | 1.4M | 45 |
| CA | $2.35 | $6.5M | 2.8M | 81 |
| SC | $2.35 | $296.0K | 125.9K | 7 |
| MS | $2.35 | $50.4K | 21.5K | 1 |
| VA | $2.35 | $2.6M | 1.1M | 75 |
| FL | $2.35 | $1.6M | 676.5K | 49 |
| NC | $2.35 | $334.4K | 142.4K | 15 |
| NV | $2.35 | $1.5M | 654.1K | 31 |
| NM | $2.35 | $156.2K | 66.6K | 5 |
| MA | $2.35 | $133.5K | 56.9K | 3 |
| LA | $2.34 | $108.1K | 46.1K | 14 |
| DE | $2.34 | $230.7K | 98.4K | 4 |
| GU | $2.34 | $54.6K | 23.3K | 1 |
| TX | $2.34 | $4.8M | 2.1M | 172 |
| UT | $2.34 | $66.1K | 28.3K | 4 |
| NE | $2.34 | $653.7K | 279.3K | 12 |
| IA | $2.34 | $561.6K | 240.0K | 13 |
| TN | $2.34 | $3.9M | 1.7M | 71 |
| KY | $2.34 | $5.3K | 2.3K | 1 |
| GA | $2.34 | $631.3K | 270.0K | 17 |
| DC | $2.34 | $9.1K | 3.9K | 1 |
| AL | $2.34 | $746.9K | 319.7K | 31 |
| IN | $2.33 | $663.3K | 284.1K | 14 |
| MD | $2.33 | $4.7M | 2.0M | 62 |
| MI | $2.33 | $176.5K | 75.7K | 12 |
| SD | $2.33 | $8.6K | 3.7K | 1 |
| MT | $2.33 | $14.0K | 6.0K | 1 |
| WI | $2.32 | $29.1K | 12.5K | 1 |
| KS | $2.32 | $438.8K | 189.2K | 13 |
| WA | $2.31 | $534.7K | 231.2K | 27 |
| AR | $2.31 | $16.2K | 7.0K | 1 |
| WV | $2.30 | $74.5K | 32.4K | 2 |
| CT | $2.29 | $116.2K | 50.8K | 8 |
| OH | $2.23 | $621.5K | 278.7K | 17 |
| Provider | Specialty | State | Payments | Services | Avg/Service |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joseph Pascuzzo | Medical Oncology | CA | $454.5K | 192.7K | $2.36 |
| Sachin Gupta | Hematology-Oncology | CA | $327.6K | 139.1K | $2.36 |
| Ravi Rao | Hematology-Oncology | CA | $281.3K | 119.3K | $2.36 |
| Kashif Ali | Internal Medicine | MD | $279.6K | 119.2K | $2.35 |
| Marc Chernoff | Hematology-Oncology | PA | $247.0K | 105.1K | $2.35 |
| Sameer Gupta | Hematology-Oncology | PA | $228.4K | 95.9K | $2.38 |
| Abdul Haseeb | Hematology-Oncology | CA | $225.3K | 95.9K | $2.35 |
| Kashif Firozvi | Medical Oncology | MD | $217.3K | 92.8K | $2.34 |
| Leonard Hackett | Hematology | CA | $212.1K | 90.1K | $2.35 |
| Amardeep Aulakh | Internal Medicine | CA | $207.6K | 88.1K | $2.36 |
| Wasif Shirazi | Hematology-Oncology | IL | $206.5K | 87.4K | $2.36 |
| Steven Hager | Hematology-Oncology | CA | $196.1K | 83.2K | $2.36 |
| Burton Alexander | Hematology-Oncology | VA | $195.0K | 83.0K | $2.35 |
| Amita Saggi | Physician Assistant | CA | $194.9K | 82.6K | $2.36 |
| Jeffrey Ambinder | Hematology-Oncology | NY | $190.1K | 80.2K | $2.37 |
| Dexter Estrada | Hematology-Oncology | CA | $185.6K | 78.7K | $2.36 |
| Alberto Bessudo | Hematology-Oncology | CA | $184.7K | 78.4K | $2.36 |
| Michael Auerbach | Hematology-Oncology | MD | $183.5K | 78.1K | $2.35 |
| Kenneth Johnson | Hematology | CA | $181.5K | 77.1K | $2.35 |
| Michael Sherman | Hematology-Oncology | CA | $179.9K | 76.2K | $2.36 |
Based on the data, CPT J0881 shows a 1.1x variation in pricing across states — relatively consistent by Medicare standards.
Costs have decreased 18.8% 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.