# CPT 64635

> Medicare paid $441.39 for CPT 64635 in the office (non-facility) setting and $191.40 in a facility under the Q3 2024 Physician Fee Schedule, effective July 2024. These are the national allowed amounts before the ~2% sequestration cut and before locality (GPCI) adjustment. This price has been unchanged since Q1 2024, when it decreased 1.5%.

## What it is

The lumbar and sacral version of facet nerve ablation: the small sensory nerve branches supplying an arthritic facet joint in the lower back are heated with a radiofrequency probe so they stop transmitting pain. Placement is guided by x-ray, and the joint is normally identified first by test injections that temporarily numb it. This code covers the first joint treated on a side; additional joints are reported with a companion code. The effect lasts until the nerve slowly regrows, after which it can be repeated.

## Selected release

- Release: Q3 2024 (2024 C)
- Effective: July 1 – September 30, 2024
- Status indicator: A
- Office (non-facility) national allowed amount: $441.39
- Facility national allowed amount: $191.40
- Sequestration: not applied

## RVUs and formula

- Work RVU: 3.32
- Office (non-facility) practice expense RVU: 9.62
- Facility practice expense RVU: 2.11
- Malpractice RVU: 0.32
- Conversion factor: 33.2875
- Formula: `(work_rvu × work_gpci + pe_rvu × pe_gpci + mp_rvu × mp_gpci) × conversion_factor`

## Source and citation

- Source: Physician relative value file (Q3 2024)
- CMS file: https://www.cms.gov/files/zip/rvu24c-updated-09/09/2024.zip
- Parsed file: PPRRVU24_JUL.csv, row 12,759
- Canonical page: https://localishealth.com/cpt/64635/2024/A
- Release-specific citation URL: https://localishealth.com/cpt/64635/2024/C
- Last significant update: 2026-08-04T03:14:09+00:00