A4550: Surgical trays
A4550 is a HCPCS Level II code for surgical trays. It belongs to the Transportation, Medical & Surgical Supplies, Administrative section. Whether Medicare pays it depends on the coverage rule below.
Medicare coverage: Special coverage instructions apply
There are published conditions attached to this code. Check the applicable coverage policy before billing it: the code being valid is not the same as the service being covered.
From the coverage field of the CMS Alpha-Numeric HCPCS File, release 2026Q4-Oct. This states Medicare’s position on the code, not on your particular claim.
Physician fee schedule statusB
Bundled code. Payment is always bundled into another service. CMS: 'If RVUs are shown, they are not used for Medicare payment.'
Global period: XXX
Want the dollar amount for your locality? The fee calculator applies your GPCI and the current conversion factor.
Medically Unlikely Edits: units per day
The most units of A4550 Medicare will pay on one date of service. Bill more on a single line and it is denied. The limit is not the same in every setting, so the row that matters is the one matching the claim you are building.
- practitioner
- 0, never payable MAI 3: Date of Service Edit: Clinical · CMS Policy
- outpatient
- 3 units MAI 3: Date of Service Edit: Clinical · Clinical: Data
The adjudication indicator decides whether exceeding the limit is worth appealing at all: MAI 1 is a line edit you can support with documentation, MAI 3 is a date-of-service edit that is also appealable, and MAI 2 is absolute, no documentation overrides it. CMS MUE 2026Q4.
The CMS record for A4550
- Long descriptor
- Surgical trays
- Short descriptor
- Surgical trays
- Added
- January 1, 1982
- BETOS
- Y1
- Pricing indicator
- 11: Physician fee schedule
The official wording. This is what the code means.
CMS's 28-character form, which is what shows up on a remittance advice.
When CMS introduced the code.
Berenson-Eggers Type of Service: CMS's own analytic grouping.
Price established using national RVUs.
Codes adjacent to A4550
HCPCS has no hierarchy: related items simply sit next to each other in the numbering. If A4550 is not quite right, the correct code is very often within a few positions of it.
- A4510Surgical stockings full length, each
- A4520Incontinence garment, any type, (e.g., brief, diaper), each
- A4540Distal transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulator, stimulates peripheral nerves of the upper arm
- A4541Monthly supplies for use of device coded at e0733
- A4542Supplies and accessories for external upper limb tremor stimulator of the peripheral nerves of the wrist
- A4543Supplies for transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulator, for nerves in the auricular region, per month
- A4544Electrode for external lower extremity nerve stimulator for restless legs syndrome
- A4545Supplies and accessories for external tibial nerve stimulator (e.g., socks, gel pads, electrodes, etc.), needed for one month
- A4553Non-disposable underpads, all sizes
- A4554Disposable underpads, all sizes
- A4555Electrode/transducer for use with electrical stimulation device used for cancer treatment, replacement only
- A4556Electrodes, (e.g., apnea monitor), per pair
- A4557Lead wires, (e.g., apnea monitor), per pair
- A4558Conductive gel or paste, for use with electrical device (e.g., tens, nmes), per oz
- A4559Coupling gel or paste, for use with ultrasound device, per oz
- A4560Neuromuscular electrical stimulator (nmes), disposable, replacement only