C1819 — Surgical tissue localization and excision device (implantable)
C1819 is a HCPCS Level II code for surgical tissue localization and excision device (implantable). It belongs to the Outpatient Prospective Payment System 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 2026Q3-Jul. This states Medicare’s position on the code, not on your particular claim.
Medically Unlikely Edits — units per day
The most units of C1819 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
- 4 units MAI 3 — Date of Service Edit: Clinical · Clinical: CMS Workgroup
- outpatient
- 4 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 2026Q3.
The CMS record for C1819
- Long descriptor
- Surgical tissue localization and excision device (implantable)
- Short descriptor
- Tissue localization-excision
- Added
- January 1, 2004
- BETOS
- D1A
- Pricing indicator
- 53 — Other
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.
Statute.
Codes adjacent to C1819
HCPCS has no hierarchy — related items simply sit next to each other in the numbering. If C1819 is not quite right, the correct code is very often within a few positions of it.
- C1788Port, indwelling (implantable)
- C1789Prosthesis, breast (implantable)
- C1813Prosthesis, penile, inflatable
- C1814Retinal tamponade device, silicone oil
- C1815Prosthesis, urinary sphincter (implantable)
- C1816Receiver and/or transmitter, neurostimulator (implantable)
- C1817Septal defect implant system, intracardiac
- C1818Integrated keratoprosthesis
- C1820Generator, neurostimulator (implantable), with rechargeable battery and charging system
- C1821Interspinous process distraction device (implantable)
- C1822Generator, neurostimulator (implantable), high frequency, with rechargeable battery and charging system
- C1823Generator, neurostimulator (implantable), non-rechargeable, with transvenous sensing and stimulation leads
- C1824Generator, cardiac contractility modulation (implantable)
- C1825Generator, neurostimulator (implantable), non-rechargeable with carotid sinus baroreceptor stimulation lead(s)
- C1826Generator, neurostimulator (implantable), includes closed feedback loop leads and all implantable components, with rechargeable battery and charging system
- C1827Generator, neurostimulator (implantable), non-rechargeable, with implantable stimulation lead and external paired stimulation controller
Questions about C1819
What is HCPCS code C1819?
C1819 is a HCPCS Level II code for surgical tissue localization and excision device (implantable). It sits in the Outpatient Prospective Payment System section.
Does Medicare cover C1819?
The CMS HCPCS file marks C1819 as "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.