C9285 — Lidocaine 70 mg/tetracaine 70 mg, per patch
C9285 is a HCPCS Level II code for lidocaine 70 mg/tetracaine 70 mg, per patch. 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 C9285 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
- 2 units MAI 3 — Date of Service Edit: Clinical · Prescribing Information
- outpatient
- 2 units MAI 3 — Date of Service Edit: Clinical · Prescribing Information
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 C9285
- Long descriptor
- Lidocaine 70 mg/tetracaine 70 mg, per patch
- Short descriptor
- Patch, lidocaine/tetracaine
- Added
- July 1, 2011
- BETOS
- O1E
- 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 C9285
HCPCS has no hierarchy — related items simply sit next to each other in the numbering. If C9285 is not quite right, the correct code is very often within a few positions of it.
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- C9248Injection, clevidipine butyrate, 1 mgterminated
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- C9275Injection, hexaminolevulinate hydrochloride, 100 mg, per study doseterminated
- C9290Injection, bupivacaine liposome, 1 mgterminated
- C9293Injection, glucarpidase, 10 units
- C9300Injection, indigotindisulfonate sodium, 1 mgterminated
- C9301Obecabtagene autoleucel, up to 400 million cd19 car-positive viable t cells, including leukapheresis and dose preparation procedures, per therapeutic doseterminated
- C9302Injection, zanidatamab-hrii, 2 mgterminated
- C9303Injection, zolbetuximab-clzb, 1 mgterminated
- C9304Injection, marstacimab-hncq, 0.5 mgterminated
- C9305Injection, nipocalimab-aahu, 3 mgterminated
Questions about C9285
What is HCPCS code C9285?
C9285 is a HCPCS Level II code for lidocaine 70 mg/tetracaine 70 mg, per patch. It sits in the Outpatient Prospective Payment System section.
Does Medicare cover C9285?
The CMS HCPCS file marks C9285 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.