E0850 — Traction stand, free standing, cervical traction
E0850 is a HCPCS Level II code for traction stand, free standing, cervical traction. It belongs to the Durable Medical Equipment 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 E0850 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
- 0 — never payable MAI 3 — Date of Service Edit: Clinical · CMS Policy
- DME supplier
- 1 unit MAI 2 — Date of Service Edit: Policy · Code Descriptor / CPT Instruction
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 E0850
- Long descriptor
- Traction stand, free standing, cervical traction
- Short descriptor
- Traction stand free standing
- Added
- January 1, 1982
- BETOS
- D1E
- Pricing indicator
- 32 — DMEPOS
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.
Inexpensive and routinely purchased DME. Price subject to floors and ceilings.
Codes adjacent to E0850
HCPCS has no hierarchy — related items simply sit next to each other in the numbering. If E0850 is not quite right, the correct code is very often within a few positions of it.
- E0784External ambulatory infusion pump, insulin
- E0785Implantable intraspinal (epidural/intrathecal) catheter used with implantable infusion pump, replacement
- E0786Implantable programmable infusion pump, replacement (excludes implantable intraspinal catheter)
- E0787External ambulatory infusion pump, insulin, dosage rate adjustment using therapeutic continuous glucose sensing
- E0791Parenteral infusion pump, stationary, single or multi-channel
- E0830Ambulatory traction device, all types, each
- E0840Traction frame, attached to headboard, cervical traction
- E0849Traction equipment, cervical, free-standing stand/frame, pneumatic, applying traction force to other than mandible
- E0855Cervical traction equipment not requiring additional stand or frame
- E0856Cervical traction device, with inflatable air bladder(s)
- E0860Traction equipment, overdoor, cervical
- E0870Traction frame, attached to footboard, extremity traction, (e.g., buck's)
- E0880Traction stand, free standing, extremity traction
- E0890Traction frame, attached to footboard, pelvic traction
- E0900Traction stand, free standing, pelvic traction, (e.g., buck's)
- E0910Trapeze bars, a/k/a patient helper, attached to bed, with grab bar
Questions about E0850
What is HCPCS code E0850?
E0850 is a HCPCS Level II code for traction stand, free standing, cervical traction. It sits in the Durable Medical Equipment section.
Does Medicare cover E0850?
The CMS HCPCS file marks E0850 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.