J2515 — Injection, pentobarbital sodium, per 50 mg
J2515 is a HCPCS Level II code for injection, pentobarbital sodium, per 50 mg. It belongs to the Drugs Administered Other Than Oral Method 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.
Physician fee schedule statusE
Excluded from the physician fee schedule by regulation. Payment, where it exists, comes from another fee schedule (drugs via ASP, supplies via DMEPOS, and so on).
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 J2515 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
- 1 unit MAI 3 — Date of Service Edit: Clinical · Clinical: Data
- outpatient
- 8 units MAI 3 — Date of Service Edit: Clinical · Clinical: Data
- DME supplier
- 0 — never payable MAI 3 — Date of Service Edit: Clinical · CMS Policy
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 J2515
- Long descriptor
- Injection, pentobarbital sodium, per 50 mg
- Short descriptor
- Pentobarbital sodium inj
- Added
- January 1, 1982
- BETOS
- O1E
- Pricing indicator
- 51 — 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.
Drugs.
Codes adjacent to J2515
HCPCS has no hierarchy — related items simply sit next to each other in the numbering. If J2515 is not quite right, the correct code is very often within a few positions of it.
- J2503Injection, pegaptanib sodium, 0.3 mgterminated
- J2504Injection, pegademase bovine, 25 iuterminated
- J2505Injection, pegfilgrastim, 6 mgterminated
- J2506Injection, pegfilgrastim, excludes biosimilar, 0.5 mg
- J2507Injection, pegloticase, 1 mg
- J2508Injection, pegunigalsidase alfa-iwxj, 1 mg
- J2510Injection, penicillin g procaine, aqueous, up to 600,000 units
- J2513Injection, pentastarch, 10% solution, 100 mlterminated
- J2516Injection, pentamidine isethionate, 1 mg
- J2540Injection, penicillin g potassium, up to 600,000 units
- J2543Injection, piperacillin sodium/tazobactam sodium, 1 gram/0.125 grams (1.125 grams)
- J2545Pentamidine isethionate, inhalation solution, fda-approved final product, non-compounded, administered through dme, unit dose form, per 300 mg
- J2547Injection, peramivir, 1 mg
- J2550Injection, promethazine hcl, up to 50 mg
- J2560Injection, phenobarbital sodium, up to 120 mg
- J2561Injection, phenobarbital sodium (sezaby), 1 mg
Questions about J2515
What is HCPCS code J2515?
J2515 is a HCPCS Level II code for injection, pentobarbital sodium, per 50 mg. It sits in the Drugs Administered Other Than Oral Method section.
Does Medicare cover J2515?
The CMS HCPCS file marks J2515 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.
How is J2515 paid under the physician fee schedule?
J2515 carries PFS status code E. Excluded from the physician fee schedule by regulation. Payment, where it exists, comes from another fee schedule (drugs via ASP, supplies via DMEPOS, and so on).