J2601 — Injection, vasopressin (baxter), 1 unit
J2601 is a HCPCS Level II code for injection, vasopressin (baxter), 1 unit. It belongs to the Drugs Administered Other Than Oral Method section. Whether Medicare pays it depends on the coverage rule below.
Medicare coverage: Carrier judgment
Coverage is decided by your Medicare contractor, not by national policy. Whether this is paid depends on the LCD for your jurisdiction and on what the documentation supports.
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 J2601 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
- 160 units MAI 3 — Date of Service Edit: Clinical · CMS Policy
- outpatient
- 160 units MAI 3 — Date of Service Edit: Clinical · CMS Policy
- DME supplier
- 160 units 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 J2601
- Long descriptor
- Injection, vasopressin (baxter), 1 unit
- Short descriptor
- Inj, vasopressin (baxter)
- Added
- October 1, 2024
- 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 J2601
HCPCS has no hierarchy — related items simply sit next to each other in the numbering. If J2601 is not quite right, the correct code is very often within a few positions of it.
- J2560Injection, phenobarbital sodium, up to 120 mg
- J2561Injection, phenobarbital sodium (sezaby), 1 mg
- J2562Injection, plerixafor, 1 mg
- J2590Injection, oxytocin, up to 10 units
- J2596Injection, vasopressin (long grove), not therapeutically equivalent to j2598, 1 unit
- J2597Injection, desmopressin acetate, per 1 mcg
- J2598Injection, vasopressin, 1 unit
- J2599Injection, vasopressin (american regent), not therapeutically equivalent to j2598, 1 unit
- J2650Injection, prednisolone acetate, up to 1 ml
- J2670Injection, tolazoline hcl, up to 25 mg
- J2675Injection, progesterone, per 50 mg
- J2679Injection, fluphenazine hcl, 1.25 mg
- J2680Injection, fluphenazine decanoate, up to 25 mg
- J2690Injection, procainamide hcl, up to 1 gm
- J2700Injection, oxacillin sodium, up to 250 mg
- J2704Injection, propofol, 10 mg
Questions about J2601
What is HCPCS code J2601?
J2601 is a HCPCS Level II code for injection, vasopressin (baxter), 1 unit. It sits in the Drugs Administered Other Than Oral Method section.
Does Medicare cover J2601?
The CMS HCPCS file marks J2601 as "Carrier judgment". Coverage is decided by your Medicare contractor, not by national policy. Whether this is paid depends on the LCD for your jurisdiction and on what the documentation supports.
How is J2601 paid under the physician fee schedule?
J2601 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).