J7040 — Infusion, normal saline solution, sterile (500 ml = 1 unit)
J7040 is a HCPCS Level II code for infusion, normal saline solution, sterile (500 ml = 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: 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 J7040 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
- 6 units MAI 3 — Date of Service Edit: Clinical · Clinical: Data
- outpatient
- 12 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 J7040
- Long descriptor
- Infusion, normal saline solution, sterile (500 ml = 1 unit)
- Short descriptor
- Normal saline solution infus
- Added
- January 1, 1984
- 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 J7040
HCPCS has no hierarchy — related items simply sit next to each other in the numbering. If J7040 is not quite right, the correct code is very often within a few positions of it.
- J3490Unclassified drugs
- J3520Edetate disodium, per 150 mg
- J3530Nasal vaccine inhalation
- J3535Drug administered through a metered dose inhaler
- J3570Laetrile, amygdalin, vitamin b17
- J3590Unclassified biologics
- J3591Unclassified drug or biological used for esrd on dialysis
- J7030Infusion, normal saline solution , 1000 cc
- J70425% dextrose/normal saline (500 ml = 1 unit)
- J7050Infusion, normal saline solution, 250 cc
- J70605% dextrose/water (500 ml = 1 unit)
- J7070Infusion, d5w, 1000 cc
- J7100Infusion, dextran 40, 500 ml
- J7110Infusion, dextran 75, 500 ml
- J7120Ringers lactate infusion, up to 1000 cc
- J71215% dextrose in lactated ringers infusion, up to 1000 cc
Questions about J7040
What is HCPCS code J7040?
J7040 is a HCPCS Level II code for infusion, normal saline solution, sterile (500 ml = 1 unit). It sits in the Drugs Administered Other Than Oral Method section.
Does Medicare cover J7040?
The CMS HCPCS file marks J7040 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 J7040 paid under the physician fee schedule?
J7040 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).