J8540 — Dexamethasone, oral, 0.25 mg
J8540 is a HCPCS Level II code for dexamethasone, oral, 0.25 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 J8540 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 · Oral Medication; Not Payable
- outpatient
- 80 units MAI 3 — Date of Service Edit: Clinical · Clinical: Data
- DME supplier
- 216 units MAI 3 — Date of Service Edit: Clinical · Clinical: Society Comment
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 J8540
- Long descriptor
- Dexamethasone, oral, 0.25 mg
- Short descriptor
- Oral dexamethasone
- Added
- January 1, 2006
- 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 J8540
HCPCS has no hierarchy — related items simply sit next to each other in the numbering. If J8540 is not quite right, the correct code is very often within a few positions of it.
- J8501Aprepitant, oral, 5 mg
- J8502Injection, aprepitant (aponvie), 1 mg
- J8510Busulfan; oral, 2 mg
- J8515Cabergoline, oral, 0.25 mg
- J8520Capecitabine, oral, 150 mgterminated
- J8521Capecitabine, oral, 500 mgterminated
- J8522Capecitabine, oral, 50 mg
- J8530Cyclophosphamide; oral, 25 mg
- J8541Dexamethasone (hemady), oral, 0.25 mg
- J8560Etoposide; oral, 50 mg
- J8562Fludarabine phosphate, oral, 10 mgterminated
- J8565Gefitinib, oral, 250 mg
- J8597Antiemetic drug, oral, not otherwise specified
- J8600Melphalan; oral, 2 mg
- J8610Methotrexate; oral, 2.5 mg
- J8611Methotrexate (jylamvo), oral, 2.5 mg
Questions about J8540
What is HCPCS code J8540?
J8540 is a HCPCS Level II code for dexamethasone, oral, 0.25 mg. It sits in the Drugs Administered Other Than Oral Method section.
Does Medicare cover J8540?
The CMS HCPCS file marks J8540 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 J8540 paid under the physician fee schedule?
J8540 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).