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J9216

J9216Injection, interferon, gamma 1-b, 3 million units

HCPCSActiveBETOS O1D

J9216 is a HCPCS Level II code for injection, interferon, gamma 1-b, 3 million units. 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 J9216 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
2 units
MAI 3 — Date of Service Edit: Clinical · Prescribing Information
outpatient
0 — never payable
MAI 3 — Date of Service Edit: Clinical · CMS Policy
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 J9216

Long descriptor
Injection, interferon, gamma 1-b, 3 million units

The official wording. This is what the code means.

Short descriptor
Interferon gamma 1-b inj

CMS's 28-character form, which is what shows up on a remittance advice.

Added
January 1, 1993

When CMS introduced the code.

BETOS
O1D

Berenson-Eggers Type of Service — CMS's own analytic grouping.

Pricing indicator
51 — Other

Drugs.

Codes adjacent to J9216

HCPCS has no hierarchy — related items simply sit next to each other in the numbering. If J9216 is not quite right, the correct code is very often within a few positions of it.

  • J9208Injection, ifosfamide, 1 gram
  • J9209Injection, mesna, 200 mg
  • J9210Injection, emapalumab-lzsg, 1 mg
  • J9211Injection, idarubicin hydrochloride, 5 mg
  • J9212Injection, interferon alfacon-1, recombinant, 1 microgramterminated
  • J9213Injection, interferon, alfa-2a, recombinant, 3 million units
  • J9214Injection, interferon, alfa-2b, recombinant, 1 million units
  • J9215Injection, interferon, alfa-n3, (human leukocyte derived), 250,000 iu
  • J9217Leuprolide acetate (for depot suspension), 7.5 mg
  • J9218Leuprolide acetate, per 1 mg
  • J9219Leuprolide acetate implant, 65 mg
  • J9220Injection, indigotindisulfonate sodium, 1 mg
  • J9223Injection, lurbinectedin, 0.1 mg
  • J9225Histrelin implant (vantas), 50 mg
  • J9226Histrelin implant (supprelin la), 50 mg
  • J9227Injection, isatuximab-irfc, 10 mg

Questions about J9216

What is HCPCS code J9216?

J9216 is a HCPCS Level II code for injection, interferon, gamma 1-b, 3 million units. It sits in the Drugs Administered Other Than Oral Method section.

Does Medicare cover J9216?

The CMS HCPCS file marks J9216 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 J9216 paid under the physician fee schedule?

J9216 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).

HCPCS Level II2026Q3-Jul· effective July 1, 2026