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Q9991

Q9991Injection, buprenorphine extended-release (sublocade), less than or equal to 100 mg

HCPCSActiveBETOS O1E

Q9991 is a HCPCS Level II code for injection, buprenorphine extended-release (sublocade), less than or equal to 100 mg. It belongs to the Temporary Codes 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 Q9991 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 2 — Date of Service Edit: Policy · Code Descriptor / CPT Instruction
outpatient
1 unit
MAI 2 — Date of Service Edit: Policy · Code Descriptor / CPT Instruction

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 Q9991

Long descriptor
Injection, buprenorphine extended-release (sublocade), less than or equal to 100 mg

The official wording. This is what the code means.

Short descriptor
Buprenorph xr 100 mg or less

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

Added
July 1, 2018

When CMS introduced the code.

BETOS
O1E

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

Pricing indicator
51 — Other

Drugs.

Codes adjacent to Q9991

HCPCS has no hierarchy — related items simply sit next to each other in the numbering. If Q9991 is not quite right, the correct code is very often within a few positions of it.

  • Q9982Flutemetamol f18, diagnostic, per study dose, up to 5 millicuries
  • Q9983Florbetaben f18, diagnostic, per study dose, up to 8.1 millicuries
  • Q9984Levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine contraceptive system (kyleena), 19.5 mgterminated
  • Q9985Injection, hydroxyprogesterone caproate, not otherwise specified, 10 mgterminated
  • Q9986Injection, hydroxyprogesterone caproate, (makena), 10 mgterminated
  • Q9987Pathogen(s) test for plateletsterminated
  • Q9988Platelets, pheresis, pathogen-reduced, each unitterminated
  • Q9989Ustekinumab, for intravenous injection, 1 mgterminated
  • Q9992Injection, buprenorphine extended-release (sublocade), greater than 100 mg
  • Q9993Injection, triamcinolone acetonide, preservative-free, extended-release, microsphere formulation, 1 mgterminated
  • Q9994In-line cartridge containing digestive enzyme(s) for enteral feeding, eachterminated
  • Q9995Injection, emicizumab-kxwh, 0.5 mgterminated
  • Q9996Injection, ustekinumab-ttwe (pyzchiva), subcutaneous, 1 mg
  • Q9997Injection, ustekinumab-ttwe (pyzchiva), intravenous, 1 mg
  • Q9998Injection, ustekinumab-aekn (selarsdi), biosimilar, 1 mg
  • Q9999Injection, ustekinumab-aauz (otulfi), biosimilar, 1 mg

Questions about Q9991

What is HCPCS code Q9991?

Q9991 is a HCPCS Level II code for injection, buprenorphine extended-release (sublocade), less than or equal to 100 mg. It sits in the Temporary Codes section.

Does Medicare cover Q9991?

The CMS HCPCS file marks Q9991 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 Q9991 paid under the physician fee schedule?

Q9991 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