CPT 95851: Range of Motion Measurement, Single Spine Section or Extremity
Medicare pays $27 and commercial payers pay $20 on average nationally for this procedure.
CPT code 95851 describes a focused range of motion measurement for a single section of the spine or a single extremity (excluding the hand), documenting how much movement exists at a specific joint; the service is a targeted musculoskeletal range-of-motion assessment typically performed in an outpatient physical or occupational therapy clinic or a physician’s office during functional assessment or follow-up care.
For related coverage guidance, see recent payer policy updates: Lumbar Microdiscectomy, Artificial Cervical Intervertebral Disc, Lumbar Decompression.
Customize your policy alerts
Sign up for cpt 95851 policy alerts
Get alerted when payer policies referencing 95851 are released or updated.
Monitor payer policy activity
National Reimbursement Benchmarks
Across national payers, Medicare’s mean rate for CPT 95851 sits at $27.10, very close to BUCA’s average commercial mean of $19.60 — Medicare is higher by $7.50 but within a comparable range of commercial averages. This places Medicare near the middle-to-upper end of listed mean rates, while BUCA aligns with a moderate commercial benchmark.
Dispersion (P75 minus P25) highlights differing variability: Blue Cross Blue Shield has a spread of $12.00, Aetna $13.30, Cigna $21.10, UnitedHealth Group $18.50, and BUCA $12.80; Medicare’s interquartile spread is narrow at $3.00. Cigna shows the widest dispersion at $21.10, indicating the largest variability in commercial payments, while Medicare is the tightest at $3.00, reflecting the most consistent locality-level medians.