Summary
UnitedHealthcare removed CPT codes 22850, 22855, and 63286 from the spinal fusion and decompression medical policy in its November 2026 Individual Exchange update bulletin, with the update listed as effective 2026-12-01. Billing teams should stop reporting these three codes for Exchange members on or after that date and confirm charge entry and claim edits no longer offer them for this plan.
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What to do
Action · 3 steps
01By 2026-12-01: Billing team should identify any charge-entry templates, superbills, or claim edits that include CPT 22850, 22855, or 63286 for Exchange members and remove them so claims for these codes are not submitted after that date.
02Providers and front desk staff should be told the codes are no longer being reported for these members so scheduling and encounter forms reflect the change.
03Where a service is still planned, the team should check the updated policy text before scheduling to confirm which codes now apply.
Codes mentioned
228502285563286
Original notice
Spinal Fusion and Decompression
uhcprovider.com · Always check the source before changing claims.
Related changes
See all UnitedHealthcare changes →Spinal Fusion and DecompressionMediumEffective Dec 1, 2026 · Medical PolicySpinal Fusion and DecompressionMediumEffective Dec 1, 2026 · Medical PolicySpinal Fusion and DecompressionMediumEffective Dec 1, 2026 · Medical PolicySpinal Fusion and DecompressionHighEffective Nov 1, 2026 · Medical PolicyBrowse every UnitedHealthcare change in the policy list