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HCPCS J9042 · Level II · Part B drug

HCPCS J9042: Injection, brentuximab vedotin, 1 mg

Reviewed by QuickIntell RCM Editorial Team · Last reviewed

Data effective
Data currency: ASP payment limits October 2026 (effective October 1, 2026); MUE and NCCI edits 2026 Q4 (effective October 1, 2026); OPPS Addendum B July 2026 (effective July 1, 2026). Next CMS release: January 1, 2027 (ASP, MUE, NCCI and OPPS quarterly updates).

Key facts for J9042

Billing unit
1 MG
Brentuximab vedotin inj
ASP payment limit
$279.207
October 2026; +0.0% vs July 2026
Practitioner MUE
200
MAI 3
OPPS status
SI K
APC 9287
NCCI exposure
no PTP pairs
Coverage articles
0
none list this code

TL;DR

HCPCS J9042 is the Level II code for Injection, brentuximab vedotin, 1 mg, billed per 1 MG. The Medicare Part B ASP payment limit for October 2026 is $279.207 per billing unit, up 0.0% from July 2026. The practitioner MUE allows up to 200 units per date of service (MAI 3). Under OPPS it carries status indicator K in APC 9287. With a 1 mg billing unit, a single administration can be hundreds of units; the unit count on the claim must equal the milligrams given, and rounding rules for partial units follow the contractor's guidance. The ASP crosswalk maps 1 NDC to it, sold as Adcetris by Pfizer Inc. No current Billing and Coding Article lists J9042, so coverage follows the FDA label, compendia and any applicable NCD.

Medicare Part B payment limit (ASP)

CMS sets the Part B payment limit for J9042 at $279.207 per 1 MG for October 2026, derived from manufacturer average sales price plus 6%, compared with $279.207 in July 2026. Beneficiary coinsurance is 17%.

ASP payment limits for J9042
QuarterPayment limitPerCoinsurance
October 2026$279.2071 MG17%
July 2026$279.2071 MG—
CMS note: Inflation-adjusted coinsurance

NDC to HCPCS billing-unit conversion

The October 2026 ASP crosswalk maps 1 NDC from 1 labeler to J9042. Report the NDC in the claim's drug segment and bill the number of J9042 units that equals the quantity administered divided by 1 MG; the last column gives units per full package.

NDCs that crosswalk to J9042
NDCDrug nameLabelerPackage sizeBilling units / package
51144-0050-01AdcetrisPfizer Inc1 × 150

Medically Unlikely Edits (MUE)

CMS publishes 3 MUE values for J9042. For practitioners the limit is 200 units per date of service with adjudication indicator 3, a date-of-service clinical edit: units above the limit deny but can be paid on appeal with documentation that the quantity was medically reasonable.

MUE values for J9042 by setting
SettingMUE (units/DOS)MAICMS rationale
Practitioner services2003 Date of Service Edit: ClinicalCMS Policy
Facility outpatient hospital2003 Date of Service Edit: ClinicalCMS Policy
DME supplier03 Date of Service Edit: ClinicalCMS Policy

NCCI edits and add-on relationships

No active practitioner PTP pair lists J9042 as a column-1 or column-2 code in v323r0. Drug supply codes are rarely bundled; the administration codes billed with them are where PTP edits usually apply.

J9042 is neither an add-on code nor a designated primary code in the 2026 Q4 NCCI add-on edit file.

Medicare coverage articles

No current Billing and Coding Article lists J9042 in its HCPCS table. Coverage then follows the drug's FDA label, compendia and any National Coverage Determination; check the Medicare Coverage Database before administering off-label.

Hospital outpatient (OPPS) status

In the July 2026 OPPS Addendum B, J9042 carries status indicator K and is assigned to APC 9287, with a published national unadjusted payment of $279.21. Status K means the drug is paid separately under OPPS at the ASP-based rate rather than packaged into the procedure.

Common denials for J9042 and how to prevent them

CARC 16 · M119

NDC missing, invalid or not matched to the HCPCS code

CARC 151 · N362

units billed exceed the MUE for the date of service

CARC 50 · N115

diagnosis not covered by the applicable coverage article or LCD

How QuickIntell checks J9042 before the claim leaves

QuickCode validates the NDC-to-unit conversion against the current ASP crosswalk, checks units against every published MUE setting and flags PTP and add-on conflicts on the same claim. QuickRCM routes CARC 16, 151 and 50 denials on drug lines with the matching coverage article attached so the appeal starts with evidence.

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Frequently asked questions — HCPCS J9042

What does HCPCS code J9042 describe?

J9042 is defined by CMS as "Injection, brentuximab vedotin, 1 mg". Each billing unit represents 1 MG, so the units reported on the claim must equal the dose administered divided by that unit.

What is the Medicare reimbursement for J9042 in October 2026?

The ASP-based payment limit is $279.207 per 1 MG, with 17% beneficiary coinsurance. Medicare Administrative Contractors apply this limit; commercial payers use their own fee schedules. The July 2026 limit was $279.207.

How many units of J9042 can be billed per day?

The practitioner Medically Unlikely Edit is 200 units per date of service with adjudication indicator 3 (3 Date of Service Edit: Clinical). MAI 3 edits can be appealed with documentation that the units were medically reasonable. CMS cites "CMS Policy" as the rationale.

Which NDCs map to J9042?

The October 2026 ASP crosswalk lists 1 NDC from 1 labeler: Adcetris (Pfizer Inc). For example NDC 51144-0050-01 is a 1 package equal to 50 billing units. The crosswalk's billing-units-per-package figure converts each package into J9042 units.

Does J9042 have NCCI bundling edits?

No active practitioner PTP pairs list J9042 as a column-1 or column-2 code in the v323r0 release. Unit limits (MUE) and medical-necessity coverage rules still apply.

Sources

Every figure on this page is taken from the CMS publications below, as released by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Projection built 2026-10-01. Verify against the primary file before billing or contracting decisions.

Disclaimer

This page is an operational reference compiled from CMS publications: the Medicare Part B drug payment limit and NDC crosswalk files, NCCI MUE and add-on edit tables, aggregate PTP statistics, OPPS Addendum B and the Medicare Coverage Database. Payment limits are Medicare national amounts; commercial and Medicaid payers differ. CPT codes are shown as numbers only; CPT descriptors are copyright AMA. Nothing here is legal, clinical or billing advice.