Headline numbers
- Active practitioner pairs
- 1,732,820
- 8,869 column-2 codes
- Active hospital pairs
- 1,406,699
- 8,591 column-2 codes
- Practitioner pairs allowing a modifier
- 70.4%
- Hospital pairs allowing a modifier
- 96.4%
- Codes in both top-50 lists
- 16
- Bundled Part B drug codes
- 12
- of 886 ASP-priced codes
Top 50 column-2 codes, practitioner table
The first three codes are bundled into 27,729 practitioner pairs between them, and almost none of those pairs allow a modifier: 9 of the top 50 allow a modifier in fewer than 5 percent of their pairs, while 22 allow one in 95 percent or more. The modifier column decides what a coder can do: where it is near zero, the code is simply not separately payable with the column-1 service; where it is near 100 percent, a distinct, documented service can be reported with an NCCI-associated modifier.
| # | Column 2 | Code set | Active pairs | Modifier allowed | Main rationale | Hospital pairs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 96523 | CPT (descriptor licensed by AMA) | 10,567 | 0.1% | CPT Manual or CMS manual coding instruction (100%) | 1,240 |
| 2 | 36591 | CPT (descriptor licensed by AMA) | 8,582 | 0.0% | CPT Manual or CMS manual coding instruction (100%) | 227 |
| 3 | 36592 | CPT (descriptor licensed by AMA) | 8,580 | 0.0% | CPT Manual or CMS manual coding instruction (100%) | 227 |
| 4 | 36000 | CPT (descriptor licensed by AMA) | 6,575 | 99.8% | Standards of medical/surgical practice (87%) | 6,564 |
| 5 | 96360 | CPT (descriptor licensed by AMA) | 6,556 | 94.7% | Standards of medical/surgical practice (87%) | 6,411 |
| 6 | 96365 | CPT (descriptor licensed by AMA) | 6,555 | 94.4% | Standards of medical/surgical practice (87%) | 6,411 |
| 7 | 36410 | CPT (descriptor licensed by AMA) | 6,551 | 100.0% | Standards of medical/surgical practice (79%) | 6,550 |
| 8 | 96372 | CPT (descriptor licensed by AMA) | 6,513 | 95.6% | Standards of medical/surgical practice (87%) | 6,426 |
| 9 | 96377 | CPT (descriptor licensed by AMA) | 6,505 | 95.6% | Standards of medical/surgical practice (88%) | 6,457 |
| 10 | 96374 | CPT (descriptor licensed by AMA) | 6,500 | 95.6% | Standards of medical/surgical practice (87%) | 6,412 |
| 11 | 99446 | CPT (descriptor licensed by AMA) | 6,457 | 3.1% | CPT Manual or CMS manual coding instruction (99%) | 70 |
| 12 | 99447 | CPT (descriptor licensed by AMA) | 6,455 | 3.1% | CPT Manual or CMS manual coding instruction (99%) | 66 |
| 13 | 99449 | CPT (descriptor licensed by AMA) | 6,445 | 3.1% | CPT Manual or CMS manual coding instruction (99%) | 56 |
| 14 | 99448 | CPT (descriptor licensed by AMA) | 6,444 | 3.1% | CPT Manual or CMS manual coding instruction (99%) | 57 |
| 15 | 99452 | CPT (descriptor licensed by AMA) | 6,437 | 3.2% | CPT Manual or CMS manual coding instruction (95%) | 104 |
| 16 | 99451 | CPT (descriptor licensed by AMA) | 6,401 | 3.2% | CPT Manual or CMS manual coding instruction (95%) | 67 |
| 17 | 96376 | CPT (descriptor licensed by AMA) | 6,385 | 95.7% | Standards of medical/surgical practice (88%) | 6,378 |
| 18 | 96375 | CPT (descriptor licensed by AMA) | 6,353 | 95.7% | Standards of medical/surgical practice (88%) | 6,320 |
| 19 | 99211 | CPT (descriptor licensed by AMA) | 6,351 | 94.6% | CPT Manual or CMS manual coding instruction (92%) | 1,129 |
| 20 | 99212 | CPT (descriptor licensed by AMA) | 6,273 | 94.9% | CPT Manual or CMS manual coding instruction (93%) | 1,053 |
| 21 | 99213 | CPT (descriptor licensed by AMA) | 6,262 | 95.1% | CPT Manual or CMS manual coding instruction (93%) | 1,042 |
| 22 | 99214 | CPT (descriptor licensed by AMA) | 6,258 | 95.1% | CPT Manual or CMS manual coding instruction (93%) | 1,038 |
| 23 | 99215 | CPT (descriptor licensed by AMA) | 6,257 | 95.1% | CPT Manual or CMS manual coding instruction (93%) | 1,038 |
| 24 | 93040 | CPT (descriptor licensed by AMA) | 6,241 | 100.0% | Standards of medical/surgical practice (85%) | 6,228 |
| 25 | 93042 | CPT (descriptor licensed by AMA) | 6,240 | 99.8% | Standards of medical/surgical practice (85%) | 6,227 |
| 26 | 93041 | CPT (descriptor licensed by AMA) | 6,237 | 99.8% | Standards of medical/surgical practice (85%) | 6,198 |
| 27 | 99347 | CPT (descriptor licensed by AMA) | 6,211 | 93.4% | CPT Manual or CMS manual coding instruction (93%) | 984 |
| 28 | 99348 | CPT (descriptor licensed by AMA) | 6,208 | 93.4% | CPT Manual or CMS manual coding instruction (93%) | 981 |
| 29 | 94002 | CPT (descriptor licensed by AMA) | 6,207 | 97.1% | Standards of medical/surgical practice (84%) | 6,161 |
| 30 | 99315 | CPT (descriptor licensed by AMA) | 6,205 | 93.3% | CPT Manual or CMS manual coding instruction (93%) | 977 |
| 31 | 99349 | CPT (descriptor licensed by AMA) | 6,205 | 93.4% | CPT Manual or CMS manual coding instruction (93%) | 979 |
| 32 | 93005 | CPT (descriptor licensed by AMA) | 6,186 | 100.0% | Standards of medical/surgical practice (85%) | 6,160 |
| 33 | 93010 | CPT (descriptor licensed by AMA) | 6,185 | 100.0% | Standards of medical/surgical practice (85%) | 6,185 |
| 34 | 93000 | CPT (descriptor licensed by AMA) | 6,183 | 100.0% | Standards of medical/surgical practice (85%) | 6,183 |
| 35 | 99308 | CPT (descriptor licensed by AMA) | 6,167 | 93.0% | CPT Manual or CMS manual coding instruction (93%) | 882 |
| 36 | 99309 | CPT (descriptor licensed by AMA) | 6,163 | 93.1% | CPT Manual or CMS manual coding instruction (93%) | 878 |
| 37 | 99310 | CPT (descriptor licensed by AMA) | 6,161 | 93.1% | CPT Manual or CMS manual coding instruction (93%) | 877 |
| 38 | 99307 | CPT (descriptor licensed by AMA) | 6,160 | 93.1% | CPT Manual or CMS manual coding instruction (93%) | 875 |
| 39 | 99238 | CPT (descriptor licensed by AMA) | 6,159 | 94.1% | CPT Manual or CMS manual coding instruction (94%) | 957 |
| 40 | 99231 | CPT (descriptor licensed by AMA) | 6,158 | 94.7% | CPT Manual or CMS manual coding instruction (93%) | 961 |
| 41 | 99232 | CPT (descriptor licensed by AMA) | 6,154 | 94.7% | CPT Manual or CMS manual coding instruction (93%) | 957 |
| 42 | 99239 | CPT (descriptor licensed by AMA) | 6,153 | 94.1% | CPT Manual or CMS manual coding instruction (94%) | 951 |
| 43 | 99233 | CPT (descriptor licensed by AMA) | 6,151 | 94.7% | CPT Manual or CMS manual coding instruction (93%) | 954 |
| 44 | 99234 | CPT (descriptor licensed by AMA) | 6,149 | 95.0% | CPT Manual or CMS manual coding instruction (93%) | 955 |
| 45 | 99235 | CPT (descriptor licensed by AMA) | 6,149 | 95.1% | CPT Manual or CMS manual coding instruction (93%) | 955 |
| 46 | 99236 | CPT (descriptor licensed by AMA) | 6,147 | 95.1% | CPT Manual or CMS manual coding instruction (93%) | 953 |
| 47 | 99221 | CPT (descriptor licensed by AMA) | 6,144 | 95.0% | CPT Manual or CMS manual coding instruction (94%) | 942 |
| 48 | 99304 | CPT (descriptor licensed by AMA) | 6,143 | 93.3% | CPT Manual or CMS manual coding instruction (93%) | 858 |
| 49 | 99222 | CPT (descriptor licensed by AMA) | 6,140 | 95.0% | CPT Manual or CMS manual coding instruction (94%) | 940 |
| 50 | 99305 | CPT (descriptor licensed by AMA) | 6,140 | 93.3% | CPT Manual or CMS manual coding instruction (93%) | 854 |
Top 50 column-2 codes, hospital outpatient table
The hospital outpatient table edits facility claims and holds 1,406,699 active pairs against 1,732,820 in the practitioner table. 16 codes appear in both top-50 lists; 36406, 64450, 64486, 64487, 64488, 64489 and others reach the hospital top 50 without reaching the practitioner one. 16 of the practitioner top 50 have a hospital pair count within 10 percent of their practitioner count; the exceptions include 96523 (10,567 practitioner, 1,240 hospital), 36591 (8,582 practitioner, 227 hospital), 36592 (8,580 practitioner, 227 hospital).
| # | Column 2 | Code set | Active pairs | Modifier allowed | Main rationale | Practitioner pairs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 36000 | CPT (descriptor licensed by AMA) | 6,564 | 99.9% | Standards of medical/surgical practice (87%) | 6,575 |
| 2 | 36410 | CPT (descriptor licensed by AMA) | 6,550 | 100.0% | Standards of medical/surgical practice (79%) | 6,551 |
| 3 | 96377 | CPT (descriptor licensed by AMA) | 6,457 | 100.0% | Standards of medical/surgical practice (88%) | 6,505 |
| 4 | 96372 | CPT (descriptor licensed by AMA) | 6,426 | 100.0% | Standards of medical/surgical practice (87%) | 6,513 |
| 5 | 96374 | CPT (descriptor licensed by AMA) | 6,412 | 100.0% | Standards of medical/surgical practice (87%) | 6,500 |
| 6 | 96360 | CPT (descriptor licensed by AMA) | 6,411 | 100.0% | Standards of medical/surgical practice (87%) | 6,556 |
| 7 | 96365 | CPT (descriptor licensed by AMA) | 6,411 | 100.0% | Standards of medical/surgical practice (87%) | 6,555 |
| 8 | 96376 | CPT (descriptor licensed by AMA) | 6,378 | 100.0% | Standards of medical/surgical practice (88%) | 6,385 |
| 9 | 96375 | CPT (descriptor licensed by AMA) | 6,320 | 100.0% | Standards of medical/surgical practice (88%) | 6,353 |
| 10 | 93040 | CPT (descriptor licensed by AMA) | 6,228 | 100.0% | Standards of medical/surgical practice (85%) | 6,241 |
| 11 | 93042 | CPT (descriptor licensed by AMA) | 6,227 | 100.0% | Standards of medical/surgical practice (85%) | 6,240 |
| 12 | 93041 | CPT (descriptor licensed by AMA) | 6,198 | 100.0% | Standards of medical/surgical practice (85%) | 6,237 |
| 13 | 93010 | CPT (descriptor licensed by AMA) | 6,185 | 100.0% | Standards of medical/surgical practice (85%) | 6,185 |
| 14 | 93000 | CPT (descriptor licensed by AMA) | 6,183 | 100.0% | Standards of medical/surgical practice (85%) | 6,183 |
| 15 | 94002 | CPT (descriptor licensed by AMA) | 6,161 | 97.5% | Standards of medical/surgical practice (85%) | 6,207 |
| 16 | 93005 | CPT (descriptor licensed by AMA) | 6,160 | 100.0% | Standards of medical/surgical practice (85%) | 6,186 |
| 17 | 36406 | CPT (descriptor licensed by AMA) | 6,126 | 99.9% | Standards of medical/surgical practice (87%) | 6,136 |
| 18 | 64450 | CPT (descriptor licensed by AMA) | 6,109 | 100.0% | Misuse of Column Two code with Column One code (90%) | 6,110 |
| 19 | 64486 | CPT (descriptor licensed by AMA) | 6,095 | 100.0% | Misuse of Column Two code with Column One code (94%) | 6,096 |
| 20 | 64487 | CPT (descriptor licensed by AMA) | 6,094 | 100.0% | Misuse of Column Two code with Column One code (94%) | 6,095 |
| 21 | 64488 | CPT (descriptor licensed by AMA) | 6,091 | 100.0% | Misuse of Column Two code with Column One code (95%) | 6,092 |
| 22 | 64489 | CPT (descriptor licensed by AMA) | 6,090 | 100.0% | Misuse of Column Two code with Column One code (95%) | 6,091 |
| 23 | 36425 | CPT (descriptor licensed by AMA) | 6,089 | 100.0% | Standards of medical/surgical practice (86%) | 6,114 |
| 24 | 95822 | CPT (descriptor licensed by AMA) | 6,077 | 100.0% | Standards of medical/surgical practice (84%) | 6,111 |
| 25 | 99156 | CPT (descriptor licensed by AMA) | 6,072 | 100.0% | HCPCS/CPT procedure code definition (90%) | 6,073 |
| 26 | 99155 | CPT (descriptor licensed by AMA) | 6,070 | 100.0% | HCPCS/CPT procedure code definition (90%) | 6,071 |
| 27 | 64490 | CPT (descriptor licensed by AMA) | 6,063 | 100.0% | Misuse of Column Two code with Column One code (91%) | 6,091 |
| 28 | 43752 | CPT (descriptor licensed by AMA) | 6,055 | 100.0% | Standards of medical/surgical practice (78%) | 6,101 |
| 29 | 64493 | CPT (descriptor licensed by AMA) | 6,052 | 100.0% | Misuse of Column Two code with Column One code (91%) | 6,081 |
| 30 | 64415 | CPT (descriptor licensed by AMA) | 6,051 | 100.0% | Misuse of Column Two code with Column One code (91%) | 6,081 |
| 31 | 64417 | CPT (descriptor licensed by AMA) | 6,051 | 100.0% | Misuse of Column Two code with Column One code (91%) | 6,081 |
| 32 | 95955 | CPT (descriptor licensed by AMA) | 6,048 | 100.0% | Standards of medical/surgical practice (86%) | 6,035 |
| 33 | 36400 | CPT (descriptor licensed by AMA) | 6,046 | 99.9% | Standards of medical/surgical practice (86%) | 6,056 |
| 34 | 36405 | CPT (descriptor licensed by AMA) | 6,045 | 99.9% | Standards of medical/surgical practice (86%) | 6,055 |
| 35 | 64416 | CPT (descriptor licensed by AMA) | 6,041 | 100.0% | Misuse of Column Two code with Column One code (90%) | 6,071 |
| 36 | 94200 | CPT (descriptor licensed by AMA) | 6,033 | 100.0% | Standards of medical/surgical practice (87%) | 6,059 |
| 37 | 94681 | CPT (descriptor licensed by AMA) | 6,021 | 99.8% | Standards of medical/surgical practice (87%) | 6,048 |
| 38 | 93318 | CPT (descriptor licensed by AMA) | 6,020 | 100.0% | Standards of medical/surgical practice (85%) | 6,062 |
| 39 | 95829 | CPT (descriptor licensed by AMA) | 6,019 | 100.0% | Standards of medical/surgical practice (83%) | 6,019 |
| 40 | 36420 | CPT (descriptor licensed by AMA) | 6,018 | 99.9% | Standards of medical/surgical practice (85%) | 6,051 |
| 41 | 94690 | CPT (descriptor licensed by AMA) | 6,014 | 99.9% | Standards of medical/surgical practice (84%) | 6,040 |
| 42 | 95816 | CPT (descriptor licensed by AMA) | 6,014 | 99.9% | Standards of medical/surgical practice (87%) | 6,048 |
| 43 | 95812 | CPT (descriptor licensed by AMA) | 6,013 | 99.9% | Standards of medical/surgical practice (87%) | 6,047 |
| 44 | 95819 | CPT (descriptor licensed by AMA) | 6,012 | 99.9% | Standards of medical/surgical practice (87%) | 6,046 |
| 45 | 94680 | CPT (descriptor licensed by AMA) | 6,011 | 100.0% | Standards of medical/surgical practice (87%) | 6,038 |
| 46 | 95813 | CPT (descriptor licensed by AMA) | 6,011 | 99.9% | Standards of medical/surgical practice (87%) | 6,043 |
| 47 | 62326 | CPT (descriptor licensed by AMA) | 6,006 | 100.0% | Misuse of Column Two code with Column One code (88%) | 6,036 |
| 48 | 62327 | CPT (descriptor licensed by AMA) | 6,006 | 99.9% | Misuse of Column Two code with Column One code (88%) | 6,035 |
| 49 | 36430 | CPT (descriptor licensed by AMA) | 6,005 | 100.0% | Standards of medical/surgical practice (87%) | 6,044 |
| 50 | 36600 | CPT (descriptor licensed by AMA) | 6,005 | 100.0% | Standards of medical/surgical practice (87%) | 6,044 |
Most-bundled Part B drug codes
Drug codes are rarely the bundled component. Of the 886 HCPCS Level II codes with an ASP payment limit, only 12 are column 2 in any active practitioner pair; the list below is all of them. Each links to its HCPCS drug code page with the full NCCI, MUE and ASP detail.
| HCPCS | Descriptor | Practitioner pairs | Hospital pairs | Modifier allowed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| J0670 | Injection, mepivacaine hydrochloride, per 10 ml | 1,548 | 4 | 100.0% |
| J1644 | Injection, heparin sodium, per 1000 units | 299 | 0 | 100.0% |
| J1642 | Injection, heparin sodium, (heparin lock flush), per 10 units | 274 | 0 | 100.0% |
| J2002 | Injection, lidocaine hcl in 5% dextrose, 1 mg | 7 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Q9965 | Low osmolar contrast material, 100-199 mg/ml iodine concentration, per ml | 7 | 7 | 100.0% |
| Q9966 | Low osmolar contrast material, 200-299 mg/ml iodine concentration, per ml | 6 | 6 | 100.0% |
| Q9967 | Low osmolar contrast material, 300-399 mg/ml iodine concentration, per ml | 5 | 5 | 100.0% |
| Q9958 | High osmolar contrast material, up to 149 mg/ml iodine concentration, per ml | 4 | 4 | 100.0% |
| Q9961 | High osmolar contrast material, 250-299 mg/ml iodine concentration, per ml | 2 | 2 | 100.0% |
| J1460 | Injection, gamma globulin, intramuscular, 1 cc | 1 | 0 | 0.0% |
| J2792 | Injection, rho d immune globulin, intravenous, human, solvent detergent, 100 iu | 1 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Q2043 | Sipuleucel-t, minimum of 50 million autologous cd54+ cells activated with pap-gm-csf, including leukapheresis and all other preparatory procedures, per infusion | 1 | 1 | 100.0% |
Using the list
A heavily bundled code meets a same-day edit with every service that includes it. Before billing one of these codes with another service on the same date, open it in the NCCI edit checker with the other code: the checker returns which code is column 1, the modifier indicator and the rationale for that specific pair in either setting.
The edits themselves change every quarter; the NCCI 2026 Q4 changes report lists what the October 1, 2026 release added, deleted and re-flagged, and the glossary definition of NCCI edits explains column 1, column 2 and the modifier indicator.
Method
Every row of the four practitioner and four hospital outpatient PTP files without a deletion date is an active pair. Pairs are counted by their column-2 code; the modifier share is the fraction of those pairs with indicator 1, and the main rationale is the most frequent edit rationale among them. CPT codes are shown as numbers; HCPCS Level II descriptors come from the HCPCS alpha-numeric file. See the reference methodology.
Download the full table
The CSV holds the top 50 column-2 codes of each 2026 Q4 PTP table with pair counts, modifier shares, the main rationale and the count in the other table: 100 rows, one header row and the columns setting, rank, column2 code, code set, level2 descriptor, active pairs, modifier allowed pairs, modifier allowed pct, main rationale, main rationale pct, active pairs other setting. Its first line is a comment that names each CMS source file with its SHA-256, the data date and the attribution line to keep when you reuse the table.
Table SHA-256 (the rows after the comment line): 9b8e2ddd5026d4dab7770252a5820a869acd1fd11553608533afd032c1f8ef8c. Data as of 2026-10-01.
Where QuickIntell fits in coding review
This checker answers one pair at a time. QuickCode supports qualified coder review, documentation clarification and the billing handoff, where pair edits and modifier support are settled on the whole claim.
Frequently asked questions
Which code is bundled most often in the NCCI edits?
In the 2026 Q4 practitioner table, 96523 is the column-2 code in 10,567 active pairs, more than any other code; 0.1% of those pairs allow a modifier. In the hospital outpatient table the leader is 36000 with 6,564 pairs.
What does it mean that a code is column 2 in many pairs?
In an NCCI procedure-to-procedure pair the column-2 code is the component: when both codes are billed for the same patient on the same date, the column-2 code is denied unless the modifier indicator allows a modifier and the documentation supports a separate service. A code that is column 2 in thousands of pairs is bundled into thousands of other services.
Why do the practitioner and hospital lists differ?
CMS maintains separate tables for practitioner claims and for hospital outpatient claims processed through the I/OCE. 16 codes appear in both top-50 lists. The share of active pairs that allow a modifier also differs: 70.4% in the practitioner table against 96.4% in the hospital outpatient table.
How many Part B drug codes are bundled?
Only 12 of the 886 ASP-priced HCPCS drug codes are the column-2 code in any active practitioner pair; the drug code with the most pairs is J0670 (1,548). Drug codes are far more often column 1 or not edited at all.
Sources
Every figure on this page is taken from the CMS publications below, as released by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Projection built 2026-10-10. Verify against the primary file before billing or contracting decisions. The reference methodology explains how each figure is computed from these files.
- NCCI PTP edits, practitioner, v323r0 (four files)Version v323r0 (2026 Q4) · effective 2026-10-01 · file ccipra-v323r0-f1.TXTSHA-256 7793c0b6686c1e22…
- NCCI PTP edits, hospital outpatient, v323r0 (four files)Version v323r0 (2026 Q4) · effective 2026-10-01 · file ccioph-v323r0-f1.txtSHA-256 063f41b91ef9faa2…
- HCPCS Level II alpha-numeric file, October 2026Version October 2026 · effective 2026-10-01 · file HCPC2026_OCT_ANWEB_09232026.txtSHA-256 c25240c63108756d…
Disclaimer
Counts describe the CMS files as published; whether a pair applies to a claim depends on dates of service, modifiers and documentation. CPT codes appear as numbers only. Operational reference, not legal, clinical or billing advice.
Found a figure that does not match the CMS file? Report a data correction with the CMS file and the value you expected; the request reaches the editorial team through the contact form.