J0687 — Injection, cefazolin sodium (wg critical care), not therapeutically equivalent to j0690, 500 mg
J0687 is a HCPCS Level II code for injection, cefazolin sodium (wg critical care), not therapeutically equivalent to j0690, 500 mg. It belongs to the Drugs Administered Other Than Oral Method section. Whether Medicare pays it depends on the coverage rule below.
Medicare coverage: Special coverage instructions apply
There are published conditions attached to this code. Check the applicable coverage policy before billing it: the code being valid is not the same as the service being covered.
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 J0687 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
- 16 units MAI 3 — Date of Service Edit: Clinical · CMS Policy
- outpatient
- 16 units MAI 3 — Date of Service Edit: Clinical · CMS Policy
- DME supplier
- 16 units MAI 3 — Date of Service Edit: Clinical · CMS Policy
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 J0687
- Long descriptor
- Injection, cefazolin sodium (wg critical care), not therapeutically equivalent to j0690, 500 mg
- Short descriptor
- Inj cefazolin (wg crit care)
- Added
- July 1, 2024
- BETOS
- O1E
- Pricing indicator
- 51 — Other
The official wording. This is what the code means.
CMS's 28-character form, which is what shows up on a remittance advice.
When CMS introduced the code.
Berenson-Eggers Type of Service — CMS's own analytic grouping.
Drugs.
Codes adjacent to J0687
HCPCS has no hierarchy — related items simply sit next to each other in the numbering. If J0687 is not quite right, the correct code is very often within a few positions of it.
- J0652Injection, levothyroxine sodium (hikma), not therapeutically equivalent to j0650, 10 mcg
- J0654Injection, liothyronine, 1 mcg
- J0665Injection, bupivicaine, not otherwise specified, 0.5 mg
- J0666Injection, bupivacaine liposome, 1 mg
- J0668Instillation, bupivacaine and meloxicam, 1 mg/0.03 mg
- J0670Injection, mepivacaine hydrochloride, per 10 ml
- J0675Injection, carboprost tromethamine, 0.1 mg
- J0681Injection, ceftobiprole medocaril sodium, 3 mg
- J0688Injection, cefazolin sodium (hikma), not therapeutically equivalent to j0690, 500 mg
- J0689Injection, cefazolin sodium (baxter), not therapeutically equivalent to j0690, 500 mg
- J0690Injection, cefazolin sodium, 500 mg
- J0691Injection, lefamulin, 1 mg
- J0692Injection, cefepime hydrochloride, 500 mg
- J0693Injection, cefiderocol, 5 mgterminated
- J0694Injection, cefoxitin sodium, 1 gm
- J0695Injection, ceftolozane 50 mg and tazobactam 25 mg
Questions about J0687
What is HCPCS code J0687?
J0687 is a HCPCS Level II code for injection, cefazolin sodium (wg critical care), not therapeutically equivalent to j0690, 500 mg. It sits in the Drugs Administered Other Than Oral Method section.
Does Medicare cover J0687?
The CMS HCPCS file marks J0687 as "Special coverage instructions apply". There are published conditions attached to this code. Check the applicable coverage policy before billing it: the code being valid is not the same as the service being covered.
How is J0687 paid under the physician fee schedule?
J0687 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).