J9248 — Injection, melphalan (hepzato), 1 mg
J9248 is a HCPCS Level II code for injection, melphalan (hepzato), 1 mg. It belongs to the Drugs Administered Other Than Oral Method section. Whether Medicare pays it depends on the coverage rule below.
Medicare coverage: Carrier judgment
Coverage is decided by your Medicare contractor, not by national policy. Whether this is paid depends on the LCD for your jurisdiction and on what the documentation supports.
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 J9248 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
- 250 units MAI 3 — Date of Service Edit: Clinical · Prescribing Information
- outpatient
- 250 units MAI 3 — Date of Service Edit: Clinical · Prescribing Information
- DME supplier
- 250 units MAI 3 — Date of Service Edit: Clinical · Prescribing Information
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 J9248
- Long descriptor
- Injection, melphalan (hepzato), 1 mg
- Short descriptor
- Inj melphalan (hepzato) 1 mg
- Added
- April 1, 2024
- BETOS
- O1D
- 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 J9248
HCPCS has no hierarchy — related items simply sit next to each other in the numbering. If J9248 is not quite right, the correct code is very often within a few positions of it.
- J9227Injection, isatuximab-irfc, 10 mg
- J9228Injection, ipilimumab, 1 mg
- J9229Injection, inotuzumab ozogamicin, 0.1 mg
- J9230Injection, mechlorethamine hydrochloride, (nitrogen mustard), 10 mg
- J9232Injection, docetaxel (hospira), not therapeutically equivalent to j9171, 1 mg
- J9245Injection, melphalan hydrochloride, not otherwise specified, 50 mg
- J9246Injection, melphalan (evomela), 1 mg
- J9247Injection, melphalan flufenamide, 1mgterminated
- J9249Injection, melphalan (apotex), 1 mg
- J9250Methotrexate sodium, 5 mgterminated
- J9255Injection, methotrexate (accord), not therapeutically equivalent to j9260, 50 mg
- J9256Injection, nipocalimab-aahu, 3 mg
- J9258Injection, paclitaxel protein-bound particles (teva), not therapeutically equivalent to j9264, 1 mgterminated
- J9259Injection, paclitaxel protein-bound particles (american regent), not therapeutically equivalent to j9264, 1 mgterminated
- J9260Injection, methotrexate sodium, 50 mg
- J9261Injection, nelarabine, 50 mg
Questions about J9248
What is HCPCS code J9248?
J9248 is a HCPCS Level II code for injection, melphalan (hepzato), 1 mg. It sits in the Drugs Administered Other Than Oral Method section.
Does Medicare cover J9248?
The CMS HCPCS file marks J9248 as "Carrier judgment". Coverage is decided by your Medicare contractor, not by national policy. Whether this is paid depends on the LCD for your jurisdiction and on what the documentation supports.
How is J9248 paid under the physician fee schedule?
J9248 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).