Q4081 — Injection, epoetin alfa, 100 units (for esrd on dialysis)
Q4081 is a HCPCS Level II code for injection, epoetin alfa, 100 units (for esrd on dialysis). It belongs to the Temporary Codes 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 Q4081 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
- 100 units MAI 3 — Date of Service Edit: Clinical · Clinical: Data
- outpatient
- 400 units MAI 3 — Date of Service Edit: Clinical · Clinical: Data
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 Q4081
- Long descriptor
- Injection, epoetin alfa, 100 units (for esrd on dialysis)
- Short descriptor
- Epoetin alfa, 100 units esrd
- Added
- January 1, 2007
- BETOS
- O1E
- Pricing indicator
- 57 — 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.
Other carrier priced.
Codes adjacent to Q4081
HCPCS has no hierarchy — related items simply sit next to each other in the numbering. If Q4081 is not quite right, the correct code is very often within a few positions of it.
- Q4045Cast supplies, short leg splint, adult (11 years +), plaster
- Q4046Cast supplies, short leg splint, adult (11 years +), fiberglass
- Q4047Cast supplies, short leg splint, pediatric (0-10 years), plaster
- Q4048Cast supplies, short leg splint, pediatric (0-10 years), fiberglass
- Q4049Finger splint, static
- Q4050Cast supplies, for unlisted types and materials of casts
- Q4051Splint supplies, miscellaneous (includes thermoplastics, strapping, fasteners, padding and other supplies)
- Q4074Iloprost, inhalation solution, fda-approved final product, non-compounded, administered through dme, unit dose form, up to 20 micrograms
- Q4082Drug or biological, not otherwise classified, part b drug competitive acquisition program (cap)
- Q4100Skin substitute, not otherwise specifiedterminated
- Q4101Apligraf, per square centimeter (add-on, list separately in addition to primary procedure)
- Q4102Oasis wound matrix, per square centimeter (add-on, list separately in addition to primary procedure)
- Q4103Oasis burn matrix, per square centimeter (add-on, list separately in addition to primary procedure)
- Q4104Integra bilayer matrix wound dressing (bmwd), per square centimeter (add-on, list separately in addition to primary procedure)
- Q4105Integra dermal regeneration template (drt) or integra omnigraft dermal regeneration matrix, per square centimeter (add-on, list separately in addition to primary procedure)
- Q4106Dermagraft, per square centimeterterminated
Questions about Q4081
What is HCPCS code Q4081?
Q4081 is a HCPCS Level II code for injection, epoetin alfa, 100 units (for esrd on dialysis). It sits in the Temporary Codes section.
Does Medicare cover Q4081?
The CMS HCPCS file marks Q4081 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 Q4081 paid under the physician fee schedule?
Q4081 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).