Mechanical traction applied to one or more areas, usually the cervical or lumbar spine, as a supervised modality during therapy.
- Medicare
- $14.36
- Work RVU
- 0.24
- Global, days
- Region
- Spine
Documentation requirements
What must appear in the operative or office note to support the claim.
Source · Editorial brief grounded in 4 cited references ↓
- Spinal region (cervical or lumbar) and diagnosis
- Traction force, position, and duration
- Patient response, including change in radicular symptoms
- Plan of care signed by the treating provider
- Skilled services performed alongside traction
Applicable modifiers
Modifiers commonly billed with this code.
Source · AMA CPT modifier descriptors · CMS NCCI Policy Manual
What this code covers
Source · Editorial summary grounded in 4 cited references ↓
97012 is mechanical traction. A machine applies a pulling force, usually to the neck or low back, while the patient is supervised. It is untimed, so it is one unit per session regardless of how long the patient is on the table.
Ortho and spine practices with in-house PT use it for radicular symptoms from a disc herniation or foraminal narrowing, typically as an adjunct to exercise. Manual traction by the therapist's hands is not this code; that is manual therapy (97140).
Payers look for a skilled reason. Document the diagnosis, the force or weight, the position, the duration, and the patient's response, such as reduced arm or leg symptoms. Medicare requires a therapy modifier (GP, GO) and counts the charge toward the therapy threshold, after which the KX modifier and supporting documentation are needed. Traction done as home maintenance or without a plan of care is a common denial. Some commercial payers limit traction visits or need a reassessment showing improvement to keep paying.
RVU & reimbursement
Component RVUs and Medicare national rate. Actual payment varies by GPCI locality.
Source · CMS Physician Fee Schedule, RVU26A · January 2026
Work RVU vs. total RVU
The work RVU (0.24) is the surgeon's own effort — the figure physician pay and productivity targets are built on. The total RVU (0.43) adds practice overhead and malpractice, and is what drives the Medicare payment below.
| Work RVU | 0.24 |
| Practice expense RVU | 0.18 |
| Malpractice RVU | 0.01 |
| Total RVU | 0.43 |
| Medicare national rate | $14.36 |
| Global period | days |
Payment by site of service
Medicare pays different rates by setting. HOPD typically pays substantially more than ASC for the same procedure.
Source · CMS OPPS Addendum B·ASC HCPCS payment rates·2026
| Setting | Medicare rate (national) |
|---|---|
Office (PFS non-facility) Procedure performed in physician's office | $14.36 |
Common denial reasons
The recurring reasons claims for CPT 97012 get rejected.
Source · Editorial brief grounded in CMS NCCI edits, AAOS coding appeals, and cited references ↓
- Missing GP or GO therapy modifier
- Over therapy threshold without KX
- Manual traction billed as 97012
- No documented functional improvement
- Billed outside a certified plan of care
Frequently asked questions
Source · Generated from the editorial pipeline, verified against 4 cited references ↓
01Is 97012 timed?
02Can manual traction be billed as 97012?
03Does Medicare cover mechanical traction?
Sources & references
Editorial content was developed using the following public sources.
Mira Scribe
Mira Scribe records the region, settings, and the patient's symptom change in plain language, which is the evidence payers want to keep covering traction.
See how Mira captures CPT 97012 documentation