Billing codes for 3D planning
New CPT codes for digital 3D models and surgical simulation
CMS lists an outpatient rate for these codes, but coverage varies by payer.
Since July 1, 2026, six AMA CPT Category III codes describe creating a patient-specific digital 3D model, using it for digital simulation, and running computational analyses on it. This page sets out what the codes say, how time is counted, and what CMS publishes for hospital outpatient payment.
Last reviewed October 7, 2026. Not billing advice. Check with your coding team and payers.
The codes in one minute. All information is shown as on-screen text; the soundtrack is music.
At a glance
Three tiers, each with a base code and an add-on
Digital 3D model
1030T + 1031T
1030T: first 30 minutes. 1031T: each additional 30 minutes.
Creating the patient-specific digital 3D model. No simulation and no computational analysis.
Model + digital simulation
1032T + 1033T
1032T: first 60 minutes. 1033T: each additional 30 minutes.
Creating the model and using it for digital simulation, such as designing guides or trialling implants and approaches.
Model + simulation + computational analysis
1034T + 1035T
1034T: first 90 minutes. 1035T: each additional 30 minutes.
All of the above, plus computational analyses such as computational fluid dynamics (CFD) or finite element analysis (FEA).
Exact wording
What the AMA codes say
| Code | AMA long descriptor | Effective |
|---|---|---|
| 1030T | Creation of digital 3D model from surface mesh files of patient-specific anatomy (eg, final anatomic representation [FAR]), cumulative time for up to 30 days; initial 30 minutes | July 1, 2026 |
| +1031T | each additional 30 minutes (List separately in addition to code for primary procedure) | July 1, 2026 |
| 1032T | Creation of digital 3D model from surface mesh files of patient-specific anatomy (eg, final anatomic representation [FAR]) and digital simulation, cumulative time for up to 30 days; initial 60 minutes | July 1, 2026 |
| +1033T | each additional 30 minutes (List separately in addition to code for primary procedure) | July 1, 2026 |
| 1034T | Creation of digital 3D model from surface mesh files of patient-specific anatomy (eg, final anatomic representation [FAR]), digital simulation, and computational analyses (eg, computational fluid dynamics, finite element analysis), cumulative time for up to 30 days; initial 90 minutes | July 1, 2026 |
| +1035T | each additional 30 minutes (List separately in addition to code for primary procedure) | July 1, 2026 |
For context: the 3D-printing codes
The older Category III codes 0559T to 0562T describe 3D-printed anatomic models and guides. They include the work of creating the digital model, so they are not reported together with 1030T to 1035T. The AMA has published a revised 0559T descriptor that takes effect on January 1, 2027. The text below is the current version.
| 0559T | Anatomic model 3D-printed from image data set(s); first individually prepared and processed component of an anatomic structure |
| +0560T | each additional individually prepared and processed component of an anatomic structure (List separately in addition to code for primary procedure) |
| 0561T | Anatomic guide 3D-printed and designed from image data set(s); first anatomic guide |
| +0562T | each additional anatomic guide (List separately in addition to code for primary procedure) |
When 3D printing uses files created more than 30 days earlier, originally reported with 1030T to 1035T and not changed since, the AMA says to report 0559T to 0562T with modifier 52.
Tiers 2 and 3
What counts as digital simulation
- Designing digital intraprocedural templates or guides, over multiple iterations
- Virtual “trialing” of implants, designs or surgical approaches
- Virtual contingency planning for potential complications
Computational analyses (tier 3) are analyses run on the model or simulation. The AMA's examples are computational fluid dynamics, to estimate flow after a planned vascular change, and finite element analysis, to estimate vessel wall strain. Looking at a finished model, on its own, is not one of these activities.
Counting time
How time is counted
Counted
- Time of the interpreting or supervising physician, or other qualified health care professional, who leads the work.
- Their time creating and refining the digital 3D model.
- Their time creating and refining the digital simulation, when performed.
- Their time on computational analyses, when performed.
Not counted
- Clinical staff time, such as technologists and engineers on the team.
- Time the interventionalist or surgeon spends interacting with the model or simulation for preprocedural planning.
- Time is cumulative over a 30-day period that starts on the first day of work on the patient's model.
- If the clinical scenario changes in that period (for example, the patient has a procedure that changes the anatomy), the period resets and the base code may be reported again.
- Each base code (1030T, 1032T, 1034T) is reported only once per anticipated procedure.
- Additional time for the same clinical scenario within the 30 days goes on the matching add-on code.
Reporting rules
Codes that are not reported together
| 1030T, 1031T | (Do not report 1030T, 1031T in conjunction with 31627, 75580, 76376, 76377, 0559T, 0560T, 0561T, 0562T, 0944T, 1032T, 1033T, 1034T, 1035T) |
| 1032T, 1033T | (Do not report 1032T, 1033T in conjunction with 31627, 76376, 76377, 0944T, 1030T, 1031T, 1034T, 1035T) |
| 1034T, 1035T | (Do not report 1034T, 1035T in conjunction with 31627, 75580, 76376, 76377, 0944T, 1030T, 1031T, 1032T, 1033T) |
| 0559T, 0560T | (Do not report 0559T, 0560T in conjunction with 76376, 76377, 1030T, 1031T, 1032T, 1033T, 1034T, 1035T) |
| 0561T, 0562T | (Do not report 0561T, 0562T in conjunction with 76376, 76377, 1030T, 1031T, 1032T, 1033T, 1034T, 1035T) |
The AMA guidance also says 1030T to 1035T should not be reported with or in place of codes that include components of digital 3D modeling or reconstruction (31627, 75580, 76376, 76377, 0944T).
Hospital outpatient
C8001 and the 2026 CMS outpatient rates
| Code | Status indicator | APC | National unadjusted rate | Minimum unadjusted copayment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1030T | S | 5721 | $131.46 | $26.30 |
| 1031T | N | None | Packaged | None |
| 1032T | S | 5721 | $131.46 | $26.30 |
| 1033T | N | None | Packaged | None |
| 1034T | S | 5721 | $131.46 | $26.30 |
| 1035T | N | None | Packaged | None |
| C8001 | S | 5721 | $131.46 | $26.30 |
| 0559T | Q1 | 5734 | $135.93 | $27.19 |
| 0560T | N | None | Packaged | None |
| 0561T | Q1 | 5734 | $135.93 | $27.19 |
| 0562T | N | None | Packaged | None |
About C8001
C8001 is a CMS HCPCS code, not a CPT code, used in hospital outpatient settings. CMS established it in January 2025. Its long descriptor: “3D anatomical segmentation imaging for preoperative planning, data preparation and transmission, obtained from previous diagnostic computed tomographic or magnetic resonance examination of the same anatomy.”
Its rate has changed with each annual update: $88.05 in January 2025 (APC 5521), $156.46 from April 2025 (APC 5721), and $131.46 in 2026.
Read the rates with care
- A rate is not coverage. CMS states that a code and a payment rate do not imply coverage. Medicare Administrative Contractors decide whether a service meets the coverage requirements.
- These are national, unadjusted amounts. What a hospital receives is adjusted, for example by its wage index.
- Rates change. CMS updates them every January and can change them each quarter.
- Status indicator S means paid separately. N means packaged into another payment. Q1 means packaged when billed with certain other services on the same claim, and paid separately otherwise.
- These are facility rates. They do not describe payment to physicians.
Open questions
What isn't known yet
Physician payment
How the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule treats these codes.
Coverage policies
Coverage policies from commercial payers and from individual Medicare contractors.
C8001 with 1030T–1035T
How C8001 and 1030T to 1035T interact when both appear on the same claim.
Claims experience
Billing and denial data from real claims. We do not have any yet.
2027 rates
The CMS rule for 2027, which can change the payment groups and rates from January 1, 2027.
Where Elucis fits
What Elucis does
Elucis is software for building patient-specific 3D models from CT and MRI and reviewing them in virtual reality or on a desktop. Teams can position and visualize medical devices in the 3D environment before a procedure, and several team members can work in the same model at once.
Whether a code applies to a case depends on the work done and who did it, as the AMA describes, not on the software used. For what Elucis is cleared to do, see the Elucis page.
FAQ
Questions people ask
Are these codes paid?
CMS lists a hospital outpatient rate for the base codes 1030T, 1032T and 1034T ($131.46 each, national and unadjusted, October 2026). A rate is not coverage. Each Medicare contractor and each payer decides whether a service is covered.
Whose time is counted?
Only the time of the interpreting or supervising physician, or other qualified health care professional, spent creating and refining the model, the simulation and any computational analyses. Clinical staff time is not counted.
Does the surgeon's planning time count?
No. The AMA guidance excludes interventionalist time spent interacting with the digital 3D model or simulation for preprocedural planning.
How often can a base code be reported?
Once per anticipated procedure, and once per clinical scenario in a 30-day period. Additional time in that period goes on the add-on code.
Does using a particular software make a case eligible?
No. Whether a code applies depends on the work done and who did it, as the AMA describes. Decisions on coding belong to your coding team.
Why use Category III codes now?
Category III codes are temporary codes for emerging services. Reporting them builds the record of use that a future Category I code would need.
What does the research say about 3D surgical planning?
Our research library collects published studies on 3D and VR surgical planning across all platforms, with short answers to common questions. Explore the research library.
Talk to us
Questions about 3D planning in your program?
Not billing advice. Check with your coding team and payers.
CPT® is a registered trademark of the American Medical Association. CPT codes and descriptions are copyright 2026 American Medical Association. All rights reserved.
Sources
- American Medical Association. CPT® Category III Codes: Long Descriptors. Updated October 2, 2026. https://www.ama-assn.org/system/files/cpt-category3-codes-long-descriptors.pdf. Accessed October 7, 2026.
- American Medical Association. Category III codes. https://www.ama-assn.org/practice-management/cpt/category-iii-codes. Accessed October 7, 2026.
- Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. OPPS Addendum B, October 2026 (file dated September 28, 2026). https://www.cms.gov/medicare/payment/prospective-payment-systems/hospital-outpatient-pps/quarterly-addenda-updates/october-2026-addendum-b. Accessed October 7, 2026.
- Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. OPPS Addendum B, January 2025, April 2025 and January 2026 (C8001 rate history). https://www.cms.gov/medicare/payment/prospective-payment-systems/hospital-outpatient-pps/quarterly-addenda-updates. Accessed October 7, 2026.
- Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. MLN Matters MM13933: Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System, January 2025 Update (establishes C8001). https://www.cms.gov/files/document/mm13933-hospital-outpatient-prospective-payment-system-january-2025-update.pdf. Accessed October 7, 2026.
- AAPC Codify. HCPCS code C8001 (long descriptor). https://www.aapc.com/codes/hcpcs-codes/C8001. Accessed October 7, 2026.