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The rules say that plans must pay for a medical service or item if regular Medicare would pay for it in this case. 
You can find this rule at 42 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Section 422.101. 
 
The rules say that spinal fusion should only be considered as a last step in the treatment of chronic back pain 
and is not indicated for most persons suffering from back pain. Lumbar spinal fusion surgery may be 
considered medically necessary and covered for the following indications:  
 
1. Lumbar spinal instability for ANY of the following indications when confirmed by appropriate diagnostic 
testing (e.g., radiographic imaging, biopsy, bone aspirate, bone scan and gallium scan): 
 
Acute spinal fracture 
Progressive or significant acute neurological impairment (e.g., increased weakness or bladder instability) 
Neural compression after spinal fracture 
Epidural compression or vertebral destruction from tumor or abscess 
Spinal tuberculosis 
Spinal debridement for infection (e.g., osteomyelitis) 
Spinal deformity (examples include but not limited to idiopathic scoliosis over 40 degrees, progressive 
degenerative scoliosis [including spinal levels from the cranial to caudal ends of the deformity and the adjacent 
normal segment], and sagittal plane deformity + sagittal balance over 10cm) 
2. Spinal stenosis for a single level (for example, L4-L5) with associated spondylolisthesis (see classifications 
below in section 3) or other documented evidence of instability (for example, facet joint instability [iatrogenic] 
related to decompression), AND symptoms of spinal claudication and radicular pain. The pain must represent a 
significant functional impairment despite a history of 3 months of conservative therapy (non-surgical medical 
management) as clinically appropriate addressing the following: 
 
Activity lifestyle modification 
Daily exercise 
Supervised physical therapy (PT) (activities of daily living [ADLs] diminished despite completing a plan of 
care) 
Anti-inflammatory medications, oral or injection therapy as appropriate, and analgesics 
3. Spondylolisthesis manifested by back pain WITH OR WITHOUT spinal claudication, radicular pain, motor 
deficit when ANY of the following criteria are met: 
 
Confirmed progressive deformity usually Grade II or higher 
Multilevel spondylolysis 
Symptomatic low-grade spondylolisthesis associated with back pain and significant functional impairment 
despite a history of 3 months of conservative therapy (non-surgical medical management) as clinically 
appropriate addressing the following: activity lifestyle modification; daily exercise; supervised PT (ADLs 
diminished despite completing a plan of care); and anti-inflammatory medications, oral or injection therapy as 
appropriate, and analgesics 
Classification of slippage in spondylolisthesis is defined as follows: 
Grade I =1% to 25% 
Grade II =26% to 50% 
Grade III =51% to 75% 
Grade IV = 76% to 100% 
Grade V = spondyloptosis and occurs when the L5 vertebra completely slides over the top of the sacrum 
4. Degenerative disc disease (DDD) in the absence of instability when all of the following criteria have been 
met as clinically appropriate for the patient's current episode of care: 
 
Single level DDD demonstrated on imaging studies (e.g., CT scan, MRI, or discography) as the likely cause of 
pain. The case specific indications for two level or the rare three or more level planned fusion procedure must 
be directly addressed in the pre procedure record with clinical correlation to diagnostic testing results (such as 
disk-space narrowing, end plate changes, annular changes, etc.). 
Pain and significant functional impairment despite a history of at least 6 months of conservative therapy (non-
surgical medical management) as clinically appropriate addressing the following: Anti-inflammatory medications, oral or injection therapy as appropriate, and analgesics 
Daily exercise 
Activity lifestyle modification 
Weight reduction as appropriate 
Supervised PT [ADLs diminished despite completing a plan of care] 
OR 
 
Unsuccessful improvement after completion of intense multidisciplinary rehabilitation (IMR). IMR is defined 
as onsite program that includes supervised PT, cognitive behavior component, and other coordinated 
interventions by health care professionals. 
Failure of non-surgical medical management can be historical and does not have to be under the direction of 
the operating surgeon. 
 
5. Lumbar fusion following prior spinal surgery for the following: 
 
Recurrent disc herniation despite clinically appropriate post operative nonsurgical medical management (post-
operative case specific conservative therapy is prescribed as clinically appropriate in addition to documentation 
of pain and functional impairment). 
Adjacent segment degeneration or disc herniation despite clinically appropriate post-operative nonsurgical 
medical management (post-operative case specific conservative therapy is prescribed as clinically appropriate 
in addition to documentation of pain and functional impairment). 
Associated spondylolisthesis (for example anterolisthesis) after prior spinal surgery with ALL the following as 
clinically appropriate: 
Recurrent symptoms consistent with neurological compromise 
Significant functional impairment 
Neural compression is documented by recent post-operative imaging 
Unsuccessful improvement despite 3 months of clinically appropriate post-operative nonsurgical medical 
management (post-operative case specific conservative therapy is prescribed as clinically appropriate in 
addition to documentation of pain and functional impairment) 
Instability is documented by appropriate imaging 
Patient had some relief of pain symptoms following the prior spinal surgery 
6. Treatment of pseudoarthrosis (i.e., nonunion of prior fusion) at the same level after 12 months from prior 
surgery and ALL of the following are met (unless imaging demonstrates failed spinal instrumentation [for 
example, fractured rod or loosened screw]): 
 
Imaging studies confirm evidence of pseudoarthrosis (e.g., radiographs, CT) 
Unsuccessful improvement despite 3 months of clinically appropriate post-operative nonsurgical medical 
management (post-operative case specific conservative therapy is prescribed as clinically appropriate in 
addition to documentation of pain and functional impairment) 
Patient had some relief of pain symptoms following the prior spinal surgery 
 
You can find this information in the Local Coverage Determination (LCD): Lumbar Spinal Fusion for 
Instability and Degenerative Disc Conditions (L33382). 
 
If you want to read these Medicare rules, you can go to this website www.medicareappeal.com.