CPC Pathway Team · Updates · 2026-09-20
"418 changes" sounds like something you're supposed to memorize cover to cover. You're not — and trying to would be a waste of your study time. Here's the official breakdown, the one change that actually restructures an entire coding section, and the 3-step filter for figuring out which updates matter to you specifically.
| What | Detail |
|---|---|
| Total Changes | 418 (288 new, 84 deleted, 46 revised) |
| Effective Date | January 1, 2026 |
| Released By AMA On | September 11, 2025 |
| Biggest Single Overhaul | Lower extremity revascularization — an entire code family deleted and replaced |
| Most-Changed Section | Surgery — 77 new, 24 deleted, 12 revised |
| Largest New-Code Category | Proprietary Laboratory Analyses (PLA) — roughly 79 new codes |
| What's New This Year | AI-augmented services get dedicated CPT codes for the first time |
| Do You Need to Memorize All 418? | No — use the 3-step filter below instead |
Most of the 418 changes for 2026 concentrate in two places you won't be tested on heavily: Proprietary Laboratory Analyses (roughly 79 new codes, mostly genetic and specialty lab tests) and Category III emerging-technology codes (78 new codes for procedures still considered investigational). Together, that's more than a third of all the new codes — and neither section carries much weight in day-to-day CPC exam prep.
What actually matters is knowing where the changes concentrate in sections you'll be tested on and use on the job — Surgery, Medicine, and a handful of structural overhauls that change how entire categories of procedures get coded.
| Section | New | Deleted | Revised |
|---|---|---|---|
| Evaluation & Management | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| Anesthesia | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Surgery | 77 | 24 | 12 |
| Radiology | 8 | 9 | 3 |
| Pathology & Laboratory | 7 | 0 | 2 |
| Medicine | 37 | 17 | 18 |
| PLA Codes | 79 | 13 | 3 |
| Category III | 78 | 21 | 4 |
| Total | 288 | 84 | 46 |
Two things jump out immediately: Surgery absorbed the most Category I changes (the codes you'll actually be tested on and bill most often), and Radiology is the only section where deletions outpace new additions — a sign of consolidation rather than expansion in that area.
If you're studying for the CPC exam specifically, prioritize Surgery and Medicine first — that's where most Category I changes concentrate. PLA and Category III codes exist and matter for billing accuracy, but they carry far less exam weight and rarely appear as standalone test questions.
A deleted code almost never means the underlying procedure stopped happening — it usually means the procedure got recoded with more precision. Never assume a deleted code's function simply vanished; always trace it to what replaced it.
When an entire code family gets replaced by a larger, more specific one (like the vascular overhaul below), don't try to memorize all the new numbers immediately. Learn the decision factors that determine which new code applies — territory, approach, device used — and the correct code becomes something you can work out, not something you have to recall from memory alone.
The entire code family 37220–37235, previously used for peripheral artery angioplasty, atherectomy, and stenting procedures in the legs, has been completely deleted. In its place, AMA introduced 46 new codes organized around four distinct vascular territories:
The correct code now depends on which territory was treated, what type of intervention was performed (angioplasty, atherectomy, or stent placement), and the approach used — a meaningfully more granular system than the single set of codes it replaced. This is the change most likely to appear as a "trap" question, precisely because older study material still references the deleted codes.
Previously, remote physiologic and therapeutic monitoring codes required data transmission on at least 16 of 30 days. New 2026 codes allow billing for shorter monitoring periods of just 2 to 15 days, reflecting how these services are actually being used in practice today.
The older hearing aid codes (92590–92595) were replaced with a new set of time-based codes covering hearing aid selection, fitting, and post-fitting follow-up — a shift toward billing based on time spent rather than a flat per-service code.
New Category III codes now specifically cover AI-driven cardiac risk analysis, algorithmic EEG waveform analysis, and other AI-assisted diagnostic tools. This is the first CPT cycle to carve out dedicated codes for augmented-intelligence services rather than folding them into existing procedure codes.
Nearly 55% of all new 2026 codes sit in PLA (proprietary lab tests, largely genetic and molecular diagnostics) and Category III (emerging, not-yet-mainstream procedures). Both matter for billing accuracy in specific specialties, but neither requires deep exam-prep attention for most CPC candidates.
Scenario: A vascular surgeon performs a percutaneous angioplasty of the femoral-popliteal artery for a patient with peripheral arterial disease, coded in early 2026.
| Approach | Answer | Why |
|---|---|---|
| The Distractor | 37224 | The pre-2026 code for exactly this procedure — but it was deleted effective January 1, 2026 |
| The Correct Approach | A new territory-specific code from the 37254–37299 range | Selected based on the femoral-popliteal territory, angioplasty as the intervention type, and the approach used |
Anyone still coding from 2025 material or memory will reach for 37224 out of habit — it's not a wrong idea, it's an outdated one. This is exactly the kind of trap that separates coders working from current-year material from those who haven't updated their references yet.
Billing a deleted code on a real claim doesn't just cost you an exam point — it gets the claim rejected outright, since payers stop recognizing retired codes the moment they're deleted. Staying current on annual updates isn't optional trivia; it's a working requirement of the job.
Category I codes cover standard, widely performed procedures and carry the most exam weight. Category III codes cover new, emerging technology still being evaluated. PLA codes cover specific proprietary lab tests. Most of 2026's raw code-count growth sits in the latter two, which matters less for CPC exam prep than the smaller Category I changes do.
Codes usually get deleted because they're being restructured into more specific replacements, not because the underlying procedure stopped being performed. Always look for the replacement logic rather than assuming a gap.
The new vascular codes are the clearest 2026 example of a broader trend: replacing single, broad codes with families of more specific codes tied to anatomical location. Expect this pattern to keep showing up in future annual updates as CPT continues moving toward greater specificity.
418 total changes: 288 new codes, 84 deletions, and 46 revisions, released by the AMA on September 11, 2025 and effective January 1, 2026.
The complete overhaul of lower extremity revascularization coding: codes 37220–37235 were deleted entirely and replaced with 46 new codes organized by vascular territory.
No. Most of the new codes sit in Proprietary Laboratory Analyses and Category III sections, which carry minimal CPC exam weight. Focus on Surgery and Medicine section changes first.
They were completely deleted effective January 1, 2026, and replaced by 46 new, more specific codes based on vascular territory, intervention type, and approach.
Yes. This is the first CPT cycle to introduce dedicated Category III codes specifically for AI-augmented services, including cardiac risk analysis and algorithmic EEG interpretation.
Check whether the change falls in Surgery, Medicine, or E&M first, since those carry the most exam weight. Changes in PLA or Category III sections are lower priority for exam-specific preparation.
Test yourself on 2026-updated coding scenarios, including the vascular overhaul above, inside the domain quiz simulator.
Practice in the Quiz Simulator →© 2026 FabNotices · CPC Pathway. Code changes reflect the official AMA CPT 2026 release; always confirm exact code numbers and descriptors against your current-year AMA codebook before billing.