Q6 HCPCS Level II modifier: Service furnished under a fee-for-time compensation arrangement by a substitute physician or by a substitute physical therapist furnishing outpatient physical…

Q6 is a HCPCS Level II modifier: “Service furnished under a fee-for-time compensation arrangement by a substitute physician or by a substitute physical therapist furnishing outpatient physical therapy services in a health….” It adds this detail to the code it is reported with.

Official description

Q6

Service furnished under a fee-for-time compensation arrangement by a substitute physician or by a substitute physical therapist furnishing outpatient physical therapy services in a health professional shortage area, a medically underserved area, or a rural area

Short description: Fee/time comp subst md or pt

HCPCS · United States

Medicare details

The indicators CMS publishes with Q6 in its October 2026 file. They describe Medicare’s handling, not another payer’s.

Medicare coverage
Special coverage instructions apply
Added
Jan 1, 1993

Where Q6 sits

  1. 1GroupHCPCS modifiers
  2. 2Modifier Q6Service furnished under a fee-for-time compensation arrangement by a substitute physician or by a substitute physical therapist furnishing outpatient physical therapy services in a health professional shortage area, a medically underserved area, or a rural area

Source and release

Data release
HCPCS Level II · October 2026
Effective date
Oct 1, 2026
Publisher
CMS

This page is built from the HCPCS Level II catalog that Vero Codes reads when it suggests codes: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’s October 2026 release, imported from the publisher’s file and checked against it. The description, notes and structured data come from the same record.

Frequently asked questions

What does HCPCS code Q6 mean?

Q6 is the HCPCS code for “Service furnished under a fee-for-time compensation arrangement by a substitute physician or by a substitute physical therapist furnishing outpatient physical therapy services in a health professional shortage area, a medically underserved area, or a rural area” in CMS’s HCPCS Level II October 2026 release.

Where is Q6 in the HCPCS Level II list?

Q6 is listed under Modifiers.

Does Medicare cover Q6?

CMS lists Q6’s Medicare coverage as “Special coverage instructions apply”. Coverage and payment still depend on the patient, the setting, the documentation and the payer.

Which HCPCS Level II release does this page use?

It uses CMS’s October 2026 release, in effect from Oct 1, 2026 to Dec 31, 2026. It is a reference: confirm the code against the current list and the payer’s rules before you submit it.