This article was medically authored by Dr. Kevin Lie and last reviewed for accuracy on 09/15/2026.

Plantar fasciitis pain does not always become chronic. For many people, heel pain improves with treatments such as stretching, supportive footwear, orthotics, physical therapy, medications, injections, or other conservative approaches.

For others, however, the pain continues despite treatment. Months of persistent heel pain can make it difficult to walk, exercise, work, or even take those first few steps without discomfort.

When conservative treatment has not provided adequate relief, Plantar Fasciitis Embolization (PFE) may be another treatment option.

PFE is a minimally invasive, image-guided procedure designed to target abnormal blood vessels associated with chronic inflammation around the plantar fascia. Instead of making a large incision in the foot, an interventional radiologist performs the procedure through a tiny puncture. This allows for a faster recovery, and patients can return home the same day as their procedure.

If your doctor recommends PFE, one of your first questions may be: How much does plantar fasciitis embolization cost?

There is no single answer because your financial responsibility can depend heavily on your insurance coverage. Below, we explain how PFE coverage works, what insurance may pay for, and which costs you could be responsible for yourself.

Key Takeaways

• Plantar Fasciitis Embolization is a minimally invasive alternative to a surgical procedure for chronic plantar fasciitis pain that has not responded adequately to conservative treatment.
• Because PFE is a relatively new procedure, insurance coverage is not consistent across all health plans.
• When PFE is covered, your final cost can still depend on your deductible, coinsurance, copayment, and out-of-pocket maximum.
• The billing team at Georgia Endovascular can review your insurance benefits and help determine your expected out-of-pocket responsibility before you schedule treatment.

When Is Plantar Fasciitis Embolization Considered?

PFE is generally considered after plantar fasciitis has progressed beyond its early stages and heel pain continues despite an appropriate course of conservative care.

You may be considered a candidate for PFE if you:

• Have experienced persistent plantar fasciitis symptoms for at least several months
• Have been diagnosed with plantar fasciitis rather than another cause of heel pain
• Continue to experience pain that affects walking, exercise, work, or everyday activities
• Have already tried conservative treatments without sufficient or lasting improvement
• Would like to avoid or postpone plantar fascia surgery
• Prefer a minimally invasive treatment performed on an outpatient basis
• Are medically able to undergo an image-guided arterial procedure

Treatment before PFE may include stretching, physical therapy, supportive shoes, orthotics, anti-inflammatory medications, night splints, corticosteroid injections, or extracorporeal shockwave therapy.

Being considered for PFE does not necessarily mean you must first try every plantar fasciitis treatment available. What matters is whether an appropriate course of conservative treatment has failed to provide adequate relief.

Insurance requirements are a separate issue. Your health plan may specify how long you must have experienced symptoms or which previous treatments must be documented before the insurer will consider covering PFE.

Will Insurance Pay for Plantar Fasciitis Embolization?

Insurance coverage for PFE varies from one health plan to another.

Plantar fasciitis embolization is a relatively new use of embolization, which means insurers do not all approach the procedure the same way.

Some insurance plans may provide coverage when PFE is considered medically necessary and the patient has already tried conservative treatments without success. Other insurers may currently classify the procedure as investigational, experimental, or not medically necessary and may therefore deny coverage.

Because of these differences, verifying your insurance benefits before scheduling treatment is particularly important.

The Georgia Endovascular billing team can review your benefits and determine whether your insurer requires prior authorization before you undergo the procedure.

How Do CPT Codes for PFE Affect Insurance Coverage?

If you receive an insurance authorization, cost estimate, or Explanation of Benefits, you may notice one or more CPT codes. It is easy to assume that seeing a particular CPT code means you can determine whether your procedure will be covered.

That is not how CPT codes work.

CPT codes are standardized billing codes used to describe medical services. Your insurance company considers those codes together with your diagnosis, medical records, individual benefit plan, and the insurer’s own medical policies when deciding how a claim will be handled.

Because plantar fasciitis embolization is still an emerging procedure, you may not see a CPT code specifically labeled “Plantar Fasciitis Embolization.”

Instead, an arterial embolization code such as CPT 37242 may appear.

In practical terms, this code describes a procedure in which a physician uses a catheter to intentionally reduce or close blood flow through selected arteries for a purpose other than treating bleeding or targeting a tumor. It also includes the imaging guidance required to carry out the embolization.

Depending on the insurer and circumstances, a payer policy may instead reference another procedure code or an unlisted code.

The most important point is this: a CPT code by itself does not determine whether your insurance company will pay for PFE.

Before treatment, the Georgia Endovascular billing team can help identify which codes apply to your individual case and determine how your specific insurer is expected to process them.

What May Insurance Cover When PFE Is Approved?

When your insurance company approves PFE as a covered service, there may be several separate components involved in your care and billing.

Depending on your treatment and health plan, insurance coverage may apply to:

• Your initial consultation
• Diagnostic imaging or testing that is medically necessary
• Professional services provided by our providers
• The embolization procedure itself
• Use of the outpatient facility
• Medications and supplies required during the procedure
• Sedation when medically appropriate
• Follow-up care

How these services are grouped, billed, and processed depends on your insurance plan and the treatment setting.

It is also important to understand that having an approved, covered procedure does not necessarily mean you will pay nothing yourself.

Depending on your plan, you may still be responsible for a deductible, copayment, coinsurance, and/or costs up to your out-of-pocket maximum.

How Much Could PFE Cost If You Have Not Met Your Deductible?

Timing within your insurance plan year can make a substantial difference in what you owe.

If your insurer approves PFE but you still have most or all of your deductible remaining, you may have to pay a considerably larger share of the cost than you would later in the year after more of your deductible has been satisfied.

A deductible is the amount you must pay toward certain covered medical services before your health insurance begins paying a greater share of those costs.

Because deductibles vary by plan and patient, the amount you may owe for an approved PFE procedure can vary as well.

What Happens If Your Deductible Has Already Been Met?

If you have already satisfied your deductible for the year, your personal cost for PFE may be significantly lower.

At that point, you may only be responsible for the copayment or coinsurance required by your plan.

However, insurance benefits are different for every patient, so your individual coverage requirements still need to be verified before treatment is scheduled.

What If You Have Already Reached Your Out-of-Pocket Maximum?

The out-of-pocket maximum is generally the highest amount you must pay during a plan year for covered, in-network healthcare services that count toward that limit.

After you have reached that amount, your insurer will generally pay 100% of additional covered, in-network benefits for the remainder of the plan year.

Not every healthcare expense counts toward this maximum. Insurance premiums, services that are not covered by your plan, and many out-of-network expenses generally do not count toward your out-of-pocket limit.

What Happens If Your Insurance Does Not Cover PFE?

If your health insurance determines that plantar fasciitis embolization is not a covered benefit, your normal deductible and coinsurance protections may not apply in the same way.

In most cases, money you pay for a non-covered service does not count toward your health plan’s out-of-pocket maximum.

A denial also does not necessarily answer every question about your options. If your insurer denies coverage, there are several issues that may need to be clarified:

• What was the specific reason for the denial?
• Is PFE considered investigational, or does the insurer simply need additional medical documentation?
• Was prior authorization required?
• Is there an opportunity to appeal the coverage decision?
• What documentation does the insurer require regarding previous treatments for plantar fasciitis?
• If insurance will not pay for PFE, what would the self-pay cost be?

The Georgia Endovascular team can help you understand your insurance benefits and expected financial responsibility before you decide whether to proceed.

Could Plantar Fasciitis Embolization Be an Option for You?

Months of plantar fasciitis pain can affect much more than your heel. When stretching, orthotics, physical therapy, injections, and other conservative treatments have not produced lasting relief, you may begin wondering whether surgery is your only remaining choice.

It may not be.

Plantar Fasciitis Embolization provides a minimally invasive way to target the abnormal vascular activity associated with persistent plantar fascia pain without surgically cutting the plantar fascia.

Determining whether PFE is appropriate involves looking at your symptoms, previous treatments, and overall medical history. You will also need to determine whether your health insurance covers the procedure and what portion of the cost you may be responsible for.

The team at Georgia Endovascular can evaluate your heel pain, determine whether Plantar Fasciitis Embolization may be an appropriate treatment for you, and verify your insurance benefits so you have a better understanding of what PFE may cost in your individual situation.

To learn more about the procedure and your treatment options, contact Georgia Endovascular to Schedule an Appointment request a PFE consultation [/ga-appt-link.].