CPT code 01420: Knee cast anesthesia, application, removal, or repair2026 Medicare rate & RVUs in Maryland
Anesthesia for applying, removing, or repairing a cast involving the knee joint, rather than for an open or arthroscopic knee operation.
CMS doesn’t publish an office rate for 01420 in Maryland.
Medicare allowed amount for participating (non-QP) physicians, before deductible, coinsurance and claim adjustments. Not a patient’s bill or a hospital charge.
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On this page 9 sections
What 01420 covers
01420 covers anesthesia for applying, removing, or repairing a cast involving the knee joint. The anesthesia professional reports this service; the surgeon or other treating practitioner reports the cast procedure. The code is specific to cast care at the knee, not anesthesia for a knee operation such as arthroscopy or joint replacement.
Choose 01420 when the procedure record identifies cast application, removal, or repair at the knee. The procedure documentation and anesthesia record should establish the site and service performed, the anesthesia practitioner, and anesthesia start and end times. Use 01490 for cast care involving the lower leg. This code has 3 base units; Medicare payment is (base units plus time units) multiplied by the locality’s anesthesia conversion factor. Report anesthesia time in minutes; CMS converts it to 15-minute units to one decimal place, from the start of patient preparation through the end of personal attendance when the patient can safely be placed under postoperative care.
This summary was written with AI assistance from CMS physician fee schedule data and checked against the CMS billing rules shown here. Rates on this page come directly from CMS files.
Where 01420 pays more and less in Maryland
The same RVUs, adjusted for each area’s costs. Open a locality for its calculation, history and nearby areas.
| Payment locality | Office | Facility |
|---|---|---|
| Baltimore area, MD | Unavailable | Unavailable |
| Rest of Maryland | Unavailable | Unavailable |
| Washington, DC area | Unavailable | Unavailable |
How the 01420 rate is calculated
Each of 01420’s three RVUs is multiplied by a geographic index (GPCI) for the payment locality, added up, and multiplied by the conversion factor. Drag the indexes or enter a ZIP to see what moves the rate.
How the rate is built · 01420
RVUs × geographic indexes × conversion factor
Work0.00
0.00 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI
Practice expense0.00
0.00 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI
Malpractice0.00
0.00 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI
Adjusted RVUs
0.0000
Conversion factor
$33.4009
Medicare rate
$0.00
Every GPCI starts at 1.000, the national rate. Enter a ZIP or drag a slider.
Payment rules and modifiers for 01420
01420 has no global surgery period, no multiple-procedure, bilateral or assistant-at-surgery adjustment, and no professional/technical split. What changes the payment is where the service happens: the place of service on the claim decides whether Medicare pays the office or the facility rate.
Place of service · 01420
Which rate does Medicare pay?
The POS code on the claim line (CMS-1500 box 24B).
POS 11 · non-facility rate · national
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01420 isn’t priced in this setting.
01420 compared with similar codes
Compare codes · National
4 codes, side by side
How to choose
- 01490Lower-leg cast anesthesiaApplication, removal, or repair
- 01420 is for cast care involving the knee joint; 01490 is for cast care involving the lower leg.
- 01400Knee surgery anesthesiaOpen or arthroscopic procedures
- 01420 applies to knee cast care. 01400 applies when the anesthetic is for an open or arthroscopic knee operation.
- 01402Knee replacement anesthesiaTotal knee arthroplasty
- Use 01402 for anesthesia for total knee replacement; 01420 is for knee cast application, removal, or repair.
01420 billing questions
When should 01420 be chosen over 01490?
Use 01420 for anesthesia for cast application, removal, or repair involving the knee joint. Use 01490 when the cast care involves the lower leg.
Does 01420 report the cast procedure itself?
No. It reports the anesthesia service; the treating practitioner reports the cast work.
How are anesthesia time units calculated?
Report time in minutes, and CMS converts it to 15-minute units computed to one decimal place. Time begins when the anesthesia practitioner starts preparing the patient for anesthesia and ends when the practitioner is no longer personally attending and the patient can safely be placed under postoperative care.
What should the records show?
The procedure record should identify cast application, removal, or repair at the knee. The anesthesia record should support the practitioner’s service and the start and end times.
How many base units does 01420 have?
01420 has 3 base units. Medicare payment is based on base units plus time units, multiplied by the anesthesia conversion factor for the locality.
Where these rates come from
FeeBase calculates base physician payments from CMS work, practice-expense and malpractice RVUs, adjusted by each locality’s geographic indexes and the conversion factor. Services without a published rate are labeled, never given a made-up amount. Amounts are Medicare allowed amounts before claim adjustments: not a patient’s bill or a commercial rate.
CMS RVU26D · effective Oct 1, 2026 through the day before Jan 1, 2027
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