CPT code 01860: Cast anesthesia, forearm, wrist, or hand2026 Medicare rate & RVUs in Massachusetts
Reports anesthesia for cast application, removal, or repair involving the forearm, wrist, or hand when those cast procedures require anesthesia.
CMS doesn’t publish an office rate for 01860 in Massachusetts.
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 01860 covers
01860 covers anesthesia for cast application, removal, or repair involving the forearm, wrist, or hand. An anesthesia practitioner provides and reports the anesthetic while the treating clinician performs the cast work, commonly in a facility setting. The operative record should identify the body site and cast action; the anesthesia record should support the anesthesia service and its start and end times.
Select 01860 for anesthesia provided for the cast service, rather than for a closed bone procedure (01820), a nerve or muscle procedure (01810), or an arthroscopic or endoscopic wrist or hand procedure (01830); diagnostic wrist arthroscopy is described by 01829. The code has 3 base units, and Medicare payment is (base units + time units) multiplied by the locality’s anesthesia conversion factor. Anesthesia time is counted in minutes from preparation until personal attendance ends and the patient can safely be placed under postoperative care, then converted to 15-minute units to one decimal place; the conversion factor varies by locality.
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 01860 pays more and less in Massachusetts
| Payment locality | Office | Facility |
|---|---|---|
| Metropolitan Boston, MA | Unavailable | Unavailable |
| Rest of Massachusetts | Unavailable | Unavailable |
How the 01860 rate is calculated
Each of 01860’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 · 01860
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 01860
01860 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 · 01860
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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01860 isn’t priced in this setting.
01860 compared with similar codes
Compare codes · National
5 codes, side by side
How to choose
- 01820Wrist and hand bone anesthesiaClosed bone procedures
- 01860 is for cast application, removal, or repair. Choose 01820 when anesthesia is for a closed procedure on the radius, ulna, wrist, or hand bones.
- 01810Forearm and hand anesthesiaNerve, muscle, tendon
- 01810 applies to nerve or muscle procedures of the forearm or wrist, rather than cast work.
- 01830Wrist joint anesthesiaOther wrist/hand joint procedures
- 01830 is for arthroscopic or endoscopic wrist or hand procedures; 01860 is for cast application, removal, or repair.
- 01829Wrist arthroscopy anesthesiaDiagnostic procedure
- 01829 is for diagnostic wrist arthroscopy. Use 01860 for anesthesia during cast work involving the forearm, wrist, or hand.
01860 billing questions
When should 01860 be chosen instead of 01820?
Use 01860 when anesthesia is for applying, removing, or repairing a forearm, wrist, or hand cast. Use 01820 when anesthesia is for a closed procedure on the radius, ulna, wrist, or hand bones.
How does 01860 differ from 01830?
01860 is for anesthesia during cast application, removal, or repair. 01830 is for arthroscopic or endoscopic procedures of the wrist or hand.
What should the records show?
The operative record should identify the treated site and the cast work performed. The anesthesia record should support the anesthesia service and its start and end times.
How are anesthesia units calculated for 01860?
Medicare payment uses 3 base units plus time units, multiplied by the locality’s anesthesia conversion factor. Anesthesia time is converted from minutes into 15-minute units and computed to one decimal place.
Does 01860 report the cast procedure itself?
No. It identifies anesthesia provided for the cast work; the treating clinician reports the cast service, and the anesthesia record supports the anesthesia service.
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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