CPT code 20604: Joint aspiration or injection, small joint or bursa2026 Medicare rate & RVUs in Connecticut

In Connecticut, Medicare pays $92.72 for 20604 in the office and $41.64 when it’s performed in a hospital or facility.

Check a contract rate as a % of Medicare · 20604 nationwide

Medicare allowed amount for participating (non-QP) physicians, before deductible, coinsurance and claim adjustments. Not a patient’s bill or a hospital charge.

What 20604 covers

An orthopedist, rheumatologist, sports medicine physician, or other qualified clinician uses ultrasound to guide a needle into a small joint or bursa for fluid removal, medication delivery, or both. Common targets include joints of the fingers or toes. The ultrasound guidance, permanent image recording, and reporting are part of the service. It may be performed in an office or facility setting.

Choose this code for a small joint or bursa, rather than an intermediate or major target; document the site, whether aspiration, injection, or both occurred, and the ultrasound guidance and saved images. The code has a 0-day global period, so same-day preoperative and postoperative care is included. When multiple procedures are performed in one session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and others at 50%. For bilateral services reported with modifier 50, CMS pays 150%. Assistant-at-surgery services are not paid; co-surgeons and team surgery are not permitted.

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.

How Connecticut compares for 20604

Across 109 of 109 payment localities, the office rate for 20604 runs from $77.72 in Arkansas to $112.73 in San Benito County, CA. Connecticut pays $92.72. The RVUs are the same everywhere; the geographic indexes change the dollars.

Every other payment area

20604 rates by state

Office rate range in each state. Select a state to see its payment localities.

See 20604 in every payment locality

How the 20604 rate is calculated

Each of 20604’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.

Payment rules and modifiers for 20604

The CMS indicators that decide how 20604 is paid alongside other services.

What modifiers do to the payment

When to use modifier 50

Codes related to 20604

Related codes aren’t interchangeable: bill the code that matches the service performed.

How 20604 has changed in Connecticut

Price 20604 for an earlier date of service

Where the Connecticut rate applies

Connecticut is a Medicare payment area, not a city. Our Census mapping connects it to 215 cities and communities in Connecticut. Some span more than one payment area; confirm with the service ZIP.

• Ansonia
• Ball Pond
• Baltic
• Bantam
• Bethel
• Bethlehem Village
• Bigelow Corners
• Blue Hills

Browse all communities in Connecticut

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

Open CMS sourceHow we calculate rates