CPT code 21620: Sternal ostectomy, partial sternum removal2026 Medicare rate & RVUs in Arkansas

In Arkansas, Medicare pays $443.47 for 21620 in a facility. There’s no office rate.

Check a contract rate as a % of Medicare · 21620 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 21620 covers

A surgeon removes a limited portion of the sternum. A familiar use is xiphoidectomy for persistent, localized pain arising from the xiphoid process; the procedure may also address another focal sternal bony problem when partial bone removal is performed. It is generally performed in an operating room by a thoracic or general surgeon, rather than as an office procedure.

Report the code when the operative report supports partial removal of sternal bone, not simply soft-tissue work or cleaning infected tissue. Documentation should identify the sternal site, the reason for surgery, and the extent of bone removed. Distinguish limited removal from sternal debridement and from a more extensive radical resection. Medicare assigns a 90-day global period, including the day-before preoperative visit and related postoperative care for 90 days. When multiple procedures are performed in one session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and other procedures are subject to the standard 50% reduction. Assistant-at-surgery payment may be made; co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation, and team surgery is 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 Arkansas compares for 21620

Across 109 of 109 payment localities, the facility rate for 21620 runs from $443.47 in Arkansas to $606.50 in Alaska. Arkansas pays $443.47. The RVUs are the same everywhere; the geographic indexes change the dollars.

Every other payment area

21620 rates by state

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

See 21620 in every payment locality

How the 21620 rate is calculated

Each of 21620’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 21620

21620 has a 90-day global period: related visits in that window are included in the surgery payment.

What modifiers do to the payment

When to use modifier 51

Codes related to 21620

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

How 21620 has changed in Arkansas

Price 21620 for an earlier date of service

Where the Arkansas rate applies

Arkansas is a Medicare payment area, not a city. Our Census mapping connects it to 626 cities and communities in Arkansas. Some span more than one payment area; confirm with the service ZIP.

• Acorn
• Adona
• Alexander
• Alicia
• Alix
• Alleene
• Allport
• Alma

Browse all communities in Arkansas

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