CPT code 21742: Nuss repair, without thoracoscopy2026 Medicare rate & RVUs in New Mexico

CMS doesn’t publish a rate for 21742 in New Mexico.

Check a contract rate as a % of Medicare · 21742 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 21742 covers

This procedure is the Nuss method of reconstructing the sternum to correct pectus excavatum without thoracoscopy. The surgeon places a curved support bar beneath the sternum through small incisions to reshape the chest wall. It is generally performed in a hospital operating room by a thoracic or pediatric surgeon. Code 21743 distinguishes the Nuss procedure performed with thoracoscopy; code 21740 describes a different sternal reconstruction approach.

Medicare assigns physician fee schedule status C, so the Medicare Administrative Contractor sets payment claim by claim and CMS publishes no national payment. The code has a 90-day global period, including the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care. For multiple procedures in one session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and payment for the others is reduced. Modifier 50 is inappropriate. 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 New Mexico compares for 21742

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21742 rates by state

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

See 21742 in every payment locality

How the 21742 rate is calculated

Each of 21742’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 21742

21742 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 21742

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

How 21742 has changed in New Mexico

Price 21742 for an earlier date of service

Where the New Mexico rate applies

New Mexico is a Medicare payment area, not a city. Our Census mapping connects it to 528 cities and communities in New Mexico. Some span more than one payment area; confirm with the service ZIP.

• Abeytas
• Abiquiu
• Acomita Lake
• Adelino
• Agua Fria
• Alamillo
• Alamo
• Alamogordo

Browse all communities in New Mexico

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