CPT code 22852: Spinal hardware removal, posterior segmental construct2026 Medicare rate & RVUs in North Carolina

In North Carolina, Medicare pays $638.17 for 22852 in a facility. There’s no office rate.

Check a contract rate as a % of Medicare · 22852 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 22852 covers

A spine surgeon typically reports this service when removing posterior segmental fixation hardware, such as screws and connecting rods spanning multiple vertebral segments. Removal may occur during revision surgery when hardware is no longer needed, is prominent or painful, or must be taken out as part of treatment for a hardware-related problem. The operative report should identify the posterior construct and document the work performed to remove it; the code is distinct from removal of posterior nonsegmental or anterior instrumentation.

Report the service for the removal performed, not as separate left- and right-sided procedures; modifier 50 is inappropriate. The 90-day global period includes the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care. When performed with other procedures in the same session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and other procedures are subject to the standard multiple procedure reduction. Assistant-at-surgery payment may be available. 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 North Carolina compares for 22852

Across 109 of 109 payment localities, the facility rate for 22852 runs from $604.78 in Arkansas to $849.57 in Miami, FL. North Carolina pays $638.17. The RVUs are the same everywhere; the geographic indexes change the dollars.

Every other payment area

22852 rates by state

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

See 22852 in every payment locality

How the 22852 rate is calculated

Each of 22852’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 22852

22852 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 22852

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

How 22852 has changed in North Carolina

Price 22852 for an earlier date of service

Where the North Carolina rate applies

North Carolina is a Medicare payment area, not a city. Our Census mapping connects it to 785 cities and communities in North Carolina. Some span more than one payment area; confirm with the service ZIP.

• Aberdeen
• Advance
• Ahoskie
• Alamance
• Albemarle
• Alexis
• Alliance
• Altamahaw

Browse all communities in North Carolina

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