CPT code 25210: Carpal bone removal, one bone2026 Medicare rate & RVUs in California

CMS doesn’t publish an office rate for 25210 in California.

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

What 25210 covers

An orthopedic or hand surgeon uses this service to remove one carpal bone for a specific symptomatic or pathologic problem. A familiar example is pisiform excision for painful pisotriquetral arthritis. The procedure may take place in a hospital outpatient department or ambulatory surgery center, with the operative report identifying the bone removed and the reason for excision.

Select this code when the operation removes a single carpal bone; removal of all carpal bones is a different service. Document the target bone, indication, operative work, and any distinct procedures performed in the same session. The 90-day global period includes 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 other procedures are subject to the standard 50% reduction. Modifier 50 is inappropriate. Assistant-at-surgery payment requires documented medical necessity; 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.

Where 25210 pays more and less in California

The same RVUs, adjusted for each area’s costs. Open a locality for its calculation, history and nearby areas.

29 of 29 payment localities

How the 25210 rate is calculated

Each of 25210’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 25210

25210 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

25210 compared with similar codes

How to choose

25215CarpectomyEntire proximal carpal row

Choose 25210 for excision of one carpal bone; 25215 describes removal of all carpal bones.

25447Interposition arthroplastyIntercarpal or carpometacarpal joints

Use 25447 when trapezium excision is performed with interposition or reconstruction for thumb carpometacarpal arthritis, rather than reporting single-bone excision alone.

25230Radius resectionPartial bone removal

25230 addresses partial removal of the radius. This code applies when the excised bone is one carpal bone.

25240Ulna ostectomyPartial bone removal

25240 addresses partial removal of the ulna. This code applies when the excised bone is one carpal bone.

Codes related to 25210

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

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