CPT code 26494: Tendon transfer, hand tendon or muscle2026 Medicare rate & RVUs

Medicare pays $824.00 for 26494 nationally in a facility.

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

What 26494 covers

The surgeon redirects a functioning tendon or muscle unit to provide a movement that has been lost or is poorly balanced. Hand transfers may be considered when nerve injury, paralysis, or tendon damage leaves a patient unable to perform a useful motion. The operative report should identify the donor unit, its new attachment or route, the intended movement, and any graft used. This is a surgical service performed by a hand or orthopedic surgeon, typically in an operating room.

Select this code from the transfer performed and the operative anatomy, not simply from the diagnosis or the fact that a tendon was handled. Distinguish a transfer from tendon release, lengthening, shortening, or transplant, and use a more specific finger-transfer code when its defined procedure is performed. The 90-day global period includes the day-before preoperative visit and related postoperative care through day 90. When multiple procedures are performed in the same session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and other procedures are subject to the standard multiple-procedure reduction. Modifier 50 is inappropriate. An assistant at surgery may be paid; 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 26494 pays more and less

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

109 of 109 payment localities

26494 rates by state

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

How the 26494 rate is calculated

Each of 26494’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 26494

26494 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

26494 compared with similar codes

How to choose

26492Tendon transferThumb with free tendon graft

Compare the operative technique and graft use. This code concerns a hand tendon or muscle transfer; 26492 is the grafted transfer option.

26497Tendon transferFinger flexor tendon

Use 26497 when the operation is the specified finger extensor transfer with intrinsic muscle release, rather than a hand transfer described by this code.

26498Tendon transferFinger flexor tendon

Use 26498 for the specified finger flexor transfer with intrinsic muscle release; do not select it solely because a finger is weak.

26480Tendon transferDorsal hand, no free graft

26480 describes a tendon transfer or transplant at the carpometacarpal area or dorsum of the hand. Choose by the documented procedure and site.

Codes related to 26494

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