CPT code 26517: Knuckle fusion, metacarpophalangeal joint2026 Medicare rate & RVUs in Montana

In Montana, Medicare pays $845.25 for 26517 in a facility. There’s no office rate.

Check a contract rate as a % of Medicare · 26517 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 26517 covers

A hand surgeon surgically fuses a metacarpophalangeal (MCP) joint, the knuckle where a finger meets the hand, to create a stable joint by eliminating motion there. The procedure may be considered for severe joint disease, deformity, or instability when preserving motion is not the goal. It is performed in an operating room, commonly in a hospital or ambulatory surgery center. The operative report should identify the finger and MCP joint treated and describe the fusion performed.

Report this code for the MCP fusion work documented in the operative note; distinguish it from procedures on the finger’s interphalangeal joints and from joint reconstruction or contracture release. The code has a 90-day global period, including the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care. When multiple procedures are performed in the same session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and others at 50%. For bilateral procedures reported with modifier 50, CMS pays 150%. An assistant at surgery may be paid; co-surgeons and team surgery are 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 Montana compares for 26517

Across 109 of 109 payment localities, the facility rate for 26517 runs from $746.26 in Arkansas to $1,064.00 in San Benito County, CA. Montana pays $845.25. The RVUs are the same everywhere; the geographic indexes change the dollars.

Every other payment area

26517 rates by state

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

See 26517 in every payment locality

How the 26517 rate is calculated

Each of 26517’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 26517

26517 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 50

Codes related to 26517

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

How 26517 has changed in Montana

Price 26517 for an earlier date of service

Where the Montana rate applies

Montana is a Medicare payment area, not a city. Our Census mapping connects it to 497 cities and communities in Montana. Some span more than one payment area; confirm with the service ZIP.

• Absarokee
• Acton
• Alberton
• Alder
• Alzada
• Amsterdam
• Anaconda-Deer Lodge County
• Antelope

Browse all communities in Montana

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