CPT code 26520: Knuckle release, metacarpophalangeal joint2026 Medicare rate & RVUs in Connecticut

In Connecticut, Medicare pays $716.72 for 26520 in a facility. There’s no office rate.

Check a contract rate as a % of Medicare · 26520 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 26520 covers

This procedure releases a contracted metacarpophalangeal (MCP) joint, the knuckle where a finger meets the hand, to improve restricted motion. A hand surgeon may release the tight joint capsule or related soft tissue when contracture limits finger movement, including after injury or prolonged stiffness. The work is typically performed in an operating room or an appropriately equipped surgical setting.

Report one unit for each MCP joint released. The operative note should identify the affected digit and joint, describe the contracture and motion limitation, and document the release performed. Medicare assigns 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 other procedures are subject to the standard 50% reduction. Modifier 50 is inappropriate. Medicare does not pay an assistant at surgery for this code; 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 Connecticut compares for 26520

Across 109 of 109 payment localities, the facility rate for 26520 runs from $589.50 in Arkansas to $877.16 in San Benito County, CA. Connecticut pays $716.72. The RVUs are the same everywhere; the geographic indexes change the dollars.

Every other payment area

26520 rates by state

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

See 26520 in every payment locality

How the 26520 rate is calculated

Each of 26520’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 26520

26520 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 26520

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

How 26520 has changed in Connecticut

Price 26520 for an earlier date of service

Where the Connecticut rate applies

Connecticut is a Medicare payment area, not a city. Our Census mapping connects it to 215 cities and communities in Connecticut. Some span more than one payment area; confirm with the service ZIP.

• Ansonia
• Ball Pond
• Baltic
• Bantam
• Bethel
• Bethlehem Village
• Bigelow Corners
• Blue Hills

Browse all communities in Connecticut

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