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CPT code 26535: Finger joint surgery, without prosthetic implant2026 Medicare rate & RVUs

Reports arthroplasty of a finger interphalangeal joint without a prosthetic implant, commonly for painful joint damage or deformity.

CMS RVU26DEffective Oct 1, 2026109 payment localities532 Medicare services in 2024

Medicare pays $419.85 for 26535 nationally in a facility.

Medicare rate · 26535

Finger joint surgery, without prosthetic implant

Office or facility?

Work RVUs
5.27
Total RVUs
12.57
Global days
090

National rate · 2026

$419.85

Facility setting, before claim adjustments.

See every locality for 26535 →Billed by an NP, PA or therapist? →

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

Your location

Medicare pays by the payment locality where the service is performed.

On this page 10 sections
  1. Medicare rate
  2. What 26535 covers
  3. By payment locality
  4. Rate map
  5. How it’s calculated
  6. Payment rules
  7. Similar codes
  8. Related codes
  9. Billing questions
  10. Sources

What 26535 covers

This operation reshapes or removes damaged surfaces at a finger interphalangeal joint to improve pain and function without placing a prosthetic implant. Hand surgeons typically perform it for a painful, stiff or deformed joint affected by arthritis or prior injury. The operative report should identify the specific finger joint and describe the joint work performed; this code is distinct from arthroplasty of a knuckle joint at the metacarpophalangeal level and from implant arthroplasty.

Report the service for each treated interphalangeal joint, supported by documentation of the joint and the nonimplant procedure. CMS 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% multiple-procedure reduction. Modifier 50 is inappropriate for this code. Medicare does not pay an assistant at surgery, and co-surgeon and team-surgery billing 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.

Where 26535 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

26535 office and facility rates by payment locality
Payment localityOfficeFacility
AlabamaUnavailable$379.05
AlaskaUnavailable$506.54
ArizonaUnavailable$408.52
ArkansasUnavailable$373.98
Atlanta, GAUnavailable$430.46
Austin, TXUnavailable$428.60
Bakersfield, CAUnavailable$430.33
Baltimore area, MDUnavailable$445.94
Beaumont, TXUnavailable$398.54
Brazoria, TXUnavailable$412.02

26535 rates by state

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

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Explore a state

Local rates. Clear comparisons.

Hover or focus a tile to see its rate range. Select it to open the state’s fee schedule.

View every state and territory as a table
26535 office rate range by state
State / territoryOffice rate rangeLocalities
AKNo published base rate1
ALNo published base rate1
ARNo published base rate1
AZNo published base rate1
CANo published base rate29
CONo published base rate1
CTNo published base rate1
DCNo published base rate1
DENo published base rate1
FLNo published base rate3
GANo published base rate2
GUNo published base rate1
HINo published base rate1
IANo published base rate1
IDNo published base rate1
ILNo published base rate4
INNo published base rate1
KSNo published base rate1
KYNo published base rate1
LANo published base rate2
MANo published base rate2
MDNo published base rate3
MENo published base rate2
MINo published base rate2
MNNo published base rate1
MONo published base rate3
MSNo published base rate1
MTNo published base rate1
NCNo published base rate1
NDNo published base rate1
NENo published base rate1
NHNo published base rate1
NJNo published base rate2
NMNo published base rate1
NVNo published base rate1
NYNo published base rate5
OHNo published base rate1
OKNo published base rate1
ORNo published base rate2
PANo published base rate2
PRNo published base rate1
RINo published base rate1
SCNo published base rate1
SDNo published base rate1
TNNo published base rate1
TXNo published base rate8
UTNo published base rate1
VANo published base rate2
VINo published base rate1
VTNo published base rate1
WANo published base rate2
WINo published base rate1
WVNo published base rate1
WYNo published base rate1

How the 26535 rate is calculated

Each of 26535’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.

How the rate is built · 26535

RVUs × geographic indexes × conversion factor

Office or facility?

Work5.27

5.27 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI

Practice expense6.30

6.30 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI

Malpractice1.00

1.00 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI

Adjusted RVUs

12.5700

Conversion factor

$33.4009

Medicare rate

$419.85

Every GPCI starts at 1.000, the national rate. Enter a ZIP or drag a slider.

Payment rules and modifiers for 26535

26535 has a 90-day global period: related visits in that window are included in the surgery payment.

CMS payment indicators · 26535

Finger joint surgery, without prosthetic implant

RuleCMS valueWhat it means
Global period090Major surgery: the day before, the day of, and 90 days after are included.
Multiple procedures2Standard reduction: highest-valued procedure at 100%, others at 50%.
Bilateral (modifier 50)0The 150% bilateral adjustment doesn’t apply.
Assistant at surgery (80/81/82/AS)1Not paid (statutory restriction).
Co-surgeons (62)0Not permitted.
Team surgery (66)0Not permitted.
Professional/technical0Physician service: no professional/technical split.
Split (54/55/56)0.10/0.69/0.21Share of the payment for pre-op, the procedure itself, and post-op care.

Global surgery period · 26535

Finger joint surgery, without prosthetic implant

90-day global period ends

Dec 30, 2026

Covers Sep 30, 2026 through Dec 30, 2026 (92 days, including the day before surgery).

Visit on Oct 31, 2026

Day 30 of the 90-day post-op period: related follow-up care is included in the surgical payment.

  • 24Unrelated E/M visit by the same physician
  • 79Unrelated procedure (starts its own global period)
  • 58Staged, more extensive, or therapy procedure that was planned
  • 78Unplanned return to the operating room for a related complication
SurgeryVisit
Sep 23, 2026Jan 10, 2027

Pre-op dayGlobal period

What modifiers do to the payment

Modifier 51 · payment effect

With and without the modifier

26535 without 51 · national facility

$419.85

Finger joint surgery, without prosthetic implant

26535-51 · Second procedure: 50%

$209.93

When this isn’t the highest-valued procedure in the session, Medicare pays 50% of its fee schedule amount (the highest is paid at 100%).

When to use modifier 51

26535 compared with similar codes

Compare codes · National

5 codes, side by side

Office or facility?

  • 26535

    Finger joint surgery, without prosthetic implant5.27 wRVU

    Not priced

  • 26536

    Finger joint arthroplasty, with prosthetic implant6.4 wRVU

    Not priced

  • 26530

    Knuckle arthroplasty, metacarpophalangeal joint, no implant6.71 wRVU

    Not priced

  • 26531

    Knuckle arthroplasty, with implant7.93 wRVU

    Not priced

  • 26525

    Contracture release, finger interphalangeal joint5.36 wRVU

    Not priced

How to choose

26536Finger joint arthroplastyWith prosthetic implant
Both codes concern interphalangeal joint arthroplasty. Choose 26536 when a prosthetic implant is placed; 26535 represents the nonimplant procedure.
26530Knuckle arthroplastyMetacarpophalangeal joint, no implant
This code is for arthroplasty at a metacarpophalangeal joint, the knuckle. Code 26535 concerns an interphalangeal joint.
26531Knuckle arthroplastyWith implant
Code 26531 describes metacarpophalangeal arthroplasty with an implant. Code 26535 is for an interphalangeal joint without a prosthetic implant.
26525Contracture releaseFinger interphalangeal joint
Use 26525 for release of a finger contracture when the documented work is contracture release. Code 26535 describes arthroplasty of the interphalangeal joint.

Codes related to 26535

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

Codes related to 26535
CodeHow it relatesNational office range
Same family
26536Finger joint arthroplasty, with prosthetic implantInterphalangeal joint arthroplasty in the same family, distinguished by use of a prosthetic implant.No office rate
Used instead
26530Knuckle arthroplasty, metacarpophalangeal joint, no implantArthroplasty at the metacarpophalangeal joint rather than a finger interphalangeal joint.No office rate
26531Knuckle arthroplasty, with implantMetacarpophalangeal joint arthroplasty with a prosthetic implant.No office rate
26525Contracture release, finger interphalangeal jointFinger contracture release when the service is soft-tissue release rather than joint arthroplasty.No office rate

26535 billing questions

How is this different from 26536?

26535 describes interphalangeal joint arthroplasty without a prosthetic implant. Use 26536 when the operative service includes a prosthetic implant.

How does this differ from 26530 or 26531?

Those codes describe arthroplasty at a metacarpophalangeal, or knuckle, joint. Code 26535 is for an interphalangeal joint farther along the finger.

How many units should be reported?

The code is reported for each treated interphalangeal joint. The operative note should identify each joint and the procedure performed there.

Can modifier 50 be used when both hands are treated?

CMS identifies modifier 50 as inappropriate for this code’s descriptor and anatomy.

What postoperative care is included?

The 90-day global period includes the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care.

Can an assistant or co-surgeon be billed?

Medicare does not pay an assistant at surgery for this service. Co-surgeon and team-surgery billing are not permitted.

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

Show the CMS file lines behind this rate
RVUs for 26535PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv, line 2,632 (RVU26D)

Open CMS sourceHow we calculate rates

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