CPT code 26850: Knuckle fusion, metacarpophalangeal joint2026 Medicare rate & RVUs in Delaware

In Delaware, Medicare pays $697.98 for 26850 in a facility. There’s no office rate.

Check a contract rate as a % of Medicare · 26850 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 26850 covers

Code 26850 describes an operation to fuse a finger’s metacarpophalangeal (MCP) joint, the joint where the finger meets the hand. The surgeon prepares the joint surfaces and positions them for fusion; internal fixation may be used. Hand or orthopedic surgeons commonly perform the procedure in a hospital operating room or ambulatory surgery center for a painful, unstable, or deformed MCP joint, including after trauma.

Select this code for MCP fusion without autogenous bone graft; when autogenous graft is used, consider 26852. The operative report should identify the joint and side, the condition treated, and whether graft or fixation was used. CMS assigns a 90-day global period, including the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care. In a same-session multiple-procedure claim, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and other procedures are paid at 50%. Modifier 50 is inappropriate for this code. Assistant-at-surgery payment requires documented medical necessity; 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 Delaware compares for 26850

Across 109 of 109 payment localities, the facility rate for 26850 runs from $624.43 in Arkansas to $901.55 in San Benito County, CA. Delaware pays $697.98. The RVUs are the same everywhere; the geographic indexes change the dollars.

Every other payment area

26850 rates by state

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

See 26850 in every payment locality

How the 26850 rate is calculated

Each of 26850’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 26850

26850 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 26850

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

How 26850 has changed in Delaware

Price 26850 for an earlier date of service

Where the Delaware rate applies

Delaware is a Medicare payment area, not a city. Our Census mapping connects it to 79 cities and communities in Delaware. Some span more than one payment area; confirm with the service ZIP.

• Arden
• Ardencroft
• Ardentown
• Bear
• Bellefonte
• Bethany Beach
• Bethel
• Blades

Browse all communities in Delaware

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