CPT code 26860: Finger joint fusion, one interphalangeal joint2026 Medicare rate & RVUs in Iowa

In Iowa, Medicare pays $552.77 for 26860 in a facility. There’s no office rate.

Check a contract rate as a % of Medicare · 26860 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 26860 covers

This procedure permanently joins an interphalangeal joint in a finger, with or without internal fixation. Hand surgeons commonly perform it for painful joint destruction, deformity, or instability, such as after arthritis or trauma. The operative work prepares the joint surfaces for fusion and may use fixation to maintain alignment while the bones heal. The code is for an interphalangeal joint, not a knuckle joint or the thumb carpometacarpal joint.

Select the code based on the joint treated and whether autograft is used; the graft-specific code is 26862. The operative report should identify the joint and side, the indication, the fusion technique, fixation, and any graft. This is a major surgery with 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-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 Iowa compares for 26860

Across 109 of 109 payment localities, the facility rate for 26860 runs from $533.00 in Arkansas to $794.34 in San Benito County, CA. Iowa pays $552.77. The RVUs are the same everywhere; the geographic indexes change the dollars.

Every other payment area

26860 rates by state

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

See 26860 in every payment locality

How the 26860 rate is calculated

Each of 26860’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 26860

26860 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 26860

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

How 26860 has changed in Iowa

Price 26860 for an earlier date of service

Where the Iowa rate applies

Iowa is a Medicare payment area, not a city. Our Census mapping connects it to 1026 cities and communities in Iowa. Some span more than one payment area; confirm with the service ZIP.

• Ackley
• Ackworth
• Adair
• Adel
• Afton
• Agency
• Ainsworth
• Akron

Browse all communities in Iowa

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