FeeBase
Log inGet started
Menu

CPT code 30520: Septoplasty, septal deviation correction2026 Medicare rate & RVUs

Septoplasty corrects a deviated nasal septum causing obstruction or other documented symptoms, without the broader nasal reshaping included in rhinoplasty.

CMS RVU26DEffective Oct 1, 2026109 payment localities27.6K Medicare services in 2024

Medicare pays $613.24 for 30520 nationally in a facility.

Medicare rate · 30520

Septoplasty, septal deviation correction

Office or facility?

Work RVUs
6.83
Total RVUs
18.36
Global days
090

National rate · 2026

$613.24

Facility setting, before claim adjustments.

See every locality for 30520 →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 30520 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 30520 covers

CPT 30520 describes surgery to correct a deviated nasal septum, generally by reshaping, repositioning, or removing obstructing septal cartilage or bone. Otolaryngologists and facial plastic surgeons commonly perform it for symptomatic nasal obstruction related to septal deviation, including deviation after trauma. The operation may take place in a hospital or ambulatory surgery setting.

Report the service when the operative work addresses the septum itself; document the deviation, symptoms or functional problem, and corrective work performed. A separate inferior turbinate procedure, such as 30140, may be reported when independently performed and documented. The 90-day global period includes the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care. When multiple procedures occur in one session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and others at 50%. Modifier 50 is inappropriate. Assistant-at-surgery payment is statutorily restricted, 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.

Where 30520 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

30520 office and facility rates by payment locality
Payment localityOfficeFacility
AlabamaUnavailable$554.68
AlaskaUnavailable$735.00
ArizonaUnavailable$597.49
ArkansasUnavailable$547.33
Atlanta, GAUnavailable$626.33
Austin, TXUnavailable$630.23
Bakersfield, CAUnavailable$638.12
Baltimore area, MDUnavailable$650.54
Beaumont, TXUnavailable$579.22
Brazoria, TXUnavailable$604.48

30520 rates by state

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

MEWIVTNHMTNDMNMINYMARIWAIDWYSDIAILINOHPANJCTORNVUTCONEMOKYWVVAMDDECAAZNMKSOKARTNNCSCDCTXLAMSALGAFLAKHI

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
30520 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 30520 rate is calculated

Each of 30520’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 · 30520

RVUs × geographic indexes × conversion factor

Office or facility?

Work6.83

6.83 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI

Practice expense10.52

10.52 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI

Malpractice1.01

1.01 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI

Adjusted RVUs

18.3600

Conversion factor

$33.4009

Medicare rate

$613.24

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

Payment rules and modifiers for 30520

30520 has a 90-day global period: related visits in that window are included in the surgery payment.

CMS payment indicators · 30520

Septoplasty, septal deviation correction

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)0.10/0.76/0.14Share of the payment for pre-op, the procedure itself, and post-op care.

Global surgery period · 30520

Septoplasty, septal deviation correction

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

30520 without 51 · national facility

$613.24

Septoplasty, septal deviation correction

30520-51 · Second procedure: 50%

$306.62

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

30520 compared with similar codes

Compare codes · National

4 codes, side by side

Office or facility?

  • 30520

    Septoplasty, septal deviation correction6.83 wRVU

    Not priced

  • 30420

    Rhinoplasty, with major septal repair16.48 wRVU

    Not priced

  • 30140

    Turbinate reduction, submucosal tissue reduction2.93 wRVU

    $293.93

  • 30540

    Choanal atresia repair, intranasal approach7.72 wRVU

    Not priced

How to choose

30420RhinoplastyWith major septal repair
CPT 30420 includes major septal repair as part of primary rhinoplasty. Use 30520 for septal correction without that broader rhinoplasty service.
30140Turbinate reductionSubmucosal tissue reduction
CPT 30140 addresses the inferior turbinate, not the septum. It may be separately reported with 30520 when both procedures are performed and documented.
30540Choanal atresia repairIntranasal approach
CPT 30540 repairs choanal atresia, a congenital posterior nasal passage obstruction; 30520 corrects a deviated septum.

Codes related to 30520

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

Codes related to 30520
CodeHow it relatesNational office range
Often billed with
30140Turbinate reduction, submucosal tissue reductionMay be performed in the same session for separately documented inferior turbinate reduction.$261.34–$378.34
Used instead
30420Rhinoplasty, with major septal repairIncludes major septal repair when performed as part of primary rhinoplasty.No office rate
30560Nasal adhesion lysis, intranasal synechiaTreats intranasal synechiae causing obstruction rather than correcting septal deviation.$274.69–$434.73

30520 billing questions

When is 30520 used instead of 30420?

Use 30520 for septal correction performed as the septal operation. CPT 30420 describes primary rhinoplasty that includes major septal repair; when that broader operation is performed, the septal work is included in that code.

Can 30520 be reported with inferior turbinate surgery?

It may be reported with 30140 when the surgeon performs a distinct submucous resection of the inferior turbinate in addition to septal correction. Document the separate work; same-session multiple-procedure payment reduction applies.

Should modifier 50 be appended for bilateral nasal obstruction?

No. CMS identifies bilateral adjustment as inappropriate for 30520. The septum is midline, so report the septal repair once rather than as a bilateral service.

What postoperative care is included?

The 90-day global period includes the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care. Related routine follow-up during that period is part of the surgical service.

What should the operative documentation establish?

Document the septal deviation and its clinical significance, along with the corrective septal work performed. If another nasal procedure is billed separately, the record should support that distinct procedure as well.

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 30520PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv, line 3,448 (RVU26D)

Open CMS sourceHow we calculate rates

Did this answer your question about what 30520 pays?

Tell us what you were actually trying to work out. We’ll answer you directly, or build the page that does.

Fee sheets

Put 30520 and the rest of your codes on one sheet

Your codes at your locality, with payer contracts beside Medicare.

Build my fee sheet