CPT code 31605: Emergency airway, transtracheal access2026 Medicare rate & RVUs in New Mexico

In New Mexico, Medicare pays $307.93 for 31605 in a facility. There’s no office rate.

Check a contract rate as a % of Medicare · 31605 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 31605 covers

This service creates emergency airway access through the cricothyroid membrane, commonly called a cricothyrotomy. It is used when a patient has an acute, critical airway problem and an airway cannot be secured by less invasive means. The procedure is typically performed by a physician in an emergency department, operating room, or other acute-care setting; the opening may provide temporary access for ventilation.

Report 31605 for the emergency transtracheal approach, not a planned tracheostomy or an emergency opening lower in the neck. Documentation should establish the airway emergency, the need for surgical access, and the transtracheal approach. CMS assigns a 0-day global period, so same-day preoperative and postoperative care is included. When multiple procedures are performed in the same session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and the others at 50%. Modifier 50 is inappropriate. Medicare does not pay an assistant at surgery for this service; 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 New Mexico compares for 31605

Across 109 of 109 payment localities, the facility rate for 31605 runs from $268.98 in Wisconsin to $390.15 in Alaska. New Mexico pays $307.93. The RVUs are the same everywhere; the geographic indexes change the dollars.

Every other payment area

31605 rates by state

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

See 31605 in every payment locality

How the 31605 rate is calculated

Each of 31605’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 31605

The CMS indicators that decide how 31605 is paid alongside other services.

What modifiers do to the payment

When to use modifier 51

Codes related to 31605

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

How 31605 has changed in New Mexico

Price 31605 for an earlier date of service

Where the New Mexico rate applies

New Mexico is a Medicare payment area, not a city. Our Census mapping connects it to 528 cities and communities in New Mexico. Some span more than one payment area; confirm with the service ZIP.

• Abeytas
• Abiquiu
• Acomita Lake
• Adelino
• Agua Fria
• Alamillo
• Alamo
• Alamogordo

Browse all communities in New Mexico

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