CPT code 44950: Appendectomy, open approach2026 Medicare rate & RVUs in Rhode Island

In Rhode Island, Medicare pays $608.41 for 44950 in a facility. There’s no office rate.

Check a contract rate as a % of Medicare · 44950 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 44950 covers

This code describes open removal of the appendix, commonly performed by a general surgeon in a hospital operating room for acute appendicitis. The surgeon reaches the appendix through an abdominal incision rather than using a laparoscopic approach. Emergency cases often follow evaluation for right lower quadrant pain and imaging or examination findings consistent with appendicitis.

Select the code based on the operative approach and documented disease findings. The operative report should support removal of the appendix by open approach; rupture with an abscess or generalized peritonitis points to 44960, while laparoscopic removal points to 44970. The 90-day global includes the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care. When multiple procedures occur in the same session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and other procedures are subject to the standard 50% reduction. Do not append modifier 50 for this single-organ operation. Assistant-at-surgery payment may be made; co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation, and team-surgery payment is 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 Rhode Island compares for 44950

Across 109 of 109 payment localities, the facility rate for 44950 runs from $537.97 in Wisconsin to $750.34 in Alaska. Rhode Island pays $608.41. The RVUs are the same everywhere; the geographic indexes change the dollars.

Every other payment area

44950 rates by state

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

See 44950 in every payment locality

How the 44950 rate is calculated

Each of 44950’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 44950

44950 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 44950

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

How 44950 has changed in Rhode Island

Price 44950 for an earlier date of service

Where the Rhode Island rate applies

Rhode Island is a Medicare payment area, not a city. Our Census mapping connects it to 36 cities and communities in Rhode Island. Some span more than one payment area; confirm with the service ZIP.

• Ashaway
• Bradford
• Carolina
• Central Falls
• Charlestown
• Chepachet
• Clayville
• Cranston

Browse all communities in Rhode Island

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