CPT code 44960: Appendectomy, rupture with abscess or peritonitis2026 Medicare rate & RVUs in Wisconsin

In Wisconsin, Medicare pays $730.29 for 44960 in a facility. There’s no office rate.

Check a contract rate as a % of Medicare · 44960 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 44960 covers

This code describes open surgical removal of the appendix in a patient whose appendix has ruptured, producing an abscess or generalized peritonitis. A general or acute care surgeon typically performs the operation in a hospital operating room. The operative record should establish the rupture and the associated abscess or peritoneal infection, as well as the open approach and removal of the appendix.

Choose this code for the specified complicated presentation rather than the standard open appendectomy code; a laparoscopic approach is represented separately. The 90-day global period includes the day-before preoperative visit and related postoperative care during the following 90 days. 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. Modifier 50 is not appropriate for the single appendix. An assistant at surgery may be paid; co-surgeons require supporting documentation, and team surgery 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 Wisconsin compares for 44960

Across 109 of 109 payment localities, the facility rate for 44960 runs from $730.29 in Wisconsin to $1,022.36 in Miami, FL. Wisconsin pays $730.29. The RVUs are the same everywhere; the geographic indexes change the dollars.

Every other payment area

44960 rates by state

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

See 44960 in every payment locality

How the 44960 rate is calculated

Each of 44960’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 44960

44960 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 44960

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

How 44960 has changed in Wisconsin

Price 44960 for an earlier date of service

Where the Wisconsin rate applies

Wisconsin is a Medicare payment area, not a city. Our Census mapping connects it to 807 cities and communities in Wisconsin. Some span more than one payment area; confirm with the service ZIP.

• 44960 in Abbotsford
• 44960 in Abrams
• 44960 in Adams
• 44960 in Adell
• 44960 in Albany
• 44960 in Algoma
• 44960 in Allens Grove
• 44960 in Allenton

Browse all communities in Wisconsin

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