CPT code 44979: Unlisted laparoscopy, appendix procedure2026 Medicare rate & RVUs in Washington, DC area

CMS doesn’t publish a rate for 44979 in Washington, DC area.

Check a contract rate as a % of Medicare · 44979 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 44979 covers

Code 44979 is for a laparoscopic operation involving the appendix when no listed CPT code describes the specific service. It is not the code for a routine laparoscopic appendectomy, which has a dedicated code. The operating surgeon reports the unlisted work; the operative report should describe the procedure, the appendix-related anatomy treated, the laparoscopic approach, and the clinical purpose. This code is generally encountered in facility-based surgery.

Medicare assigns status C, or carrier priced: CMS publishes no national physician fee schedule payment, and the Medicare Administrative Contractor sets payment for each claim. The contractor also sets the global period. When multiple procedures are performed in the same session, Medicare applies its standard multiple procedure reduction, with the highest-valued procedure paid in full and others at 50%. Include enough claim detail and operative documentation for the contractor to understand the service being priced.

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 Washington, DC area compares for 44979

Every other payment area

44979 rates by state

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

See 44979 in every payment locality

How the 44979 rate is calculated

Each of 44979’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 44979

The CMS indicators that decide how 44979 is paid alongside other services.

What modifiers do to the payment

When to use modifier 50

Codes related to 44979

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

How 44979 has changed in Washington, DC area

Price 44979 for an earlier date of service

Where the Washington, DC area rate applies

Washington, DC area is a Medicare payment area, not a city. Our Census mapping connects it to 1 cities and communities in District of Columbia. Some span more than one payment area; confirm with the service ZIP.

• Washington

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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