CPT code 45379: Colonoscopy, foreign body removal2026 Medicare rate & RVUs

Medicare pays $479.30 for 45379 nationally in the office and $210.09 in a hospital or facility. Local office rates run $425.73–$630.09.

Medicare allowed amount for participating (non-QP) physicians, before deductible, coinsurance and claim adjustments. Not a patient’s bill or a hospital charge.

What 45379 covers

A gastroenterologist or colorectal surgeon uses a colonoscope to locate and retrieve foreign material in the colon, often with an endoscopic retrieval device or forceps. The service may be performed in a hospital or ambulatory endoscopy setting when an object requires endoscopic removal. The record should identify the foreign material, its location, and the retrieval performed; routine inspection that does not include removal is not this service.

Select this code when the documented colonoscopy includes foreign-body retrieval, not when the procedure only evaluates the colon, takes a biopsy, or removes a lesion. The diagnostic examination is part of the therapeutic procedure. CMS assigns a 0-day global period, so same-day preoperative and postoperative care is included. When related endoscopies are performed together, CMS endoscopy family pricing applies. Modifier 50 is inappropriate for this anatomy and service. 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.

Where 45379 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

45379 rates by state

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

How the 45379 rate is calculated

Each of 45379’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 45379

The CMS indicators that decide how 45379 is paid alongside other services.

What modifiers do to the payment

When to use modifier 51

45379 compared with similar codes

How to choose

45378ColonoscopyDiagnostic, no tissue removal

45378 describes a diagnostic colonoscopy without a therapeutic removal. Choose 45379 when the colonoscopy includes retrieval of a foreign object.

45380Colonoscopy with biopsySingle or multiple forceps biopsies

45380 is for colonoscopic tissue sampling. It does not describe retrieval of foreign material.

45384Colonoscopy polyp removalHot biopsy or bipolar cautery

45384 describes removal of a tumor, polyp, or other lesion by specified cautery methods. Use 45379 when the target is a foreign object, not a lesion.

45385Snare polypectomyDuring colonoscopy

45385 describes lesion removal by snare. A snare used to retrieve a foreign object does not make the service lesion removal.

Codes related to 45379

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

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