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CPT code 49555: Femoral hernia repair, recurrent, reducible2026 Medicare rate & RVUs

Reports operative repair of a recurrent femoral hernia when the hernia is reducible, rather than an initial or nonreducible femoral hernia.

CMS RVU26DEffective Oct 1, 2026109 payment localities67 Medicare services in 2024

Medicare pays $583.51 for 49555 nationally in a facility.

Medicare rate · 49555

Femoral hernia repair, recurrent, reducible

Office or facility?

Work RVUs
9.16
Total RVUs
17.47
Global days
090

National rate · 2026

$583.51

Facility setting, before claim adjustments.

See every locality for 49555 →Billed by an NP, PA or therapist? →

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

Your location

Medicare pays by the payment locality where the service is performed.

On this page 10 sections
  1. Medicare rate
  2. What 49555 covers
  3. By payment locality
  4. Rate map
  5. How it’s calculated
  6. Payment rules
  7. Similar codes
  8. Related codes
  9. Billing questions
  10. Sources

What 49555 covers

This service repairs a femoral hernia that has returned after an earlier repair and can be reduced. A surgeon treats the defect in an operative setting, addressing the hernia contents and repairing the weakened area. The femoral location distinguishes this service from repair of an inguinal hernia, even when the clinical presentation is similar.

Report the code when the operative record supports both a prior femoral hernia repair and a recurrent, reducible hernia. Use the nonreducible recurrent femoral hernia code when the hernia is documented as incarcerated or strangulated. Medicare assigns a 90-day global period, including the day-before preoperative visit and related postoperative care. For multiple procedures in one session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and other procedures are subject to the standard 50% reduction. Bilateral reporting with modifier 50 is paid at 150%. Assistant-at-surgery payment may be made; co-surgeon payment requires 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.

Where 49555 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

49555 office and facility rates by payment locality
Payment localityOfficeFacility
AlabamaUnavailable$523.43
AlaskaUnavailable$712.30
ArizonaUnavailable$565.62
ArkansasUnavailable$516.11
Atlanta, GAUnavailable$604.07
Austin, TXUnavailable$586.09
Bakersfield, CAUnavailable$575.96
Baltimore area, MDUnavailable$622.15
Beaumont, TXUnavailable$560.09
Brazoria, TXUnavailable$566.13

49555 rates by state

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

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Explore a state

Local rates. Clear comparisons.

Hover or focus a tile to see its rate range. Select it to open the state’s fee schedule.

View every state and territory as a table
49555 office rate range by state
State / territoryOffice rate rangeLocalities
AKNo published base rate1
ALNo published base rate1
ARNo published base rate1
AZNo published base rate1
CANo published base rate29
CONo published base rate1
CTNo published base rate1
DCNo published base rate1
DENo published base rate1
FLNo published base rate3
GANo published base rate2
GUNo published base rate1
HINo published base rate1
IANo published base rate1
IDNo published base rate1
ILNo published base rate4
INNo published base rate1
KSNo published base rate1
KYNo published base rate1
LANo published base rate2
MANo published base rate2
MDNo published base rate3
MENo published base rate2
MINo published base rate2
MNNo published base rate1
MONo published base rate3
MSNo published base rate1
MTNo published base rate1
NCNo published base rate1
NDNo published base rate1
NENo published base rate1
NHNo published base rate1
NJNo published base rate2
NMNo published base rate1
NVNo published base rate1
NYNo published base rate5
OHNo published base rate1
OKNo published base rate1
ORNo published base rate2
PANo published base rate2
PRNo published base rate1
RINo published base rate1
SCNo published base rate1
SDNo published base rate1
TNNo published base rate1
TXNo published base rate8
UTNo published base rate1
VANo published base rate2
VINo published base rate1
VTNo published base rate1
WANo published base rate2
WINo published base rate1
WVNo published base rate1
WYNo published base rate1

How the 49555 rate is calculated

Each of 49555’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.

How the rate is built · 49555

RVUs × geographic indexes × conversion factor

Office or facility?

Work9.16

9.16 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI

Practice expense5.85

5.85 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI

Malpractice2.46

2.46 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI

Adjusted RVUs

17.4700

Conversion factor

$33.4009

Medicare rate

$583.51

Every GPCI starts at 1.000, the national rate. Enter a ZIP or drag a slider.

Payment rules and modifiers for 49555

49555 has a 90-day global period: related visits in that window are included in the surgery payment.

CMS payment indicators · 49555

Femoral hernia repair, recurrent, reducible

RuleCMS valueWhat it means
Global period090Major surgery: the day before, the day of, and 90 days after are included.
Multiple procedures2Standard reduction: highest-valued procedure at 100%, others at 50%.
Bilateral (modifier 50)1Bilateral with modifier 50 pays 150% of the fee schedule amount.
Assistant at surgery (80/81/82/AS)2Paid.
Co-surgeons (62)1Permitted with supporting documentation.
Team surgery (66)0Not permitted.
Professional/technical0Physician service: no professional/technical split.
Split (54/55/56)0.09/0.81/0.10Share of the payment for pre-op, the procedure itself, and post-op care.

Global surgery period · 49555

Femoral hernia repair, recurrent, reducible

90-day global period ends

Dec 30, 2026

Covers Sep 30, 2026 through Dec 30, 2026 (92 days, including the day before surgery).

Visit on Oct 31, 2026

Day 30 of the 90-day post-op period: related follow-up care is included in the surgical payment.

  • 24Unrelated E/M visit by the same physician
  • 79Unrelated procedure (starts its own global period)
  • 58Staged, more extensive, or therapy procedure that was planned
  • 78Unplanned return to the operating room for a related complication
SurgeryVisit
Sep 23, 2026Jan 10, 2027

Pre-op dayGlobal period

What modifiers do to the payment

Modifier 50 · payment effect

With and without the modifier

49555 without 50 · national facility

$583.51

Femoral hernia repair, recurrent, reducible

49555-50 · Bilateral: 150%

$875.27

Both sides on one line with modifier 50 are paid at 150% of the fee schedule amount (subject to multiple-procedure rules with other procedures).

When to use modifier 50

49555 compared with similar codes

Compare codes · National

5 codes, side by side

Office or facility?

  • 49555

    Femoral hernia repair, recurrent, reducible9.16 wRVU

    Not priced

  • 49550

    Femoral hernia repair, initial, reducible8.77 wRVU

    Not priced

  • 49553

    Femoral hernia repair, initial, incarcerated or strangulated9.67 wRVU

    Not priced

  • 49557

    Femoral hernia repair, recurrent, incarcerated or strangulated11.33 wRVU

    Not priced

  • 49520

    Inguinal hernia repair, recurrent, reducible9.74 wRVU

    Not priced

How to choose

49550Femoral hernia repairInitial, reducible
Both describe reducible femoral hernia repair; 49550 is for an initial repair, while this code is for a recurrence after prior repair.
49553Femoral hernia repairInitial, incarcerated or strangulated
This code is for a recurrent, reducible femoral hernia. 49553 describes an initial femoral hernia repair when the hernia is incarcerated or strangulated.
49557Femoral hernia repairRecurrent, incarcerated or strangulated
Both describe repair of a recurrent femoral hernia. Use 49557 when the hernia is incarcerated or strangulated rather than reducible.
49520Inguinal hernia repairRecurrent, reducible
49520 describes recurrent reducible inguinal hernia repair. Choose the femoral code when the defect is in the femoral region.

Codes related to 49555

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

Codes related to 49555
CodeHow it relatesNational office range
Same family
49550Femoral hernia repair, initial, reducibleInitial femoral hernia repair when reducible; use for an initial rather than recurrent hernia.No office rate
49553Femoral hernia repair, initial, incarcerated or strangulatedInitial femoral hernia repair when incarcerated or strangulated.No office rate
49557Femoral hernia repair, recurrent, incarcerated or strangulatedRecurrent femoral hernia repair when incarcerated or strangulated.No office rate

49555 billing questions

How does this differ from an initial femoral hernia repair?

This code is for a femoral hernia that has recurred after a prior repair. Use the initial-repair code when there has been no earlier repair of that femoral hernia.

When should the nonreducible recurrent femoral hernia code be used?

Use the nonreducible recurrent code when the operative documentation describes the recurrent femoral hernia as incarcerated or strangulated, rather than reducible.

What documentation supports reporting this code?

Document the femoral location, the history of prior repair, and the reducible status of the recurrent hernia, along with the operative repair performed.

How is bilateral repair reported?

Report modifier 50 for bilateral repair. CMS pays the bilateral procedure at 150%.

How do multiple-procedure and assistant-surgery rules affect payment?

When performed with other procedures in the same session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and the others are subject to the standard 50% reduction. Assistant-at-surgery payment may be made; co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation.

What care is included in the global period?

The 90-day global period includes the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care.

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

Show the CMS file lines behind this rate
RVUs for 49555PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv, line 5,835 (RVU26D)

Open CMS sourceHow we calculate rates

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