CPT code 50957: Ureteroscopy, endoscopic lesion treatment2026 Medicare rate & RVUs

Medicare pays $448.24 for 50957 nationally in the office and $311.30 in a hospital or facility. Local office rates run $406.40–$558.82.

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

What 50957 covers

A urologist uses a ureteroscope to treat a lesion within the ureter, with the therapeutic work performed endoscopically rather than through an open incision. Fulguration is a typical example of treatment directed at a ureteral lesion. The procedure is generally performed in an operating-room or other procedural facility; the record should identify the lesion and describe the treatment actually carried out.

Select this code when the operative report supports endoscopic treatment, not merely inspection or tissue sampling. Document the treated site, findings, and technique. This is a minor procedure with 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 rather than pricing each as an unrelated procedure. For bilateral reporting, modifier 50 is paid at 150%. Assistant-at-surgery payment requires documented medical necessity; 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 50957 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

50957 rates by state

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

How the 50957 rate is calculated

Each of 50957’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 50957

The CMS indicators that decide how 50957 is paid alongside other services.

What modifiers do to the payment

When to use modifier 50

50957 compared with similar codes

How to choose

50955UreteroscopyWith biopsy

50955 represents ureteroscopic biopsy. Choose 50957 when the documented procedure treats a ureteral lesion rather than sampling it alone.

50970Ureter endoscopyEndoscopic examination

50970 is for diagnostic ureteroscopy. When the same session proceeds to lesion treatment, report the therapeutic service rather than treating diagnostic inspection as a separate procedure.

50961UreteroscopyEndoscopic treatment

Both codes are in the ureteroscopic treatment family. Compare the operative details with each code’s full descriptor and report the code that matches the intervention performed.

50976UreteroscopyTherapeutic procedure

50976 is another ureteroscopic treatment code. The operative report’s specific treatment and the full code descriptor determine which code fits.

Codes related to 50957

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