CPT code 66986: Lens exchange, removal and replacement2026 Medicare rate & RVUs in New Mexico

In New Mexico, Medicare pays $742.92 for 66986 in a facility. There’s no office rate.

Check a contract rate as a % of Medicare · 66986 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 66986 covers

An ophthalmologist removes an implanted intraocular lens and places a replacement during a reoperation on the eye. The service is appropriate when the existing implant must be exchanged, rather than when a cataract is removed and an intraocular lens is placed during the original cataract operation. It is generally performed in an ophthalmic operating room, such as a hospital outpatient department or ambulatory surgery center.

Report the exchange when the operative record supports removal of the existing implant and placement of its replacement. Documentation should identify the eye, the reason the original lens required replacement, and the work performed. CMS assigns a 90-day global period, which includes the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care. For multiple procedures in one session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and other procedures at 50%. Bilateral reporting with modifier 50 is paid at 150%. Assistant-at-surgery payment is restricted; 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 New Mexico compares for 66986

Across 109 of 109 payment localities, the facility rate for 66986 runs from $701.82 in Arkansas to $971.20 in Alaska. New Mexico pays $742.92. The RVUs are the same everywhere; the geographic indexes change the dollars.

Every other payment area

66986 rates by state

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

See 66986 in every payment locality

How the 66986 rate is calculated

Each of 66986’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 66986

66986 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 50

Codes related to 66986

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

How 66986 has changed in New Mexico

Price 66986 for an earlier date of service

Where the New Mexico rate applies

New Mexico is a Medicare payment area, not a city. Our Census mapping connects it to 528 cities and communities in New Mexico. Some span more than one payment area; confirm with the service ZIP.

• Abeytas
• Abiquiu
• Acomita Lake
• Adelino
• Agua Fria
• Alamillo
• Alamo
• Alamogordo

Browse all communities in New Mexico

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