CPT code 68720: Tear drainage surgery, no tube or stent2026 Medicare rate & RVUs in Ohio

In Ohio, Medicare pays $672.43 for 68720 in a facility. There’s no office rate.

Check a contract rate as a % of Medicare · 68720 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 68720 covers

An ophthalmic surgeon creates a direct passage from the lacrimal sac into the nasal cavity to bypass an obstructed nasolacrimal duct. The operation is used for tear drainage problems such as persistent tearing or recurrent infection of the lacrimal sac. It is generally performed in an operating-room setting, including a hospital outpatient department or ambulatory surgery center. This code describes the DCR without tube or stent intubation.

The operative report should support the lacrimal sac-to-nose bypass, identify the treated side, and clarify whether a tube or stent was inserted. The service has a 90-day global period, including the day-before preoperative visit and related postoperative care during that period. For bilateral surgery, modifier 50 is paid at 150%. When multiple procedures occur in the same session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and the others at 50%. 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.

How Ohio compares for 68720

Across 109 of 109 payment localities, the facility rate for 68720 runs from $639.97 in Arkansas to $880.88 in San Benito County, CA. Ohio pays $672.43. The RVUs are the same everywhere; the geographic indexes change the dollars.

Every other payment area

68720 rates by state

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

See 68720 in every payment locality

How the 68720 rate is calculated

Each of 68720’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 68720

68720 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 68720

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

How 68720 has changed in Ohio

Price 68720 for an earlier date of service

Where the Ohio rate applies

Ohio is a Medicare payment area, not a city. Our Census mapping connects it to 1265 cities and communities in Ohio. Some span more than one payment area; confirm with the service ZIP.

• Aberdeen
• Ada
• Adamsville
• Addyston
• Adelphi
• Adena
• Ai
• Akron

Browse all communities in Ohio

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