CPT code 68750: Tear drainage bypass, tube or stent placement2026 Medicare rate & RVUs

Medicare pays $748.85 for 68750 nationally in a facility.

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

What 68750 covers

This operation bypasses the usual tear drainage route by connecting the conjunctival sac to the nasal cavity with a tube or stent. Ophthalmologists specializing in oculoplastic or lacrimal surgery typically perform it for severe drainage obstruction when the normal canalicular pathway cannot provide adequate drainage. It is generally performed in an operating room, with the implant maintaining the new passage for tears.

Report this code when the surgeon creates the conjunctiva-to-nose pathway and places the tube or stent; that placement is part of the service. The operative report should identify the indication, side, new drainage route, and tube or stent placement. Medicare assigns a 90-day global period, including the day-before preoperative visit and related postoperative care. For bilateral surgery, modifier 50 is paid at 150%. When multiple procedures occur in one session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and others at 50%. Assistant-at-surgery payment may be available; 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 68750 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

68750 rates by state

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

How the 68750 rate is calculated

Each of 68750’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 68750

68750 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

68750 compared with similar codes

How to choose

68745Tear duct bypassWith tube or stent

Both establish a nasal route for tear drainage, but 68745 uses the lacrimal sac and this code uses the conjunctival sac with a tube or stent.

68720Tear drainage surgeryNo tube or stent

68720 creates a connection from the lacrimal sac to the nose. This code bypasses the usual drainage route from the conjunctival sac to the nose with a tube or stent.

68700Canaliculus repairTear drainage channel

68700 reconstructs canaliculi; this code creates a bypass when the surgeon uses a conjunctiva-to-nose route with a tube or stent.

68705Punctum revisionWith reconstruction

68705 addresses canalicular stenosis. Choose this code when the procedure instead creates the conjunctival bypass and places a tube or stent.

Codes related to 68750

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