CPT code 68810: Tear duct probing, simple probing2026 Medicare rate & RVUs in Merced, CA

In Merced, CA, Medicare pays $169.88 for 68810 in the office and $116.80 when it’s performed in a hospital or facility.

Check a contract rate as a % of Medicare · 68810 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 68810 covers

An ophthalmologist passes a probe through the tear drainage pathway to open or assess an obstruction in the nasolacrimal duct. Irrigation may be used to check or restore flow. A common situation is treatment of persistent tear-duct blockage in an infant; the procedure may also be performed for duct obstruction in other patients. The service is commonly furnished in an office or outpatient setting.

Report 68810 for simple probing, with or without irrigation, when the service does not require general anesthesia and does not include tube or stent placement or balloon catheter dilation. The note should identify the treated side, the obstruction or reason for probing, the instruments and technique used, and whether irrigation was performed. This minor procedure has a 10-day global period, which includes related postoperative visits during that period. For bilateral treatment, modifier 50 is paid at 150%. When multiple procedures are performed in the same session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and other procedures are subject to a 50% reduction. Medicare does not pay an assistant at surgery; 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.

How Merced, CA compares for 68810

Across 109 of 109 payment localities, the office rate for 68810 runs from $143.69 in Arkansas to $211.40 in San Benito County, CA. Merced, CA pays $169.88. The RVUs are the same everywhere; the geographic indexes change the dollars.

Every other payment area

68810 rates by state

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

See 68810 in every payment locality

How the 68810 rate is calculated

Each of 68810’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 68810

68810 has a 10-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 68810

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

How 68810 has changed in Merced, CA

Price 68810 for an earlier date of service

Where the Merced, CA rate applies

Merced, CA is a Medicare payment area, not a city. Our Census mapping connects it to 24 cities and communities in California. Some span more than one payment area; confirm with the service ZIP.

• Merced
• Atwater
• Ballico
• Bear Creek
• Cressey
• Delhi
• Dos Palos
• Dos Palos Y

Browse all communities in California

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