CPT code 79440: Joint radiotherapy, intra-articular administration2026 Medicare rate & RVUs

Medicare pays $117.24 for 79440 nationally in the office. Local office rates run $109.27–$152.19.

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

What 79440 covers

This service delivers a therapeutic radiopharmaceutical directly into a joint to treat synovial disease, rather than using a routine medication injection. It is generally performed by a nuclear medicine or radiology physician with the joint accessed by a qualified clinician, often in a specialized outpatient or hospital setting. Examples include treatment of persistent synovitis associated with inflammatory arthritis or hemophilic arthropathy.

Select 79440 when documentation supports intra-articular delivery of a radiopharmaceutical for therapy. The record should identify the treated joint, the therapeutic purpose, and the administration performed. CMS recognizes professional and technical components: modifier 26 reports the professional interpretation, modifier TC reports the technical component, and billing without either modifier represents the global service. The technical component includes equipment and staff.

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 79440 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

79440 rates by state

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

How the 79440 rate is calculated

Each of 79440’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 79440

The CMS indicators that decide how 79440 is paid alongside other services.

What modifiers do to the payment

When to use modifier 26

79440 compared with similar codes

How to choose

79445Intra-arterial therapyParticulate administration

Choose 79440 for intra-articular delivery and 79445 for intra-arterial particulate administration. The administration route distinguishes these therapy codes.

79403Nuclear therapyHematopoietic tumor

79403 is for radiopharmaceutical therapy associated with non-Hodgkin lymphoma; 79440 identifies treatment delivered into a joint.

20610Joint injectionMajor joint or bursa, no ultrasound

20610 describes aspiration and/or injection of a major joint or bursa. It is not the radiopharmaceutical therapy code for treatment delivered into a joint.

Codes related to 79440

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