CPT code 92504: Ear microscopy, binocular diagnostic examination2026 Medicare rate & RVUs in Houston, TX

In Houston, TX, Medicare pays $28.74 for 92504 in the office and $7.85 when it’s performed in a hospital or facility.

Check a contract rate as a % of Medicare · 92504 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 92504 covers

An otolaryngologist typically uses a binocular microscope to inspect the external ear canal and tympanic membrane in an office or other clinical setting. Magnification can help assess findings such as canal inflammation, debris, a suspected perforation, or the position of a tympanostomy tube. The service is a diagnostic examination, not simply the use of a microscope as a visual aid during another procedure.

Select this code when the clinician performs and documents a distinct microscopic ear assessment. Record the ear or ears examined, the relevant findings, and how the examination informs the clinical assessment or plan. Routine otoscopy alone does not support this service, and microscope use solely to perform cerumen removal or another procedure should not be treated as a separate diagnostic examination. CMS physician fee schedule valuation accounts for work, practice expense, and malpractice inputs, with practice expense values differing between office and facility settings.

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 Houston, TX compares for 92504

Across 109 of 109 payment localities, the office rate for 92504 runs from $25.41 in Arkansas to $39.12 in San Benito County, CA. Houston, TX pays $28.74. The RVUs are the same everywhere; the geographic indexes change the dollars.

Every other payment area

92504 rates by state

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

See 92504 in every payment locality

How the 92504 rate is calculated

Each of 92504’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 92504

92504 has no global surgery period, no multiple-procedure, bilateral or assistant-at-surgery adjustment, and no professional/technical split. What changes the payment is where the service happens: the place of service on the claim decides whether Medicare pays the office or the facility rate.

Codes related to 92504

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

How 92504 has changed in Houston, TX

Price 92504 for an earlier date of service

Where the Houston, TX rate applies

Houston, TX is a Medicare payment area, not a city. Our Census mapping connects it to 46 cities and communities in Texas. Some span more than one payment area; confirm with the service ZIP.

• 92504 in Houston · multiple payment areas
• Aldine
• Atascocita
• Barrett
• 92504 in Baytown · multiple payment areas
• Bellaire
• Bunker Hill Village
• Channelview

Browse all communities in Texas

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