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Billing code 24470: Growth arrestMedicare rate & RVUs

A pediatric orthopedic surgeon selectively arrests one side of a humeral growth plate to guide correction of a progressive angular deformity.

CMS RVU26DEffective Oct 1, 2026109 payment localities

Medicare pays $638.63 for 24470 nationally in a facility.

Medicare rate · 24470

Growth arrest

Swap in your local Medicare rate.

Work RVUs
8.71
Total RVUs
19.12
Global days
090

National rate · 2026

$638.63

Facility setting, before claim adjustments.

See every locality for 24470 → · Billed by an NP, PA or therapist? →

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

On this page 10 sections
  1. Medicare rate
  2. What 24470 covers
  3. By payment locality
  4. Rate map
  5. How it’s calculated
  6. Payment rules
  7. Similar codes
  8. Related codes
  9. Billing questions
  10. Sources

What 24470 covers

This operation slows growth on one side of a humeral physis while growth on the opposite side continues, allowing gradual correction of an angular deformity in a child who is still growing. It is typically performed by an orthopedic surgeon in an operating room. The growth plate, side of the deformity, and remaining growth potential guide whether growth modulation is an appropriate approach; it differs from cutting or reshaping the bone directly.

Report the service for the operative hemiepiphyseal arrest, with documentation identifying the humeral site, laterality, deformity, and procedure performed. CMS assigns a 90-day global period, which includes the day-before preoperative visit and related postoperative care during that period. When multiple procedures are performed in the same session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and other procedures are subject to the standard multiple-procedure reduction. For bilateral surgery, modifier 50 is paid at 150%. Assistant-at-surgery payment may be made; 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.

Where 24470 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

24470 office and facility rates by payment locality
Payment localityOfficeFacility
AlabamaUnavailable$576.07
Alaska*Unavailable$774.93
ArizonaUnavailable$620.86
ArkansasUnavailable$568.34
AtlantaUnavailable$656.49
AustinUnavailable$648.75
BakersfieldUnavailable$647.44
Baltimore/Surr. CntysUnavailable$678.80
BeaumontUnavailable$608.51
BrazoriaUnavailable$624.79

24470 rates by state

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

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Local rates. Clear comparisons.

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View every state and territory as a table
24470 office rate range by state
State / territoryOffice rate rangeLocalities
AKNo published base rate1
ALNo published base rate1
ARNo published base rate1
AZNo published base rate1
CANo published base rate29
CONo published base rate1
CTNo published base rate1
DCNo published base rate1
DENo published base rate1
FLNo published base rate3
GANo published base rate2
GUNo published base rate1
HINo published base rate1
IANo published base rate1
IDNo published base rate1
ILNo published base rate4
INNo published base rate1
KSNo published base rate1
KYNo published base rate1
LANo published base rate2
MANo published base rate2
MDNo published base rate3
MENo published base rate2
MINo published base rate2
MNNo published base rate1
MONo published base rate3
MSNo published base rate1
MTNo published base rate1
NCNo published base rate1
NDNo published base rate1
NENo published base rate1
NHNo published base rate1
NJNo published base rate2
NMNo published base rate1
NVNo published base rate1
NYNo published base rate5
OHNo published base rate1
OKNo published base rate1
ORNo published base rate2
PANo published base rate2
PRNo published base rate1
RINo published base rate1
SCNo published base rate1
SDNo published base rate1
TNNo published base rate1
TXNo published base rate8
UTNo published base rate1
VANo published base rate2
VINo published base rate1
VTNo published base rate1
WANo published base rate2
WINo published base rate1
WVNo published base rate1
WYNo published base rate1

How the 24470 rate is calculated

Each of 24470’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.

How the rate is built · 24470

RVUs × geographic indexes × conversion factor

Swap in your local Medicare rate.

Work 8.71Practice expense 8.56Malpractice 1.85

19.1200 adjusted RVUs×$33.4009 conversion factor=$638.63

All indexes start at 1.000 (the national rate). Enter a ZIP or drag a slider.

Payment rules and modifiers for 24470

24470 has a 90-day global period: related visits in that window are included in the surgery payment.

CMS payment indicators · 24470

Growth arrest

RuleCMS valueWhat it means
Global period090Major surgery: the day before, the day of, and 90 days after are included.
Multiple procedures2Standard reduction: highest-valued procedure at 100%, others at 50%.
Bilateral (modifier 50)1Bilateral with modifier 50 pays 150% of the fee schedule amount.
Assistant at surgery (80/81/82/AS)2Paid.
Co-surgeons (62)0Not permitted.
Team surgery (66)0Not permitted.
Professional/technical0Physician service: no professional/technical split.
Split (54/55/56)0.10/0.69/0.21Share of the payment for pre-op, the procedure itself, and post-op care.

Global surgery period · 24470

Growth arrest

90-day global period ends

Dec 30, 2026

Covers Sep 30, 2026 through Dec 30, 2026 (92 days, including the day before surgery).

Visit on Oct 31, 2026

Day 30 of the 90-day post-op period: related follow-up care is included in the surgical payment.

  • 24 Unrelated E/M visit by the same physician
  • 79 Unrelated procedure (starts its own global period)
  • 58 Staged, more extensive, or therapy procedure that was planned
  • 78 Unplanned return to the operating room for a related complication
SurgeryVisit
Sep 23, 2026Jan 10, 2027

Pre-op dayGlobal period

What modifiers do to the payment

Modifier 50 · payment effect

With and without the modifier

24470 without 50 · national facility

$638.63

Growth arrest

24470-50 · Bilateral: 150%

$957.95

Both sides on one line with modifier 50 are paid at 150% of the fee schedule amount (subject to multiple-procedure rules with other procedures).

When to use modifier 50

24470 compared with similar codes

Compare codes

24470 vs 24400 vs 27485 vs 27475: national Medicare rates

Swap in your local Medicare rate.

  • 24470
    Growth arrest · 8.71 wRVU
    —
  • 24400
    Humerus osteotomy · 11.05 wRVU
    —
  • 27485
    Guided growth · 8.9 wRVU
    —
  • 27475
    Growth arrest · 8.71 wRVU
    —

How to choose

24400Humerus osteotomy
24400 is a humeral osteotomy, correcting alignment by cutting bone. This code describes selective arrest of one side of the growth plate to guide gradual correction.
27485Guided growth
27485 is hemiepiphysiodesis at the distal femur. Choose the code for the anatomical site treated: femur for 27485, humerus for 24470.
27475Growth arrest
27475 describes epiphyseal arrest by stapling at the distal femur. It differs in both site and the specified growth-arrest procedure.

Codes related to 24470

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

Codes related to 24470
CodeHow it relatesNational office range
Used instead
24400Humerus osteotomyHumeral osteotomy corrects alignment through a bone cut rather than selective growth-plate arrest.No office rate
27485Guided growthHemiepiphysiodesis for angular deformity at the distal femur, rather than the humerus.No office rate
27475Growth arrestEpiphyseal arrest by stapling at the distal femur, not hemiepiphyseal arrest of the humerus.No office rate
27477Growth arrest surgeryEpiphyseal arrest by stapling at the proximal tibia, rather than the humeral physis.No office rate

24470 billing questions

When is this code chosen instead of a humeral osteotomy?

Use this code when the surgeon arrests growth on one side of the humeral physis to gradually guide alignment. A humeral osteotomy corrects alignment by cutting the bone.

Does the 90-day global period include postoperative visits?

Yes. Related postoperative care for 90 days is included, along with the day-before preoperative visit.

How is bilateral surgery reported?

CMS lists this as a bilateral procedure; modifier 50 is paid at 150%.

Can an assistant surgeon be reported?

Assistant-at-surgery payment may be made. Co-surgeons and team surgery are not permitted under the CMS rules provided.

What documentation supports selecting this code?

Document the humeral physis treated, laterality, angular deformity, and the operative growth-arrest procedure. The record should make clear that growth modulation, rather than direct bone realignment, was 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

Show the CMS file lines behind this rate
RVUs for 24470PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv, line 2,323 (RVU26D)

Open CMS sourceHow we calculate rates

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