Billing code 25515: Radius fracture repairMedicare rate & RVUs

Medicare pays $633.95 for 25515 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 25515 covers

An orthopedic or hand surgeon uses an operative approach to expose and reduce a fracture through the shaft of the radius. The fracture may be stabilized with internal fixation, such as a plate and screws. This code fits treatment of the radial shaft itself; a distal radioulnar joint dislocation requiring treatment changes the code choice. These repairs are commonly performed in a hospital operating room or ambulatory surgery setting after forearm trauma.

Choose the code based on the operative treatment and associated injury, not simply the presence of a fracture on imaging. The operative report should identify the radius shaft fracture and describe the open reduction and fixation performed. CMS assigns a 90-day global period, including the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care. When multiple procedures occur in the same session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and other procedures are subject to the standard 50% multiple procedure reduction. Modifier 50 is paid at 150% for a bilateral procedure. Assistant-at-surgery payment may be available; co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation. 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 25515 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

25515 rates by state

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

How the 25515 rate is calculated

Each of 25515’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 25515

25515 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

25515 compared with similar codes

How to choose

25505Fracture treatment

Use 25505 for closed treatment of a radial shaft fracture with manipulation. Use 25515 when the surgeon treats the fracture through an open approach.

25525Forearm fracture treatment

25525 includes open treatment of an associated distal radioulnar joint dislocation. 25515 describes radial shaft treatment without that additional open dislocation treatment.

25526Galeazzi fracture repair

25526 combines open radial shaft fracture treatment with closed treatment of an associated distal radioulnar joint dislocation.

25575Forearm fracture repair

25575 is for operative treatment of fractures of both the radius and ulna shafts. 25515 addresses the radial shaft fracture alone.

Codes related to 25515

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