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Billing code 25800: Wrist fusionMedicare rate & RVUs

Reports fusion across the wrist without bone graft, typically for advanced arthritis, painful instability, or deformity requiring definitive stabilization.

CMS RVU26DEffective Oct 1, 2026109 payment localities412 Medicare services in 2024

Medicare pays $673.36 for 25800 nationally in a facility.

Medicare rate · 25800

Wrist fusion

Work RVUs
9.82
Total RVUs
20.16
Global days
090

National rate · 2026

$673.36

Facility setting, before claim adjustments.

See every locality for 25800 →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 25800 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 25800 covers

An orthopedic hand or wrist surgeon removes joint cartilage and prepares the surfaces for fusion across the wrist, then stabilizes the bones with fixation. This operation is used for conditions such as advanced post-traumatic or degenerative arthritis, painful instability, or deformity when motion-preserving treatment is unsuitable. It is generally performed in an operating room, most often in a facility setting.

Report this code when the operative work fuses the wrist as a whole and no bone graft is used. The operative report should support the extent of fusion, the indication, and whether graft material was placed; a fusion limited to selected wrist joints belongs to a different code. CMS assigns a 90-day global period, including the day-before preoperative visit and related postoperative care. In a same-session multiple-procedure claim, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and other procedures at 50%. Modifier 50 bilateral reporting is paid at 150%. Assistant-at-surgery payment may be available; co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation, and 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 25800 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

25800 office and facility rates by payment locality
Payment localityOfficeFacility
AlabamaUnavailable$610.79
Alaska*Unavailable$827.53
ArizonaUnavailable$655.56
ArkansasUnavailable$603.06
AtlantaUnavailable$691.49
AustinUnavailable$683.25
BakersfieldUnavailable$682.17
Baltimore/Surr. CntysUnavailable$714.12
BeaumontUnavailable$643.47
BrazoriaUnavailable$659.63

25800 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.

Hover or focus a tile to see its rate range. Select it to open the state’s fee schedule.

View every state and territory as a table
25800 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 25800 rate is calculated

Each of 25800’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 · 25800

RVUs × geographic indexes × conversion factor

Work9.82

9.82 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI

Practice expense8.46

8.46 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI

Malpractice1.88

1.88 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI

Adjusted RVUs

20.1600

Conversion factor

$33.4009

Medicare rate

$673.36

Every GPCI starts at 1.000, the national rate. Enter a ZIP or drag a slider.

Payment rules and modifiers for 25800

25800 has a 90-day global period: related visits in that window are included in the surgery payment.

CMS payment indicators · 25800

Wrist fusion

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)1Permitted with supporting documentation.
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 · 25800

Wrist fusion

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.

  • 24Unrelated E/M visit by the same physician
  • 79Unrelated procedure (starts its own global period)
  • 58Staged, more extensive, or therapy procedure that was planned
  • 78Unplanned 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

25800 without 50 · national facility

$673.36

Wrist fusion

25800-50 · Bilateral: 150%

$1,010.04

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

25800 compared with similar codes

Compare codes · National

5 codes, side by side

  • 25800

    Wrist fusion9.82 wRVU

    Not priced

  • 25820

    Wrist fusion7.45 wRVU

    Not priced

  • 25805

    Wrist fusion11.44 wRVU

    Not priced

  • 25810

    Wrist fusion11.65 wRVU

    Not priced

  • 25830

    DRUJ arthrodesis10.61 wRVU

    Not priced

How to choose

25820Wrist fusion
25820 is for fusion limited to selected wrist joints without graft. Use 25800 when the operative work fuses the wrist as a whole and uses no graft.
25805Wrist fusion
25805 describes a complete wrist fusion using a sliding graft. This code is for the corresponding complete fusion without graft.
25810Wrist fusion
25810 describes complete wrist fusion with iliac or another autograft; this code applies when no graft is used.
25830DRUJ arthrodesis
25830 addresses arthrodesis of the distal radioulnar joint with segmental ulna resection, not fusion across the wrist as a whole.

Codes related to 25800

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

Codes related to 25800
CodeHow it relatesNational office range
Same family
25805Wrist fusionComplete wrist fusion with a sliding graft rather than without graft.No office rate
25810Wrist fusionComplete wrist fusion using iliac or another autograft.No office rate
25820Wrist fusionLimited wrist fusion without bone graft.No office rate
25825Wrist fusionLimited wrist fusion with autograft.No office rate

25800 billing questions

How is this code distinguished from a limited wrist fusion?

Use this code when the surgeon fuses the wrist as a whole. A fusion confined to selected wrist joints is reported with the limited-fusion code, 25820.

Can bone graft be reported with this code?

No. This code describes the wrist fusion without graft; choose the applicable graft-specific wrist arthrodesis code when graft is used.

What operative documentation supports reporting this code?

Document the diagnosis, the extent of the fusion, the joints prepared and stabilized, and that no graft was used.

How does the 90-day global period affect postoperative billing?

The day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care are included in the global period.

How is bilateral reporting handled?

For bilateral wrist procedures reported with modifier 50, CMS pays this procedure at 150%.

Can an assistant or co-surgeon be reported?

Assistant-at-surgery payment may be made. Co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation; team surgery is not permitted.

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 25800PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv, line 2,509 (RVU26D)

Open CMS sourceHow we calculate rates

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