Billing code 29035: Body castMedicare rate & RVUs

Medicare pays $299.94 for 29035 nationally in the office and $138.95 in a hospital or facility. Local office rates run $261.54–$402.13.

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

What 29035 covers

This service covers applying a body cast from the shoulder region to the hips with one thigh incorporated into the cast. Orthopedic surgeons and other clinicians who apply casts use this type of immobilization when the prescribed cast must stabilize the trunk and extend onto a thigh, such as in selected fracture or spinal immobilization plans. The documentation should identify the clinical reason for immobilization and the cast’s anatomical extent, including the thigh involved.

Report the code for the cast application performed, not merely because a patient arrives wearing a body cast. CMS assigns a 0-day global period, so same-day preoperative and postoperative care is included. 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 50% multiple-procedure reduction. Modifier 50 is inappropriate for this service. Assistant-at-surgery payment requires documentation of medical necessity; 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 29035 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

29035 rates by state

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

How the 29035 rate is calculated

Each of 29035’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 29035

The CMS indicators that decide how 29035 is paid alongside other services.

What modifiers do to the payment

When to use modifier 51

29035 compared with similar codes

How to choose

29040Body cast

Use 29040 when the body cast includes the head. This code includes one thigh but not the head.

29044Body cast

Use 29044 when both the head and one thigh are incorporated into the body cast; this code includes one thigh without the head.

29046Body cast

Use 29046 when both thighs are included. This code describes a body cast incorporating one thigh.

Codes related to 29035

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