Billing code 29540: Ankle/foot strappingMedicare rate & RVUs
Reports supportive strapping applied to an ankle or foot, such as to stabilize a sprain or limit painful motion during treatment.
Medicare pays $28.06 for 29540 nationally in the office and $15.36 in a hospital or facility. Local office rates run $25.55–$35.34.
Medicare rate · 29540
Ankle/foot strapping
Swap in your local Medicare rate.
- Work RVUs
- 0.38
- Total RVUs
- 0.84
- Global days
- 000
National rate · 2026
$28.06
Office setting, before claim adjustments.
See every locality for 29540 → · 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
What 29540 covers
This service involves applying tape or similar strapping to support an ankle or foot, limit movement, or help manage a condition such as an ankle sprain or instability. Physicians, podiatrists, and other clinicians who provide musculoskeletal care may apply it in an office or outpatient setting. The application is distinct from immobilizing the lower leg with a splint and from strapping focused on the toes.
Select the code for the ankle or foot site treated and document the clinical reason, laterality, and application performed. The code has a 0-day global period, so same-day preoperative and postoperative care is included. When both sides are treated in the same session, modifier 50 is paid at 150%. If multiple procedures are performed in the same session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and other procedures are paid at 50%. CMS does not pay for an assistant at surgery, and 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 29540 pays more and less
The same RVUs, adjusted for each area’s costs. Open a locality for its calculation, history and nearby areas.
109 payment localities
$25.55 to $35.34
109 of 109 payment localities
29540 rates by state
Office rate range in each state. Select a state to see its payment localities.
Explore a state
Local rates. Clear comparisons.
Hover or focus a tile to see its rate range. Select it to open the state’s fee schedule.
$25.55
$34.89
Color shows the midpoint of each state’s locality range.
View every state and territory as a table
| State / territory | Office rate range | Localities |
|---|---|---|
| AK | $34.89 | 1 |
| AL | $25.83 | 1 |
| AR | $25.55 | 1 |
| AZ | $27.47 | 1 |
| CA | $29.19–$35.34 | 29 |
| CO | $28.91 | 1 |
| CT | $29.63 | 1 |
| DC | $31.41 | 1 |
| DE | $27.85 | 1 |
| FL | $27.93–$30.18 | 3 |
| GA | $26.70–$28.53 | 2 |
| GU | $29.60 | 1 |
| HI | $29.60 | 1 |
| IA | $26.23 | 1 |
| ID | $26.38 | 1 |
| IL | $27.37–$29.52 | 4 |
| IN | $26.49 | 1 |
| KS | $26.18 | 1 |
| KY | $26.38 | 1 |
| LA | $26.36–$27.35 | 2 |
| MA | $28.82–$31.25 | 2 |
| MD | $28.27–$31.41 | 3 |
| ME | $26.53–$27.56 | 2 |
| MI | $26.94–$28.24 | 2 |
| MN | $27.77 | 1 |
| MO | $26.05–$27.37 | 3 |
| MS | $25.80 | 1 |
| MT | $28.05 | 1 |
| NC | $26.73 | 1 |
| ND | $27.46 | 1 |
| NE | $26.33 | 1 |
| NH | $28.52 | 1 |
| NJ | $29.98–$31.22 | 2 |
| NM | $27.07 | 1 |
| NV | $27.90 | 1 |
| NY | $27.04–$32.44 | 5 |
| OH | $26.82 | 1 |
| OK | $26.30 | 1 |
| OR | $27.70–$29.60 | 2 |
| PA | $26.82–$29.07 | 2 |
| PR | $28.20 | 1 |
| RI | $28.66 | 1 |
| SC | $26.81 | 1 |
| SD | $27.39 | 1 |
| TN | $26.29 | 1 |
| TX | $26.69–$28.80 | 8 |
| UT | $27.09 | 1 |
| VA | $27.52–$31.41 | 2 |
| VI | $28.20 | 1 |
| VT | $27.42 | 1 |
| WA | $28.74–$31.77 | 2 |
| WI | $26.76 | 1 |
| WV | $26.61 | 1 |
| WY | $27.80 | 1 |
How the 29540 rate is calculated
Each of 29540’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 · 29540
RVUs × geographic indexes × conversion factor
Swap in your local Medicare rate.
Work 0.38Practice expense 0.43Malpractice 0.03
All indexes start at 1.000 (the national rate). Enter a ZIP or drag a slider.
Payment rules and modifiers for 29540
The CMS indicators that decide how 29540 is paid alongside other services.
CMS payment indicators · 29540
Ankle/foot strapping
| Rule | CMS value | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Global period | 000 | Same-day global: pre- and post-op care on the day of the procedure is included. |
| Multiple procedures | 2 | Standard reduction: highest-valued procedure at 100%, others at 50%. |
| Bilateral (modifier 50) | 1 | Bilateral with modifier 50 pays 150% of the fee schedule amount. |
| Assistant at surgery (80/81/82/AS) | 1 | Not paid (statutory restriction). |
| Co-surgeons (62) | 0 | Not permitted. |
| Team surgery (66) | 0 | Not permitted. |
| Professional/technical | 0 | Physician service: no professional/technical split. |
What modifiers do to the payment
Modifier 50 · payment effect
With and without the modifier
29540 without 50 · national office
$28.06
Ankle/foot strapping
29540-50 · Bilateral: 150%
$42.09
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).
29540 compared with similar codes
Compare codes
29540 vs 29550 vs 29515 vs 29580: national Medicare rates
Swap in your local Medicare rate.
How to choose
- 29550Toe strapping
- Choose 29550 when the strapping is applied to the toes; 29540 is for the ankle or foot.
- 29515Splint application
- 29515 reports application of a short-leg splint. Choose 29540 when the service is supportive strapping rather than splint application.
- 29580Unna boot
- 29580 is for Unna boot application. 29540 describes supportive strapping at the ankle or foot, not an Unna boot.
29540 billing questions
When should I choose ankle or foot strapping rather than toe strapping?
Use 29540 when the strapping supports the ankle or foot. Use 29550 when the strapping is directed to the toes.
How does 29540 differ from a short-leg splint?
29540 describes supportive strapping. A short-leg splint, reported with 29515, is a different application used when the treatment calls for splint immobilization.
How is bilateral strapping reported?
When both ankles or feet are treated in the same session, report modifier 50. CMS pays the bilateral procedure at 150%.
What documentation supports 29540?
Document the condition being treated, the ankle or foot site and side, and the strapping application performed. For bilateral treatment, make clear that both sides were treated.
What happens when 29540 is performed with another procedure in the same session?
Under the standard multiple procedure reduction, CMS pays the highest-valued procedure in full and pays other procedures at 50%.
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
Fee sheets
Put 29540 and the rest of your codes on one sheet
Build a fee sheet from your own code list at your locality, put your payer contracts beside Medicare, and see what changed each quarter.
Build my fee sheetOr price your code list free →