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Billing code 29861: Hip arthroscopyMedicare rate & RVUs

Arthroscopic hip surgery to extract an intra-articular loose or foreign body, such as a fragment that is causing symptoms or limiting joint motion.

CMS RVU26DEffective Oct 1, 2026109 payment localities94 Medicare services in 2024

Medicare pays $657.33 for 29861 nationally in a facility.

Medicare rate · 29861

Hip arthroscopy

Swap in your local Medicare rate.

Work RVUs
9.85
Total RVUs
19.68
Global days
090

National rate · 2026

$657.33

Facility setting, before claim adjustments.

See every locality for 29861 → · 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 29861 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 29861 covers

An orthopedic surgeon uses a camera and instruments through small incisions to inspect the hip joint and remove a loose fragment or foreign object from within it. The procedure is generally performed in a hospital outpatient department or ambulatory surgery center when imaging and clinical findings support removal; the operative report should identify the material removed and the arthroscopic work performed.

Report this service when arthroscopic removal is the therapeutic work, rather than a diagnostic examination alone or treatment directed primarily at debridement or synovectomy. Documentation should establish the intra-articular finding and its removal. CMS assigns a 90-day global period, including the day-before preoperative visit and related postoperative care. When related endoscopies are performed together, endoscopy-family pricing applies. For bilateral surgery, modifier 50 is paid at 150%. Assistant-at-surgery services may be paid; 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 29861 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

29861 office and facility rates by payment locality
Payment localityOfficeFacility
AlabamaUnavailable$597.50
Alaska*Unavailable$811.92
ArizonaUnavailable$640.28
ArkansasUnavailable$590.12
AtlantaUnavailable$674.82
AustinUnavailable$666.58
BakersfieldUnavailable$665.50
Baltimore/Surr. CntysUnavailable$696.53
BeaumontUnavailable$628.93
BrazoriaUnavailable$644.18

29861 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
29861 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 29861 rate is calculated

Each of 29861’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 · 29861

RVUs × geographic indexes × conversion factor

Swap in your local Medicare rate.

Work 9.85Practice expense 8.01Malpractice 1.82

19.6800 adjusted RVUs×$33.4009 conversion factor=$657.33

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

Payment rules and modifiers for 29861

29861 has a 90-day global period: related visits in that window are included in the surgery payment.

CMS payment indicators · 29861

Hip arthroscopy

RuleCMS valueWhat it means
Global period090Major surgery: the day before, the day of, and 90 days after are included.
Multiple procedures3Endoscopy family rules apply.
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 · 29861

Hip arthroscopy

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

29861 without 50 · national facility

$657.33

Hip arthroscopy

29861-50 · Bilateral: 150%

$986.00

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

29861 compared with similar codes

Compare codes

29861 vs 29860 vs 29862 vs 29863 vs 29874: national Medicare rates

Swap in your local Medicare rate.

  • 29861
    Hip arthroscopy · 9.85 wRVU
    —
  • 29860
    Hip arthroscopy · 8.78 wRVU
    —
  • 29862
    Hip arthroscopy · 10.89 wRVU
    —
  • 29863
    Hip arthroscopy · 10.89 wRVU
    —
  • 29874
    Knee arthroscopy · 7.01 wRVU
    —

How to choose

29860Hip arthroscopy
29860 is for diagnostic hip arthroscopy. Use 29861 when the arthroscopic work includes removal of a loose or foreign body.
29862Hip arthroscopy
29862 describes hip arthroscopic debridement. 29861 identifies arthroscopic removal of a loose or foreign body.
29863Hip arthroscopy
29863 describes hip arthroscopic synovectomy. 29861 is selected for removal of a loose or foreign body.
29874Knee arthroscopy
29874 addresses arthroscopic removal of a loose or foreign body in the knee; 29861 is for the hip.

Codes related to 29861

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

Codes related to 29861
CodeHow it relatesNational office range
Same family
29860Hip arthroscopyDiagnostic hip arthroscopy; distinguishes examination from therapeutic removal.No office rate
29862Hip arthroscopyHip arthroscopy with debridement, a different therapeutic objective.No office rate
29863Hip arthroscopyHip arthroscopy with synovectomy, rather than loose or foreign body removal.No office rate

29861 billing questions

How does this differ from diagnostic hip arthroscopy?

Use 29861 when the arthroscopic procedure removes a loose or foreign body. A diagnostic hip arthroscopy is the appropriate service when the work is examination rather than therapeutic removal.

Can diagnostic hip arthroscopy be reported separately with this procedure?

The diagnostic inspection is part of the operative arthroscopy when removal is performed; do not separately report 29860 for that same hip and session.

When does 29862 describe the work instead?

29862 describes arthroscopic debridement. Choose 29861 when the documented therapeutic work is removal of a loose or foreign body, not debridement as the primary service.

What should the operative report document?

Document the intra-articular loose or foreign body, its removal, and the arthroscopic work performed. This supports that the service was therapeutic removal rather than diagnostic inspection alone.

How is bilateral surgery reported?

For bilateral procedures, report modifier 50; CMS pays the bilateral procedure at 150%. The code has a 90-day global period.

Can an assistant or co-surgeon be billed?

Assistant-at-surgery services may be paid. 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 29861PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv, line 3,347 (RVU26D)

Open CMS sourceHow we calculate rates

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