Billing code 44950: AppendectomyMedicare rate & RVUs

Medicare pays $605.56 for 44950 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 44950 covers

This code describes open removal of the appendix, commonly performed by a general surgeon in a hospital operating room for acute appendicitis. The surgeon reaches the appendix through an abdominal incision rather than using a laparoscopic approach. Emergency cases often follow evaluation for right lower quadrant pain and imaging or examination findings consistent with appendicitis.

Select the code based on the operative approach and documented disease findings. The operative report should support removal of the appendix by open approach; rupture with an abscess or generalized peritonitis points to 44960, while laparoscopic removal points to 44970. The 90-day global includes 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% reduction. Do not append modifier 50 for this single-organ operation. Assistant-at-surgery payment may be made; co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation, and team-surgery payment 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 44950 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

44950 rates by state

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

How the 44950 rate is calculated

Each of 44950’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 44950

44950 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 51

44950 compared with similar codes

How to choose

44960Appendectomy

This code is for open appendectomy without the specific complicated findings assigned to 44960. Choose 44960 when the appendix is ruptured with an abscess or generalized peritonitis.

44970Appendectomy

44970 is the laparoscopic appendectomy code. Use 44950 when the surgeon removes the appendix through an open incision.

44955Appendectomy

44955 is used when appendectomy is performed for an indicated purpose during another major procedure; it is reported with that primary procedure rather than as the standalone open appendectomy.

44900Abscess drainage

44900 describes open drainage of an appendiceal abscess. It represents abscess drainage, not removal of the appendix.

Codes related to 44950

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