CPT code 50815: Urinary diversion2026 Medicare rate & RVUs

Medicare pays $1,097.22 for 50815 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 50815 covers

A ureterosigmoidostomy routes urine from the ureters into the sigmoid colon, where it leaves the body with bowel contents. A urologist typically performs this major reconstructive operation in a hospital operating room, often when the bladder has been removed or cannot serve as a functional reservoir. The procedure involves joining the ureters to the sigmoid bowel; it does not create a separate cutaneous urinary stoma or an isolated continent reservoir.

Select this code when the operative report documents urinary drainage through the sigmoid colon. Distinguish it from diversion with a constructed conduit or continent reservoir, and from other ureter-to-bowel connections based on the actual reconstruction performed. Documentation should identify the bowel segment, ureteral connections, and intended route of urine drainage. The 90-day global period includes the day-before preoperative visit and related postoperative care. When multiple procedures occur in one session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and other procedures are paid at 50%. For bilateral reporting with modifier 50, payment is at 150%. Assistant-at-surgery payment may be available; co-surgeons require 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 50815 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

50815 rates by state

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

How the 50815 rate is calculated

Each of 50815’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 50815

50815 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 50

50815 compared with similar codes

How to choose

50810Ureter-bowel connection

50815 specifies drainage into the sigmoid colon. Select 50810 when the documented ureter-to-colon procedure matches that code's bowel-site description instead.

50820Urinary diversion

50820 describes diversion with construction of a conduit, such as an ileal conduit. 50815 routes urine into the sigmoid colon.

50825Urinary diversion

50825 involves construction of a continent urinary reservoir; 50815 connects the ureters to the sigmoid colon for drainage.

50800Ureteral implantation

50800 covers a ureter-to-intestine anastomosis without the specific ureterosigmoidostomy designation. Use 50815 when the operative report identifies the sigmoid route.

Codes related to 50815

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