FeeBase
Log inGet started
Menu

Billing code 50845: Bladder channelMedicare rate & RVUs

Creation of an appendix-based channel from the bladder to the abdominal wall, typically allowing a patient with difficult urethral access to catheterize and empty the bladder.

CMS RVU26DEffective Oct 1, 2026109 payment localities31 Medicare services in 2024

Medicare pays $1,128.62 for 50845 nationally in a facility.

Medicare rate · 50845

Bladder channel

Swap in your local Medicare rate.

Work RVUs
21.9
Total RVUs
33.79
Global days
090

National rate · 2026

$1,128.62

Facility setting, before claim adjustments.

See every locality for 50845 → · 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 50845 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 50845 covers

The surgeon uses the appendix to form a channel between the bladder and an abdominal opening that can be catheterized to drain urine. Urologists, including pediatric urologists, commonly perform this reconstruction for patients with neurogenic bladder or congenital urinary tract conditions who need a reliable catheterization route but cannot readily catheterize through the urethra. The procedure is performed in an operating room and may be part of a broader urinary reconstruction.

Report 50845 when the operative work creates this appendiceal channel; document the channel’s construction and its connection to the bladder and abdominal wall. The code has a 90-day global period, including the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care. If another separately reportable procedure is 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 anatomy. An assistant at surgery 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 50845 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

50845 office and facility rates by payment locality
Payment localityOfficeFacility
AlabamaUnavailable$1,049.87
Alaska*Unavailable$1,471.76
ArizonaUnavailable$1,105.66
ArkansasUnavailable$1,040.22
AtlantaUnavailable$1,154.59
AustinUnavailable$1,136.91
BakersfieldUnavailable$1,134.77
Baltimore/Surr. CntysUnavailable$1,184.76
BeaumontUnavailable$1,094.66
BrazoriaUnavailable$1,111.02

50845 rates by state

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

MEWIVTNHMTNDMNMINYMARIWAIDWYSDIAILINOHPANJCTORNVUTCONEMOKYWVVAMDDECAAZNMKSOKARTNNCSCDCTXLAMSALGAFLAKHI

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.

View every state and territory as a table
50845 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 50845 rate is calculated

Each of 50845’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 · 50845

RVUs × geographic indexes × conversion factor

Swap in your local Medicare rate.

Work 21.90Practice expense 9.07Malpractice 2.82

33.7900 adjusted RVUs×$33.4009 conversion factor=$1,128.62

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

Payment rules and modifiers for 50845

50845 has a 90-day global period: related visits in that window are included in the surgery payment.

CMS payment indicators · 50845

Bladder channel

RuleCMS valueWhat it means
Global period090Major surgery: the day before, the day of, and 90 days after are included.
Multiple procedures2Standard reduction: highest-valued procedure at 100%, others at 50%.
Bilateral (modifier 50)0The 150% bilateral adjustment doesn’t apply.
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)0.08/0.83/0.09Share of the payment for pre-op, the procedure itself, and post-op care.

Global surgery period · 50845

Bladder channel

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 51 · payment effect

With and without the modifier

50845 without 51 · national facility

$1,128.62

Bladder channel

50845-51 · Second procedure: 50%

$564.31

When this isn’t the highest-valued procedure in the session, Medicare pays 50% of its fee schedule amount (the highest is paid at 100%).

When to use modifier 51

50845 compared with similar codes

Compare codes

50845 vs 50825 vs 50820 vs 50860: national Medicare rates

Swap in your local Medicare rate.

  • 50845
    Bladder channel · 21.9 wRVU
    —
  • 50825
    Urinary diversion · 29.91 wRVU
    —
  • 50820
    Urinary diversion · 23.47 wRVU
    —
  • 50860
    Ureterostomy · 16.65 wRVU
    —

How to choose

50825Urinary diversion
Use 50845 for the appendix-based channel from bladder to abdominal wall. Code 50825 describes a bowel-based continent urinary diversion, not that channel.
50820Urinary diversion
Code 50820 describes an ileal conduit for urinary drainage. Code 50845 creates a catheterizable route that connects the bladder to an abdominal opening.
50860Ureterostomy
Code 50860 routes a ureter to the skin. Code 50845 uses the appendix to create access for catheterizing and emptying the bladder.

Codes related to 50845

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

Codes related to 50845
CodeHow it relatesNational office range
Used instead
50825Urinary diversionA bowel-based continent urinary diversion is a different reconstruction from an appendiceal catheterizable channel.No office rate
50820Urinary diversionAn ileal conduit provides urinary drainage through a different, generally incontinent route.No office rate
50860UreterostomyA cutaneous ureterostomy routes a ureter to the skin rather than creating a catheterizable bladder channel.No office rate

50845 billing questions

How is 50845 different from a continent urinary diversion?

50845 describes a catheterizable channel made using the appendix to connect the bladder with an abdominal opening. A bowel-based continent diversion involves a different reconstruction and should be selected according to the anatomy and work documented.

Is bladder augmentation included in 50845?

The code describes creation of the appendiceal catheterization channel, not bladder enlargement. If augmentation is also performed, document that distinct work and determine separate reporting under the applicable coding edits.

Can modifier 50 be used?

No. CMS identifies bilateral adjustment as inappropriate for this code because of its descriptor or anatomy.

What postoperative care is included?

The 90-day global period includes the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care.

Can an assistant or co-surgeon be reported?

Assistant-at-surgery services may be paid. Co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation; team surgery is not permitted.

What happens when another procedure is performed in the same session?

The highest-valued procedure is paid in full, and other procedures are subject to the standard multiple-procedure reduction, with payment 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
RVUs for 50845PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv, line 5,995 (RVU26D)

Open CMS sourceHow we calculate rates

Did this answer your question about what 50845 pays?

Tell us what you were actually trying to work out. We’ll answer you directly, or build the page that does.

Fee sheets

Put 50845 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 →