CPT code 92504: Ear microscopy2026 Medicare rate & RVUs

Medicare pays $28.72 for 92504 nationally in the office and $7.68 in a hospital or facility. Local office rates run $25.41–$39.12.

Medicare allowed amount for participating (non-QP) physicians, before deductible, coinsurance and claim adjustments. Not a patient’s bill or a hospital charge.

What 92504 covers

An otolaryngologist typically uses a binocular microscope to inspect the external ear canal and tympanic membrane in an office or other clinical setting. Magnification can help assess findings such as canal inflammation, debris, a suspected perforation, or the position of a tympanostomy tube. The service is a diagnostic examination, not simply the use of a microscope as a visual aid during another procedure.

Select this code when the clinician performs and documents a distinct microscopic ear assessment. Record the ear or ears examined, the relevant findings, and how the examination informs the clinical assessment or plan. Routine otoscopy alone does not support this service, and microscope use solely to perform cerumen removal or another procedure should not be treated as a separate diagnostic examination. CMS physician fee schedule valuation accounts for work, practice expense, and malpractice inputs, with practice expense values differing between office and facility settings.

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 92504 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

92504 rates by state

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

How the 92504 rate is calculated

Each of 92504’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 92504

92504 has no global surgery period, no multiple-procedure, bilateral or assistant-at-surgery adjustment, and no professional/technical split. What changes the payment is where the service happens: the place of service on the claim decides whether Medicare pays the office or the facility rate.

92504 compared with similar codes

How to choose

92502ENT examination

92504 is a diagnostic microscopic examination of the ear. 92502 is an otolaryngologic examination performed under general anesthesia.

69210Impacted ear wax removal

Use 69210 for removal of impacted cerumen with instrumentation. Use 92504 for a distinct diagnostic microscopic examination, not merely visualization during removal.

69209Earwax removal

69209 describes impacted cerumen removal by irrigation or lavage. 92504 describes microscopic examination, not wax removal.

Codes related to 92504

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