No office rate
29860 is for diagnostic hip arthroscopy. Choose 29863 when the surgeon performs arthroscopic removal of abnormal synovial tissue.
On this page
CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
29863 Hip arthroscopy Medicare reimbursement rates in Alabama
Report this service when a surgeon uses hip arthroscopy to remove abnormal synovial tissue, such as tissue associated with hip synovitis. Compare 29863 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in Alabama.
Amounts below use the non-QP conversion factor for participating physicians. These are base physician payments before claim-level adjustments, not patient costs or total hospital charges.
What does Medicare pay for 29863 in Alabama?
Alabama has 1 payment locality in this comparison. Use the service location to choose the applicable amount. These are the supported base rates for the payment area shown below, using the same CMS release.
Office / nonfacility
No supported rate
Facility setting
$686.14
1 of 1 localities have a supported rate.
Payment area: Alabama
One mapped payment locality.
These are locality ranges, not averages or address-specific quotes. A facility-setting amount covers the physician service; it does not include a hospital’s separate bill. Choose a locality below to inspect its calculation, compare other payment areas, or price a percentage of Medicare.
Orthopedic surgery
About 29863: Hip arthroscopy with synovectomy
Report this service when a surgeon uses hip arthroscopy to remove abnormal synovial tissue, such as tissue associated with hip synovitis.
An orthopedic surgeon performs this procedure through small hip portals, using an arthroscope and instruments to remove abnormal synovial tissue from the joint. It is used when synovial inflammation or overgrowth is treated surgically, including in hospital or ambulatory surgery center settings. The operative report should identify the synovial tissue treated and describe the arthroscopic work performed; a diagnosis of synovitis alone does not establish that synovectomy was done.
Choose this code for the synovectomy service, rather than diagnostic inspection alone, loose-body removal, or debridement of cartilage or other tissue. When related endoscopies are performed together, CMS applies endoscopy-family pricing. The 90-day global period includes the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care. For bilateral procedures reported with modifier 50, CMS pays at 150%. Assistant-at-surgery services may be paid; co-surgeons are paid only with supporting documentation, and team surgery is not permitted.
CMS billing rules for 29863
- Global period
- Major surgery with a 90-day global period: the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care are included.
- Multiple procedures
- Endoscopy family pricing applies when related endoscopies are performed together.
- Bilateral procedures
- Bilateral procedure with modifier 50 is paid at 150%.
- Assistant at surgery
- Assistant at surgery may be paid.
- Co-surgeons
- Co-surgeons paid only with supporting documentation.
- Team surgery
- Team surgery not permitted.
Where the value comes from
- Work RVU10.89 · 48%
- Practice expense (office) RVU9.66 · 43%
- Malpractice RVU2.12 · 9%
449
Medicare services in 2024 · #3653 by national volume
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.
29863 compared with similar codes
Office rates for Alabama, from the same CMS release.
No office rate
29862 describes hip arthroscopic debridement or shaving, including work on cartilage or a labral tear; 29863 is for synovectomy.
No office rate
29876 describes major synovectomy performed arthroscopically in the knee. Code 29863 is for synovectomy in the hip.
Compare 29863 by payment locality
Find the payment area for your service address, then open its rate page for calculation inputs, release history and the percentage-of-Medicare tool. A city may cross payment-area boundaries; the ZIP lookup above helps resolve the location.
1 of 1 payment localities
Alabama →
Office / nonfacility
Unavailable
Facility
$686.14
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How this local rate is calculated
Each RVU component is multiplied by its own geographic practice cost index (GPCI). The three adjusted components are added, then multiplied by the conversion factor. These are the inputs used for 29863 in Alabama.
PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv
3,349
- Code
- 29863
- Physician work
- 10.89
- Practice expense
- 9.66
- Malpractice
- 2.12
GPCI2026.csv
4
- Locality
- Alabama
- Physician work
- 1.000
- Practice expense
- 0.875
- Malpractice
- 0.566
| Component | RVU | Locality factor | Adjusted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Physician work | 10.89 | × 1.000 | 10.8900 |
| Practice expense | 9.66 | × 0.875 | 8.4525 |
| Malpractice | 2.12 | × 0.566 | 1.1999 |
| Total RVUs | 20.5424 | ||
| Conversion factor | × 33.4009 | ||
Facility rate, Alabama$686.14
Explore RVUs, geographic factors and the full formula
Facility
| Component | RVU | Local GPCI |
|---|---|---|
| Work | 10.89 | 1 |
| Practice expense | 9.66 | 0.875 |
| Malpractice | 2.12 | 0.566 |
(10.89 × 1 + 9.66 × 0.875 + 2.12 × 0.566) × $33.4009 = $686.14
The office and facility calculations use their respective practice-expense RVUs. The facility amount here is the physician fee, not a separate hospital or facility bill.
29863 billing questions
How is this different from hip arthroscopy code 29862?
Use 29863 for removal of abnormal synovial tissue. Code 29862 describes hip arthroscopic debridement or shaving, such as work on articular cartilage or a labral tear.
When should 29861 be selected instead?
Code 29861 is for arthroscopic removal of a loose or foreign body from the hip. It does not describe synovectomy.
Can diagnostic hip arthroscopy be reported separately?
Code 29860 describes diagnostic hip arthroscopy. When the operative service is synovectomy, select the code for the surgical work performed rather than reporting diagnostic inspection as the service.
How is a bilateral procedure paid?
CMS pays a bilateral procedure reported with modifier 50 at 150%.
What should the operative report support?
Document the abnormal synovial tissue treated and the arthroscopic removal performed. For co-surgeons, CMS requires supporting documentation; assistant-at-surgery services may be paid.
What postoperative care is included?
The 90-day global period includes the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care.
Where these rates come from
FeeBase calculates base physician payments from CMS work, practice-expense, and malpractice RVUs, adjusted by each locality’s geographic indices and the applicable conversion factor. Unavailable or separately priced services are labeled rather than assigned a made-up amount.
Source: RVU26D. Effective 2026-10-01 through the day before 2027-01-01.
3,34629860,,Hip arthroscopy dx,A,,8.78,7.95,NA,7.95,,1.69,18.42,18.42,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,1,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,34729861,,Hip arthro w/fb removal,A,,9.85,8.01,NA,8.01,,1.82,19.68,19.68,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,3,1,2,1,0,9,29860,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,34829862,,Hip arthr0 w/debridement,A,,10.89,9.69,NA,9.69,,2.17,22.75,22.75,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,3,1,2,1,0,9,29860,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,34929863,,Hip arthr0 w/synovectomy,A,,10.89,9.66,NA,9.66,,2.12,22.67,22.67,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,3,1,2,1,0,9,29860,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,35029866,,Autgrft implnt knee w/scope,A,,14.30,11.98,NA,11.98,,3.04,29.32,29.32,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,1,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,35129867,,Allgrft implnt knee w/scope,A,,17.93,13.53,NA,13.53,,3.83,35.29,35.29,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,1,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,35229868,,Meniscal trnspl knee w/scpe,A,,24.47,15.62,NA,15.62,,5.19,45.28,45.28,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,1,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
1ADDENDUM E. FINAL CY 2026 GEOGRAPHIC PRACTICE COST INDICES (GPCIs) BY STATE AND MEDICARE LOCALITY,,,,,,
2,,,,,,
3Medicare Administrative Contractor (MAC),State,Locality Number,Locality Name,2026 PW GPCI (with 1.0 Floor)***,2026 PE GPCI,2026 MP GPCI
410112,AL,00,ALABAMA,1.000,0.875,0.566
502102,AK,01,ALASKA*,1.500,1.065,0.551
603102,AZ,00,ARIZONA,1.000,0.969,0.856
707102,AR,13,ARKANSAS,1.000,0.859,0.515