No office rate
Both services include the kidney, entire ureter, and bladder cuff. The distinction is whether the distal ureter and cuff are accessed through the same incision or a separate incision.
On this page
CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
50236 Kidney and ureter removal Medicare reimbursement rates in Alabama
Reports removal of a kidney, the entire ureter, and a bladder cuff when the ureter is accessed through a separate incision. Compare 50236 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 50236 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
$1218.80
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.
Urologic surgery
About 50236: Nephrectomy with complete ureter removal
Reports removal of a kidney, the entire ureter, and a bladder cuff when the ureter is accessed through a separate incision.
A urologist removes the kidney and its entire ureter, including a cuff of bladder around the ureter’s opening, using a separate incision to reach the distal ureter. This operation is commonly performed in the operating room for upper-tract urothelial cancer when the treatment plan calls for removal of the kidney, full ureter, and bladder cuff. The separate-incision approach distinguishes this service from the corresponding procedure performed through the same incision.
Report the code when the operative report supports removal of all three structures and documents the separate incision. The bladder cuff and ureter removal are part of this operative service, rather than separate components of the same resection. Medicare assigns a 90-day global period, including 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 others at 50%. A bilateral procedure reported with modifier 50 is paid at 150%. Assistant-at-surgery payment may be available; co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation, and team surgery is not permitted.
CMS billing rules for 50236
- 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
- Standard multiple procedure reduction: the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and others at 50% when performed in the same session.
- 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 RVU26.27 · 67%
- Practice expense (office) RVU9.50 · 24%
- Malpractice RVU3.37 · 9%
74
Medicare services in 2024 · #5111 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.
50236 compared with similar codes
Office rates for Alabama, from the same CMS release.
No office rate
50230 covers radical nephrectomy with partial ureterectomy. Use 50236 when the operative report documents total ureterectomy, bladder-cuff removal, and a separate incision.
No office rate
50220 includes partial ureterectomy with nephrectomy. It does not represent the full ureter and bladder-cuff removal reported with 50236.
No office rate
50240 is a partial nephrectomy that preserves kidney tissue. 50236 represents removal of the kidney together with the entire ureter and a bladder cuff.
Compare 50236 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
$1218.80
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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 50236 in Alabama.
PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv
5,889
- Code
- 50236
- Physician work
- 26.27
- Practice expense
- 9.50
- Malpractice
- 3.37
GPCI2026.csv
4
- Locality
- Alabama
- Physician work
- 1.000
- Practice expense
- 0.875
- Malpractice
- 0.566
| Component | RVU | Locality factor | Adjusted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Physician work | 26.27 | × 1.000 | 26.2700 |
| Practice expense | 9.50 | × 0.875 | 8.3125 |
| Malpractice | 3.37 | × 0.566 | 1.9074 |
| Total RVUs | 36.4899 | ||
| Conversion factor | × 33.4009 | ||
Facility rate, Alabama$1218.80
Explore RVUs, geographic factors and the full formula
Facility
| Component | RVU | Local GPCI |
|---|---|---|
| Work | 26.27 | 1 |
| Practice expense | 9.5 | 0.875 |
| Malpractice | 3.37 | 0.566 |
(26.27 × 1 + 9.5 × 0.875 + 3.37 × 0.566) × $33.4009 = $1218.80
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.
50236 billing questions
How is 50236 distinguished from 50234?
Both include kidney removal, complete ureter removal, and a bladder cuff. Use 50236 when the distal ureter and cuff are reached through a separate incision; 50234 describes the same removal through the same incision.
Can the bladder cuff be reported separately?
The bladder cuff removal is included in this service when performed as part of the nephrectomy and total ureterectomy. The operative report should establish that the cuff was removed.
When would 50230 be more appropriate?
50230 describes radical nephrectomy with partial ureterectomy. Choose 50236 when the documented operation removes the entire ureter and bladder cuff through a separate incision.
What documentation supports 50236?
The operative report should document removal of the kidney, the entire ureter, and a bladder cuff, and identify the separate incision used to access the distal ureter.
How does the 90-day global period affect postoperative billing?
The day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care are included in the global period.
How are other same-session procedures and bilateral reporting handled?
For same-session multiple procedures, Medicare pays the highest-valued procedure in full and others at 50%. A bilateral procedure reported with modifier 50 is paid at 150%.
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.
5,88650225,,Removal kidney open complex,A,,21.33,7.64,NA,7.64,,2.75,31.72,31.72,0,090,0.08,0.83,0.09,2,1,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
5,88750230,,Removal kidney open radical,A,,23.21,7.73,NA,7.73,,3.27,34.21,34.21,0,090,0.08,0.83,0.09,2,1,2,2,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
5,88850234,,Removal of kidney & ureter,A,,23.45,8.14,NA,8.14,,3.16,34.75,34.75,0,090,0.08,0.83,0.09,2,1,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
5,88950236,,Removal of kidney & ureter,A,,26.27,9.50,NA,9.50,,3.37,39.14,39.14,0,090,0.08,0.83,0.09,2,1,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
5,89050240,,Nephrectomy partial,A,,23.60,8.87,NA,8.87,,3.18,35.65,35.65,0,090,0.08,0.83,0.09,2,1,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
5,89150250,,Opn abltj 1/> rnl mas crysrg,A,,21.66,8.14,NA,8.14,,2.78,32.58,32.58,0,090,0.08,0.83,0.09,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
5,89250280,,Exc/unroofing cyst kidney,A,,16.66,6.67,NA,6.67,,2.14,25.47,25.47,0,090,0.08,0.83,0.09,2,1,2,1,0,9,,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