No office rate
Choose 24006 when the open elbow procedure releases a contracted capsule. Choose 24000 for exploration, drainage, or foreign-body removal.
On this page
CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
24000 Elbow arthrotomy Medicare reimbursement rates in Alaska
Open elbow joint surgery for exploration, drainage, or removal of an intra-articular foreign body, commonly performed for infection or retained material. Compare 24000 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in Alaska.
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 24000 in Alaska?
Alaska 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
$556.46
1 of 1 localities have a supported rate.
Payment area: Alaska*
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 24000: Open elbow joint exploration or drainage
Open elbow joint surgery for exploration, drainage, or removal of an intra-articular foreign body, commonly performed for infection or retained material.
This service involves opening the elbow joint to inspect it, drain material such as infected fluid, or remove a foreign body within the joint. Orthopedic surgeons commonly perform it in an operating room when an open approach is needed, including for septic arthritis requiring drainage or retained material that cannot be managed through an arthroscopic approach. The operative note should identify the joint-level problem and describe the open procedure and its findings.
Report this code for the open joint service; exploration, drainage, and foreign-body removal are included rather than separately reported as distinct services under this code. Distinguish it from an open capsular release, an arthrotomy performed for biopsy, and arthroscopic treatment. CMS 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 other procedures are subject to the standard 50% reduction. Modifier 50 for a bilateral procedure is paid at 150%. Assistant-at-surgery payment requires documented medical necessity; co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation, and team surgery is not permitted.
CMS billing rules for 24000
- 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 is paid only with documentation of medical necessity.
- Co-surgeons
- Co-surgeons paid only with supporting documentation.
- Team surgery
- Team surgery not permitted.
Where the value comes from
- Work RVU5.93 · 43%
- Practice expense (office) RVU6.66 · 48%
- Malpractice RVU1.22 · 9%
423
Medicare services in 2024 · #3684 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.
24000 compared with similar codes
Office rates for Alaska, from the same CMS release.
No office rate
Use 24101 when the open elbow arthrotomy includes biopsy. Use 24000 when the documented service is exploration, drainage, or removal of a foreign body.
No office rate
29834 is the arthroscopic route for elbow loose- or foreign-body removal; 24000 represents an open joint approach.
$304.65
24065 is for biopsy of arm or elbow soft tissue, not an open procedure directed into the elbow joint.
Compare 24000 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
Alaska* →
Office / nonfacility
Unavailable
Facility
$556.46
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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 24000 in Alaska*.
PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv
2,256
- Code
- 24000
- Physician work
- 5.93
- Practice expense
- 6.66
- Malpractice
- 1.22
GPCI2026.csv
5
- Locality
- Alaska*
- Physician work
- 1.500
- Practice expense
- 1.065
- Malpractice
- 0.551
| Component | RVU | Locality factor | Adjusted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Physician work | 5.93 | × 1.500 | 8.8950 |
| Practice expense | 6.66 | × 1.065 | 7.0929 |
| Malpractice | 1.22 | × 0.551 | 0.6722 |
| Total RVUs | 16.6601 | ||
| Conversion factor | × 33.4009 | ||
Facility rate, Alaska*$556.46
Explore RVUs, geographic factors and the full formula
Facility
| Component | RVU | Local GPCI |
|---|---|---|
| Work | 5.93 | 1.5 |
| Practice expense | 6.66 | 1.065 |
| Malpractice | 1.22 | 0.551 |
(5.93 × 1.5 + 6.66 × 1.065 + 1.22 × 0.551) × $33.4009 = $556.46
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.
24000 billing questions
When should this code be selected instead of 24006?
Use 24000 for open elbow joint exploration, drainage, or foreign-body removal. Code 24006 describes an open capsular release, such as for contracture.
Can exploration, drainage, and foreign-body removal be reported separately?
They are included options within this open joint service, not separate services to report individually under this code.
How does this differ from arthroscopic foreign-body removal?
This code represents an open approach. When the surgeon removes a loose or foreign body arthroscopically, consider 29834 instead.
What documentation supports reporting 24000?
Document the elbow joint indication, why an open approach was performed, and the operative work and findings, such as drainage of an infected joint or removal of intra-articular material.
What is included in the global period?
The 90-day global includes the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care.
When may assistant or co-surgeon services be paid?
Assistant-at-surgery payment requires documentation of medical necessity. Co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation; team surgery is not permitted.
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.
2,25323930,,I&d upr a/e dp absc/hmtma,A,,2.92,7.88,,2.61,,0.61,11.41,6.14,0,010,0.10,0.80,0.10,2,1,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,25423931,,I&d upr a/e bursa,A,,1.79,7.56,,2.61,,0.35,9.70,4.75,0,010,0.10,0.80,0.10,2,1,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,25523935,,Inc dp opn b1 crtx hum/elbw,A,,6.22,7.31,NA,7.31,,1.30,14.83,14.83,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,1,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,25624000,,Arthrt elbw expl drg/rmvl fb,A,,5.93,6.66,NA,6.66,,1.22,13.81,13.81,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,1,0,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,25724006,,Arthrt elbw capsl exc rls,A,,9.50,8.46,NA,8.46,,1.93,19.89,19.89,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,1,2,2,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,25824065,,Biopsy arm/elbow soft tissue,A,,2.08,5.49,,2.09,,0.28,7.85,4.45,0,010,0.10,0.80,0.10,2,1,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,25924066,,Biopsy arm/elbow soft tissue,A,,5.22,14.13,,6.03,,1.20,20.55,12.45,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,1,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
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
801112,CA,54,BAKERSFIELD,1.019,1.096,0.609