No office rate
44950 is for an open appendectomy; 44970 is for a laparoscopic appendectomy. Base code selection on the approach documented in the operative report.
On this page
CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
44970 Appendectomy Medicare reimbursement rates in Arkansas
Reports surgical removal of the appendix using a laparoscopic approach, commonly for acute appendicitis when the surgeon completes the operation through minimally invasive access. Compare 44970 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in Arkansas.
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 44970 in Arkansas?
Arkansas 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
$512.68
1 of 1 localities have a supported rate.
Payment area: Arkansas
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.
General surgery
About 44970: Laparoscopic appendectomy
Reports surgical removal of the appendix using a laparoscopic approach, commonly for acute appendicitis when the surgeon completes the operation through minimally invasive access.
A surgeon removes the appendix through small abdominal incisions using a camera and laparoscopic instruments. The operation is commonly performed in a hospital operating room for acute appendicitis, including cases where inflammation or infection affects the appendix. The surgeon identifies and frees the appendix, divides it from its attachments, and removes it from the abdomen. General or acute care surgeons typically perform the procedure.
Select this code when the operative report supports a laparoscopic appendectomy; document the indication, approach, and work performed. It has a 90-day global period, including the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care. When multiple procedures are performed in the same session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and other procedures are subject to the standard multiple-procedure reduction. Modifier 50 is inappropriate for the single appendix. Assistant-at-surgery and co-surgeon services may be paid; team surgery is not permitted.
CMS billing rules for 44970
- 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 adjustment does not apply; the descriptor or anatomy makes modifier 50 inappropriate.
- Assistant at surgery
- Assistant at surgery may be paid.
- Co-surgeons
- Co-surgeons permitted.
- Team surgery
- Team surgery not permitted.
Where the value comes from
- Work RVU9.21 · 53%
- Practice expense (office) RVU5.72 · 33%
- Malpractice RVU2.38 · 14%
23.1K
Medicare services in 2024 · #1083 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.
44970 compared with similar codes
Office rates for Arkansas, from the same CMS release.
No office rate
44960 describes an open appendectomy for a ruptured appendix with abscess or peritonitis. It is not the laparoscopic approach code.
No office rate
44955 is an add-on for appendectomy performed for an indicated purpose during another major procedure. It is not the code for a standalone laparoscopic appendectomy.
Compare 44970 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
Arkansas →
Office / nonfacility
Unavailable
Facility
$512.68
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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 44970 in Arkansas.
PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv
5,457
- Code
- 44970
- Physician work
- 9.21
- Practice expense
- 5.72
- Malpractice
- 2.38
GPCI2026.csv
7
- Locality
- Arkansas
- Physician work
- 1.000
- Practice expense
- 0.859
- Malpractice
- 0.515
| Component | RVU | Locality factor | Adjusted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Physician work | 9.21 | × 1.000 | 9.2100 |
| Practice expense | 5.72 | × 0.859 | 4.9135 |
| Malpractice | 2.38 | × 0.515 | 1.2257 |
| Total RVUs | 15.3492 | ||
| Conversion factor | × 33.4009 | ||
Facility rate, Arkansas$512.68
Explore RVUs, geographic factors and the full formula
Facility
| Component | RVU | Local GPCI |
|---|---|---|
| Work | 9.21 | 1 |
| Practice expense | 5.72 | 0.859 |
| Malpractice | 2.38 | 0.515 |
(9.21 × 1 + 5.72 × 0.859 + 2.38 × 0.515) × $33.4009 = $512.68
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.
44970 billing questions
How does this differ from 44950?
44970 describes appendectomy performed laparoscopically. 44950 is the open appendectomy code, so the operative report's approach determines which code fits.
When would 44960 be considered instead?
44960 describes an open appendectomy for a ruptured appendix with abscess or peritonitis. Use 44970 when the appendectomy is performed laparoscopically, rather than selecting the open code based only on disease severity.
Should modifier 50 be appended?
No. The appendix is a single organ, and modifier 50 is inappropriate for this service.
What postoperative care is included?
The 90-day global period includes the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care.
How are other same-session procedures paid?
The highest-valued procedure is paid in full, and other procedures performed in the same session are subject to the standard multiple-procedure reduction.
Can an assistant or co-surgeon be reported?
CMS permits payment for assistant-at-surgery and co-surgeon services for this code. 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.
5,45444950,,Appendectomy,A,,10.34,5.18,NA,5.18,,2.61,18.13,18.13,0,090,0.09,0.81,0.10,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
5,45544955,,Appendectomy add-on,A,,1.49,0.39,NA,0.39,,0.36,2.24,2.24,0,ZZZ,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
5,45644960,,Appendectomy,A,,14.14,6.88,NA,6.88,,3.68,24.70,24.70,0,090,0.09,0.81,0.10,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
5,45744970,,Laparoscopy appendectomy,A,,9.21,5.72,NA,5.72,,2.38,17.31,17.31,0,090,0.09,0.81,0.10,2,0,2,2,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
5,45844979,,Unlisted laps px appendix,C,,0.00,0.00,,0.00,,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,YYY,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,1,2,1,1,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
5,45945000,,Drainage of pelvic abscess,A,,6.14,5.09,NA,5.09,,1.13,12.36,12.36,0,090,0.09,0.81,0.10,2,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
5,46045005,,Drainage of rectal abscess,A,,1.97,8.50,,2.72,,0.51,10.98,5.20,0,010,0.10,0.80,0.10,2,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
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
901112,CA,55,CHICO,1.017,1.096,0.536
1001182,CA,71,EL CENTRO,1.017,1.096,0.541