$72.56
Use 69205 for external ear canal foreign-body removal under general anesthesia. Use 69200 when the removal is performed without general anesthesia.
On this page
CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
69205 Ear foreign body removal Medicare reimbursement rates in Arkansas
Removal of a foreign object from the external ear canal under general anesthesia, typically when safe extraction requires the patient to remain still. Compare 69205 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 69205 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
$78.78
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.
Otolaryngology procedure
About 69205: External ear canal foreign body removal with anesthesia
Removal of a foreign object from the external ear canal under general anesthesia, typically when safe extraction requires the patient to remain still.
This service removes a discrete foreign object from the external auditory canal while the patient is under general anesthesia. It may be used for a child who cannot safely tolerate extraction while awake, or when an object is lodged in a way that makes movement during removal unsafe. An otolaryngologist or another qualified clinician performs the extraction, commonly in an operating room or procedure setting equipped for general anesthesia. Examples include an object placed in the canal by a child; impacted cerumen is not a foreign body for this code.
Report 69205 when the documented procedure removes a foreign body under general anesthesia; removal without general anesthesia is reported with 69200. The record should identify the object or foreign material, the ear treated, the extraction performed, and the use of general anesthesia. Medicare includes related postoperative visits during the 10-day global period. 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 applies to bilateral performance, paid at 150%. Medicare does not pay an assistant at surgery for this code; co-surgeons and team surgery are not permitted.
CMS billing rules for 69205
- Global period
- Minor procedure with a 10-day global period: related postoperative visits for 10 days 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
- Statutory restriction: assistant at surgery is not paid.
- Co-surgeons
- Co-surgeons not permitted.
- Team surgery
- Team surgery not permitted.
Where the value comes from
- Work RVU1.18 · 45%
- Practice expense (office) RVU1.27 · 48%
- Malpractice RVU0.17 · 6%
490
Medicare services in 2024 · #3585 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.
69205 compared with similar codes
Office rates for Arkansas, from the same CMS release.
$14.52
69209 describes removal of impacted cerumen by irrigation or lavage. It is not the code for extracting a discrete foreign object.
$43.00
69210 describes instrumental removal of impacted cerumen. Choose 69205 for a foreign body removed under general anesthesia, not for wax removal.
Compare 69205 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
$78.78
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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 69205 in Arkansas.
PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv
7,593
- Code
- 69205
- Physician work
- 1.18
- Practice expense
- 1.27
- Malpractice
- 0.17
GPCI2026.csv
7
- Locality
- Arkansas
- Physician work
- 1.000
- Practice expense
- 0.859
- Malpractice
- 0.515
| Component | RVU | Locality factor | Adjusted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Physician work | 1.18 | × 1.000 | 1.1800 |
| Practice expense | 1.27 | × 0.859 | 1.0909 |
| Malpractice | 0.17 | × 0.515 | 0.0876 |
| Total RVUs | 2.3585 | ||
| Conversion factor | × 33.4009 | ||
Facility rate, Arkansas$78.78
Explore RVUs, geographic factors and the full formula
Facility
| Component | RVU | Local GPCI |
|---|---|---|
| Work | 1.18 | 1 |
| Practice expense | 1.27 | 0.859 |
| Malpractice | 0.17 | 0.515 |
(1.18 × 1 + 1.27 × 0.859 + 0.17 × 0.515) × $33.4009 = $78.78
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.
69205 billing questions
How is 69205 different from 69200?
Both involve removal of a foreign body from the external ear canal. Use 69205 when removal is performed under general anesthesia; 69200 describes removal without general anesthesia.
Can 69205 be used for impacted earwax?
No. It is for removal of a foreign body, not cerumen. For impacted cerumen, the applicable code depends on the removal method: irrigation or lavage versus instrumentation.
Are postoperative visits separately reported during the global period?
Related postoperative visits for 10 days are included in the code's minor-procedure global period.
How should bilateral removal be reported?
For a bilateral procedure, report modifier 50. CMS pays the bilateral procedure at 150%.
Can an assistant surgeon or co-surgeon be reported?
Medicare does not pay an assistant at surgery for 69205. Co-surgeons and team surgery are not permitted.
What documentation supports reporting 69205?
Document the foreign body, the ear treated, the removal performed, and that the procedure was under general anesthesia. The record should distinguish a foreign object from impacted cerumen.
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.
7,59069150,,Extensive ear canal surgery,A,,13.27,11.62,NA,11.62,,2.06,26.95,26.95,0,090,0.07,0.79,0.14,2,0,1,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
7,59169155,,Extensive ear/neck surgery,A,,22.77,16.76,NA,16.76,,3.32,42.85,42.85,0,090,0.07,0.79,0.14,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
7,59269200,,Clear outer ear canal,A,,0.75,1.59,,0.39,,0.11,2.45,1.25,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,1,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
7,59369205,,Clear outer ear canal,A,,1.18,1.27,NA,1.27,,0.17,2.62,2.62,0,010,0.10,0.80,0.10,2,1,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
7,59469209,,Remove impacted ear wax uni,A,,0.00,0.50,,0.50,NA,0.01,0.51,0.51,5,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,1,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
7,59569210,,Remove impacted ear wax uni,A,,0.59,0.77,,0.15,,0.07,1.43,0.81,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,2,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
7,59669220,,Clean out mastoid cavity,A,,0.81,1.42,,0.40,,0.12,2.35,1.33,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,1,1,0,0,9,,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