$228.76–$280.91
Choose 10060 for simple drainage of one abscess. Choose 10061 when the documented drainage is complex or involves multiple abscesses.
On this page
CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
10060 Abscess drainage Medicare reimbursement rates in California
Report 10060 for straightforward incision and drainage of one abscess, such as a cutaneous boil, when the procedure is simple rather than complex or multiple. Compare 10060 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in California.
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 10060 in California?
California has 29 payment localities in this comparison. Use the service location to choose the applicable amount. These are the supported base rates for the 29 payment areas shown below, using the same CMS release.
Office / nonfacility
$135.37–$168.30
29 of 29 localities have a supported rate.
Lowest: Chico
Highest: San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara (San Benito Cnty)
A spread of $32.93 per service.
Facility setting
$104.62–$127.84
29 of 29 localities have a supported rate.
Lowest: Chico
Highest: San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara (San Benito Cnty)
A spread of $23.22 per service.
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.
Where 10060 pays more and less in California
29 payment localities
$135.37 to $168.30
Skin procedure
About 10060: Simple incision and drainage of abscess
Report 10060 for straightforward incision and drainage of one abscess, such as a cutaneous boil, when the procedure is simple rather than complex or multiple.
A clinician makes an incision to release pus from a single, straightforward abscess, commonly a skin or subcutaneous boil or localized abscess. The service is typically performed by a physician or other qualified practitioner in an office, urgent care setting, or emergency department. The code describes the drainage procedure, not evaluation of an abscess without drainage or needle aspiration alone.
Choose 10060 when the documented service treats one abscess with a simple drainage approach; use 10061 when the procedure is complex or involves multiple abscesses. Document the site, findings, and drainage performed so the record supports the level selected. Related postoperative visits during the 10-day global period are included. When multiple procedures are performed in the same session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and others are subject to the standard 50% multiple-procedure reduction. Modifier 50 is inappropriate. Medicare does not pay for an assistant at surgery, and co-surgeon and team-surgery billing are not permitted.
CMS billing rules for 10060
- 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 adjustment does not apply; the descriptor or anatomy makes modifier 50 inappropriate.
- 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 RVU1.19 · 31%
- Practice expense (office) RVU2.53 · 66%
- Malpractice RVU0.13 · 3%
266.3K
Medicare services in 2024 · #332 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.
10060 compared with similar codes
Office rates for California, from the same CMS release.
$288.54–$369.44
10080 is for simple incision and drainage of a pilonidal cyst. Use 10060 for a simple, single abscess outside that pilonidal-specific service.
$138.02–$171.40
10060 involves incision and drainage; 10160 describes aspiration by needle of an abscess or other collection.
Compare 10060 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.
29 of 29 payment localities
| Payment locality | Office | Facility |
|---|---|---|
| Bakersfield | Office $135.76 | Facility $105.01 |
| Chico | Office $135.37 | Facility $104.62 |
| El Centro | Office $135.39 | Facility $104.64 |
| Fresno | Office $135.37 | Facility $104.62 |
| Hanford-Corcoran | Office $135.37 | Facility $104.62 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim (Los Angeles/Orange Cnty) | Office $144.23 | Facility $111.04 |
| Madera | Office $135.37 | Facility $104.62 |
| Merced | Office $135.37 | Facility $104.62 |
| Modesto | Office $135.37 | Facility $104.62 |
| Napa | Office $155.83 | Facility $118.85 |
| Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura | Office $143.45 | Facility $110.29 |
| Redding | Office $135.37 | Facility $104.62 |
| Rest Of California | Office $135.37 | Facility $104.62 |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario | Office $136.78 | Facility $106.03 |
| Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom | Office $141.78 | Facility $109.15 |
| Salinas | Office $141.25 | Facility $108.73 |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad | Office $144.36 | Facility $110.80 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley (Marin Cnty) | Office $164.67 | Facility $125.11 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley (San Francisco/San Mateo/Alameda/Contra Costa Cnty) | Office $164.52 | Facility $124.96 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara (San Benito Cnty) | Office $168.30 | Facility $127.84 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara (Santa Clara Cnty) | Office $167.70 | Facility $127.24 |
| San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles | Office $139.00 | Facility $107.04 |
| Santa Cruz-Watsonville | Office $145.58 | Facility $111.49 |
| Santa Maria-Santa Barbara | Office $141.72 | Facility $109.01 |
| Santa Rosa-Petaluma | Office $147.04 | Facility $112.58 |
| Stockton | Office $135.37 | Facility $104.62 |
| Vallejo | Office $155.62 | Facility $118.64 |
| Visalia | Office $135.37 | Facility $104.62 |
| Yuba City | Office $135.37 | Facility $104.62 |
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10060 billing questions
How do I choose between 10060 and 10061?
Use 10060 for a simple drainage of one abscess. Use 10061 when the drainage is complex or multiple abscesses are treated; documentation should support the procedure’s extent and complexity.
Can I report an office E/M service on the same date?
A separately identifiable E/M service may be reported when it is beyond the work associated with the drainage and is documented separately; append modifier 25 to the E/M code when appropriate.
Are related follow-up visits separately payable during the global period?
Related postoperative visits during the 10-day global period are included in 10060.
Should I append modifier 50 for abscesses on both sides?
No. CMS identifies bilateral adjustment as inappropriate for this code. If multiple abscesses are drained, assess whether the documented work supports 10061 rather than reporting bilateral 10060.
Can an assistant or co-surgeon be billed for 10060?
Medicare does not pay for an assistant at surgery for this service. Co-surgeons and team surgery are not permitted.
How is 10060 affected when another procedure is performed in the same session?
Under the standard multiple-procedure reduction, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and other procedures are paid at 50% when performed in the same session.
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.
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1,0901006T,,Elec alys s-scl eeg prgrm ea,C,,0.00,0.00,,0.00,,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,ZZZ,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,0,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00