No office rate
Choose 21070 when the operation removes the mandibular coronoid process. Code 21050 concerns removal of the mandibular condyle.
On this page
CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
21070 Coronoidectomy Medicare reimbursement rates in California
Reports surgical removal of a mandibular coronoid process, typically to relieve restricted jaw opening caused by coronoid impingement or enlargement. Compare 21070 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 21070 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
No supported rate
Facility setting
$546.77–$648.44
29 of 29 localities have a supported rate.
Lowest: Chico
Highest: San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara (San Benito Cnty)
A spread of $101.67 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 21070 pays more and less in California
Oral and maxillofacial surgery
About 21070: Mandibular coronoid process removal
Reports surgical removal of a mandibular coronoid process, typically to relieve restricted jaw opening caused by coronoid impingement or enlargement.
A coronoidectomy removes the mandibular coronoid process when it mechanically limits jaw opening. A typical clinical setting is restricted mandibular movement associated with an enlarged or impinging coronoid process. Oral and maxillofacial surgeons and other surgeons treating maxillofacial conditions may perform the operation in a surgical facility; Medicare volume is reported in facility settings.
Report the procedure when the operative service removes the coronoid process, and document the indication, side, relevant findings, and work performed. This major surgery includes 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 the others at 50%. Bilateral reporting with modifier 50 is paid at 150%. An assistant is paid only when medical necessity is documented; co-surgeons and team surgery are not permitted.
CMS billing rules for 21070
- 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 not permitted.
- Team surgery
- Team surgery not permitted.
Where the value comes from
- Work RVU8.40 · 52%
- Practice expense (office) RVU6.54 · 40%
- Malpractice RVU1.23 · 8%
85
Medicare services in 2024 · #4997 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.
21070 compared with similar codes
Office rates for California, from the same CMS release.
No office rate
Code 21060 concerns cartilage within the temporomandibular joint; it does not describe coronoid process removal.
$453.29–$568.09
Code 21073 describes manipulation of the temporomandibular joint under anesthesia. Use 21070 when the coronoid process is surgically removed.
Compare 21070 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 Unavailable | Facility $550.33 |
| Chico | Office Unavailable | Facility $546.77 |
| El Centro | Office Unavailable | Facility $546.98 |
| Fresno | Office Unavailable | Facility $546.77 |
| Hanford-Corcoran | Office Unavailable | Facility $546.77 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim (Los Angeles/Orange Cnty) | Office Unavailable | Facility $577.77 |
| Madera | Office Unavailable | Facility $546.77 |
| Merced | Office Unavailable | Facility $546.77 |
| Modesto | Office Unavailable | Facility $546.77 |
| Napa | Office Unavailable | Facility $607.02 |
| Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura | Office Unavailable | Facility $572.22 |
| Redding | Office Unavailable | Facility $546.77 |
| Rest Of California | Office Unavailable | Facility $546.77 |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario | Office Unavailable | Facility $560.07 |
| Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom | Office Unavailable | Facility $566.74 |
| Salinas | Office Unavailable | Facility $564.46 |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad | Office Unavailable | Facility $572.51 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley (Marin Cnty) | Office Unavailable | Facility $634.08 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley (San Francisco/San Mateo/Alameda/Contra Costa Cnty) | Office Unavailable | Facility $632.68 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara (San Benito Cnty) | Office Unavailable | Facility $648.44 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara (Santa Clara Cnty) | Office Unavailable | Facility $642.73 |
| San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles | Office Unavailable | Facility $556.16 |
| Santa Cruz-Watsonville | Office Unavailable | Facility $573.89 |
| Santa Maria-Santa Barbara | Office Unavailable | Facility $565.15 |
| Santa Rosa-Petaluma | Office Unavailable | Facility $579.25 |
| Stockton | Office Unavailable | Facility $546.77 |
| Vallejo | Office Unavailable | Facility $605.01 |
| Visalia | Office Unavailable | Facility $546.77 |
| Yuba City | Office Unavailable | Facility $546.77 |
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21070 billing questions
How is this different from removing the mandibular condyle?
This code is for removal of the coronoid process, which can restrict jaw opening. Code 21050 concerns the mandibular condyle, a different part of the jaw joint.
What documentation supports reporting this procedure?
Document the jaw-opening problem, findings connecting it to the coronoid process, the side treated, and the operative work removing the process.
Can this code be reported for both sides?
Yes. For bilateral surgery, modifier 50 is paid at 150% under the CMS facts provided.
What postoperative care is included?
The major-surgery global period includes the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care.
When is an assistant at surgery payable?
Assistant-at-surgery payment is allowed only when the record documents medical necessity. Co-surgeons and team surgery are 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.
1,85621049,,Excis uppr jaw cyst w/repair,A,,18.84,9.27,NA,9.27,,2.46,30.57,30.57,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
1,85721050,,Removal of jaw joint,A,,11.47,10.70,NA,10.70,,1.66,23.83,23.83,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,1,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
1,85821060,,Remove jaw joint cartilage,A,,10.79,9.13,NA,9.13,,1.56,21.48,21.48,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,1,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
1,85921070,,Remove coronoid process,A,,8.40,6.54,NA,6.54,,1.23,16.17,16.17,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,1,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
1,86021073,,Mnpj of tmj w/anesth,A,,3.36,9.03,,2.85,,0.48,12.87,6.69,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,1,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
1,86121076,,Impres&prep surg obt prosth,A,,13.07,12.80,,4.07,,1.67,27.54,18.81,0,010,0.10,0.80,0.10,2,0,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
1,86221077,,Impres&prep orbital prosth,A,,32.86,29.07,,9.15,,3.75,65.68,45.76,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,1,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00