$398.58–$498.71
23931 targets a bursa. Use 23930 when the drained collection is a deep abscess or hematoma in the upper arm or elbow, not the bursa.
On this page
CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
23931 Bursal drainage Medicare reimbursement rates in California
Reports surgical opening and drainage of an upper arm or elbow bursa, such as an infected olecranon bursa requiring drainage. Compare 23931 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 23931 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
$343.82–$436.75
29 of 29 localities have a supported rate.
Lowest: Chico
Highest: San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara (San Benito Cnty)
A spread of $92.93 per service.
Facility setting
$162.62–$198.34
29 of 29 localities have a supported rate.
Lowest: Chico
Highest: San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara (San Benito Cnty)
A spread of $35.72 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 23931 pays more and less in California
29 payment localities
$343.82 to $436.75
Orthopedic surgery
About 23931: Incision and drainage of elbow bursa
Reports surgical opening and drainage of an upper arm or elbow bursa, such as an infected olecranon bursa requiring drainage.
This procedure opens an upper arm or elbow bursa and drains its contents, typically to treat a bursal collection such as septic olecranon bursitis. An orthopedic or other qualified physician may perform it in an office or facility setting when drainage through an incision is needed rather than needle aspiration alone. The operative record should identify the bursa and side, describe the collection and drainage performed, and support why an incision was required.
Choose this code for drainage of the bursa itself, not for a separate deep abscess or hematoma in the upper arm or elbow. Documentation should distinguish the bursal target from surrounding soft tissue and record laterality. The procedure has a 10-day global period, which includes related postoperative visits during that period. 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%. Assistant-at-surgery payment is restricted; co-surgeons and team surgery are not permitted.
CMS billing rules for 23931
- 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 RVU1.79 · 18%
- Practice expense (office) RVU7.56 · 78%
- Malpractice RVU0.35 · 4%
837
Medicare services in 2024 · #3107 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.
23931 compared with similar codes
Office rates for California, from the same CMS release.
No office rate
24105 represents excision of an olecranon bursa. Use 23931 when the treatment is incision and drainage rather than bursal excision.
$59.36–$72.62
20605 is for aspiration or injection of an intermediate joint or bursa. 23931 involves opening the bursa surgically to drain it.
Compare 23931 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 $344.79 | Facility $163.59 |
| Chico | Office $343.82 | Facility $162.62 |
| El Centro | Office $343.88 | Facility $162.67 |
| Fresno | Office $343.82 | Facility $162.62 |
| Hanford-Corcoran | Office $343.82 | Facility $162.62 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim (Los Angeles/Orange Cnty) | Office $368.72 | Facility $173.13 |
| Madera | Office $343.82 | Facility $162.62 |
| Merced | Office $343.82 | Facility $162.62 |
| Modesto | Office $343.82 | Facility $162.62 |
| Napa | Office $402.30 | Facility $184.39 |
| Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura | Office $367.21 | Facility $171.79 |
| Redding | Office $343.82 | Facility $162.62 |
| Rest Of California | Office $343.82 | Facility $162.62 |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario | Office $347.59 | Facility $166.38 |
| Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom | Office $361.88 | Facility $169.59 |
| Salinas | Office $360.57 | Facility $168.94 |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad | Office $369.92 | Facility $172.18 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley (Marin Cnty) | Office $426.87 | Facility $193.75 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley (San Francisco/San Mateo/Alameda/Contra Costa Cnty) | Office $426.48 | Facility $193.35 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara (San Benito Cnty) | Office $436.75 | Facility $198.34 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara (Santa Clara Cnty) | Office $435.13 | Facility $196.71 |
| San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles | Office $354.68 | Facility $166.36 |
| Santa Cruz-Watsonville | Office $374.11 | Facility $173.23 |
| Santa Maria-Santa Barbara | Office $362.16 | Facility $169.38 |
| Santa Rosa-Petaluma | Office $377.93 | Facility $174.90 |
| Stockton | Office $343.82 | Facility $162.62 |
| Vallejo | Office $401.73 | Facility $183.82 |
| Visalia | Office $343.82 | Facility $162.62 |
| Yuba City | Office $343.82 | Facility $162.62 |
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23931 billing questions
How is 23931 distinguished from drainage of an upper arm or elbow abscess?
Use 23931 when the incision and drainage target is a bursa. Code 23930 is for a deep abscess or hematoma in the upper arm or elbow.
Does needle aspiration of an elbow bursa qualify for 23931?
No. 23931 describes surgical incision and drainage; aspiration of an intermediate joint or bursa is represented by a different service.
Can modifier 50 be used for bilateral bursal drainage?
Yes. CMS lists this as a bilateral procedure, and modifier 50 is paid at 150%.
Are related postoperative visits separately paid during the global period?
Related postoperative visits for 10 days are included in the minor-procedure global period.
Can an assistant or co-surgeon be reported for this procedure?
Assistant-at-surgery payment is subject to a statutory restriction. Co-surgeons and team surgery are not permitted.
What documentation supports reporting 23931?
Document the specific bursa and side, the bursal collection, and the incision and drainage performed. The record should make clear that the target was the bursa rather than adjacent soft tissue.
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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