No office rate
Choose 65855 for laser treatment of the trabecular meshwork; 65820 describes opening the drainage angle with an incisional technique.
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CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
65855 Laser trabeculoplasty Medicare reimbursement rates in California
Reports laser treatment of the trabecular meshwork to improve aqueous drainage and lower intraocular pressure in a patient with glaucoma. Compare 65855 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 65855 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
$257.22–$314.86
29 of 29 localities have a supported rate.
Lowest: Chico
Highest: San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara (San Benito Cnty)
A spread of $57.64 per service.
Facility setting
$175.95–$207.93
29 of 29 localities have a supported rate.
Lowest: Chico
Highest: San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara (San Benito Cnty)
A spread of $31.98 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 65855 pays more and less in California
29 payment localities
$257.22 to $314.86
Ophthalmology
About 65855: Laser trabeculoplasty for glaucoma
Reports laser treatment of the trabecular meshwork to improve aqueous drainage and lower intraocular pressure in a patient with glaucoma.
An ophthalmologist directs laser energy to the trabecular meshwork, the eye’s drainage tissue, to improve aqueous outflow and reduce intraocular pressure. The procedure is commonly used for open-angle glaucoma and may be performed with selective or argon laser in an ophthalmology office or an outpatient facility. The treated eye and the laser procedure performed should be clear in the operative documentation.
Report 65855 for laser trabeculoplasty, distinguishing it from incisional procedures such as goniotomy or trabeculotomy. Related postoperative visits are included in the 10-day global period. When multiple procedures are performed in one session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and other procedures are subject to the standard 50% reduction. For bilateral treatment, modifier 50 is paid at 150%. Medicare does not pay for an assistant at surgery; co-surgeon and team-surgery payment requires supporting documentation.
CMS billing rules for 65855
- 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 paid only with supporting documentation.
- Team surgery
- Team surgery paid only with supporting documentation.
Where the value comes from
- Work RVU2.93 · 40%
- Practice expense (office) RVU4.20 · 57%
- Malpractice RVU0.22 · 3%
166.3K
Medicare services in 2024 · #420 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.
65855 compared with similar codes
Office rates for California, from the same CMS release.
No office rate
65855 uses laser energy at the trabecular meshwork. 65850 is an ab externo trabeculotomy, an incisional procedure.
$325.43–$399.98
65860 is laser severing of adhesions in the anterior segment, not laser treatment of the trabecular meshwork for glaucoma.
Compare 65855 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 $257.95 | Facility $176.68 |
| Chico | Office $257.22 | Facility $175.95 |
| El Centro | Office $257.25 | Facility $175.99 |
| Fresno | Office $257.22 | Facility $175.95 |
| Hanford-Corcoran | Office $257.22 | Facility $175.95 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim (Los Angeles/Orange Cnty) | Office $272.71 | Facility $184.99 |
| Madera | Office $257.22 | Facility $175.95 |
| Merced | Office $257.22 | Facility $175.95 |
| Modesto | Office $257.22 | Facility $175.95 |
| Napa | Office $292.66 | Facility $194.93 |
| Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura | Office $271.00 | Facility $183.35 |
| Redding | Office $257.22 | Facility $175.95 |
| Rest Of California | Office $257.22 | Facility $175.95 |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario | Office $259.65 | Facility $178.38 |
| Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom | Office $268.48 | Facility $182.24 |
| Salinas | Office $267.43 | Facility $181.49 |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad | Office $272.56 | Facility $183.88 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley (Marin Cnty) | Office $308.33 | Facility $203.78 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley (San Francisco/San Mateo/Alameda/Contra Costa Cnty) | Office $308.08 | Facility $203.53 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara (San Benito Cnty) | Office $314.86 | Facility $207.93 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara (Santa Clara Cnty) | Office $313.84 | Facility $206.91 |
| San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles | Office $263.25 | Facility $178.79 |
| Santa Cruz-Watsonville | Office $274.30 | Facility $184.21 |
| Santa Maria-Santa Barbara | Office $268.11 | Facility $181.66 |
| Santa Rosa-Petaluma | Office $277.01 | Facility $185.95 |
| Stockton | Office $257.22 | Facility $175.95 |
| Vallejo | Office $292.30 | Facility $194.57 |
| Visalia | Office $257.22 | Facility $175.95 |
| Yuba City | Office $257.22 | Facility $175.95 |
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65855 billing questions
How is laser trabeculoplasty different from goniotomy?
65855 describes laser treatment of the trabecular meshwork. Goniotomy uses an incisional approach to open the drainage angle.
How should bilateral treatment be reported?
For treatment of both eyes, report the procedure with modifier 50. CMS pays bilateral procedures at 150%.
Are related postoperative visits separately payable?
Related postoperative visits during the 10-day global period are included in the procedure.
What happens when another procedure is performed in the same session?
The highest-valued procedure is paid in full. Other procedures performed in that session are subject to the standard multiple procedure reduction.
Can an assistant surgeon be reported?
Medicare does not pay an assistant at surgery for this code. Co-surgeon or team-surgery payment requires supporting documentation.
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.
7,34865815,,Drainage of eye,A,,5.85,12.92,,6.01,,0.46,19.23,12.32,0,090,0.10,0.70,0.20,2,1,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
7,34965820,,Goniotomy,A,,8.69,12.29,NA,12.29,,0.68,21.66,21.66,0,090,0.10,0.70,0.20,2,1,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
7,35065850,,Trabeculotomy ab externo,A,,11.11,9.39,NA,9.39,,0.88,21.38,21.38,0,090,0.10,0.70,0.20,2,1,1,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
7,35165855,,Trabeculoplasty laser surg,A,,2.93,4.20,,1.98,,0.22,7.35,5.13,0,010,0.10,0.80,0.10,2,1,1,1,1,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
7,35265860,,Severing ads ant sgm laser,A,,3.50,5.51,,2.49,,0.27,9.28,6.26,0,090,0.10,0.70,0.20,2,1,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
7,35365865,,Incise inner eye adhesions,A,,5.63,6.32,NA,6.32,,0.44,12.39,12.39,0,090,0.10,0.70,0.20,2,1,1,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
7,35465870,,Incise inner eye adhesions,A,,7.21,7.58,NA,7.58,,0.57,15.36,15.36,0,090,0.10,0.70,0.20,2,1,1,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00