$429.45–$542.78
Use 69155 when the extensive canal operation includes neck surgery. 69145 represents extensive canal lesion excision without that ear-and-neck scope.
On this page
CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
69155 Ear canal surgery Medicare reimbursement rates in California
Reports extensive surgery for an external auditory canal lesion involving the neck, rather than a limited canal excision or a procedure confined to the external ear. Compare 69155 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 69155 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
$1446.45–$1710.87
29 of 29 localities have a supported rate.
Lowest: Chico
Highest: San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara (San Benito Cnty)
A spread of $264.42 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 69155 pays more and less in California
Otolaryngology surgery
About 69155: Extensive ear canal resection with neck surgery
Reports extensive surgery for an external auditory canal lesion involving the neck, rather than a limited canal excision or a procedure confined to the external ear.
CPT 69155 represents extensive operative treatment of an external auditory canal lesion that also involves neck surgery. It is used for substantial surgical management, such as resection of an extensive canal tumor with a neck dissection, rather than a biopsy or a limited excision. Otolaryngologists typically perform this work in a hospital or other surgical facility; the operative report should establish the lesion’s site and extent and describe the canal and neck procedures performed.
Select this code when the documented operation matches its extensive ear-and-neck scope, not simply because a lesion is large or malignant. The 90-day global period includes the day-before preoperative visit and related postoperative care for 90 days. When multiple procedures occur in the same session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and other procedures are subject to the standard 50% multiple-procedure reduction. Modifier 50 is inappropriate for this code. An assistant at surgery may be paid; co-surgeons require supporting documentation, and team surgery is not permitted.
CMS billing rules for 69155
- 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 adjustment does not apply; the descriptor or anatomy makes modifier 50 inappropriate.
- Assistant at surgery
- Assistant at surgery may be paid.
- Co-surgeons
- Co-surgeons paid only with supporting documentation.
- Team surgery
- Team surgery not permitted.
Where the value comes from
- Work RVU22.77 · 53%
- Practice expense (office) RVU16.76 · 39%
- Malpractice RVU3.32 · 8%
21
Medicare services in 2024 · #5904 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.
69155 compared with similar codes
Office rates for California, from the same CMS release.
No office rate
69140 is for limited excision of an external auditory canal lesion. 69155 represents extensive surgery involving the canal and neck.
$153.53–$195.05
69105 reports biopsy of an external auditory canal site for tissue diagnosis; it does not represent extensive resection with neck surgery.
Compare 69155 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 $1456.06 |
| Chico | Office Unavailable | Facility $1446.45 |
| El Centro | Office Unavailable | Facility $1447.00 |
| Fresno | Office Unavailable | Facility $1446.45 |
| Hanford-Corcoran | Office Unavailable | Facility $1446.45 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim (Los Angeles/Orange Cnty) | Office Unavailable | Facility $1527.59 |
| Madera | Office Unavailable | Facility $1446.45 |
| Merced | Office Unavailable | Facility $1446.45 |
| Modesto | Office Unavailable | Facility $1446.45 |
| Napa | Office Unavailable | Facility $1602.60 |
| Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura | Office Unavailable | Facility $1512.60 |
| Redding | Office Unavailable | Facility $1446.45 |
| Rest Of California | Office Unavailable | Facility $1446.45 |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario | Office Unavailable | Facility $1482.36 |
| Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom | Office Unavailable | Facility $1498.40 |
| Salinas | Office Unavailable | Facility $1492.36 |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad | Office Unavailable | Facility $1512.98 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley (Marin Cnty) | Office Unavailable | Facility $1673.01 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley (San Francisco/San Mateo/Alameda/Contra Costa Cnty) | Office Unavailable | Facility $1669.24 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara (San Benito Cnty) | Office Unavailable | Facility $1710.87 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara (Santa Clara Cnty) | Office Unavailable | Facility $1695.45 |
| San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles | Office Unavailable | Facility $1470.52 |
| Santa Cruz-Watsonville | Office Unavailable | Facility $1516.10 |
| Santa Maria-Santa Barbara | Office Unavailable | Facility $1494.00 |
| Santa Rosa-Petaluma | Office Unavailable | Facility $1530.23 |
| Stockton | Office Unavailable | Facility $1446.45 |
| Vallejo | Office Unavailable | Facility $1597.17 |
| Visalia | Office Unavailable | Facility $1446.45 |
| Yuba City | Office Unavailable | Facility $1446.45 |
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69155 billing questions
How does 69155 differ from 69145?
69155 is for extensive ear canal surgery involving the neck. Use 69145 for an extensive canal lesion excision without the neck-surgery scope represented by 69155.
Can a neck dissection be billed separately?
When the neck surgery is part of the extensive ear-and-neck service reported with 69155, do not separately report the same work. The operative report should clarify which procedures were performed.
Is modifier 50 appropriate?
No. CMS identifies bilateral adjustment as inappropriate for this code’s descriptor or anatomy.
What postoperative care is included?
The 90-day global period includes the day-before preoperative visit and related postoperative care during the 90 days after surgery.
Can an assistant or co-surgeon be reported?
An assistant at surgery may be paid. Co-surgeons are paid only with supporting documentation, and team surgery is not permitted.
How are other same-session procedures paid?
The highest-valued procedure is paid in full; other procedures in the same session are subject to the standard multiple-procedure reduction.
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.
7,58869140,,Remove ear canal lesion(s),A,,7.94,16.13,NA,16.13,,1.16,25.23,25.23,0,090,0.07,0.79,0.14,2,1,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
7,58969145,,Remove ear canal lesion(s),A,,2.63,9.10,,4.08,,0.39,12.12,7.10,0,090,0.07,0.79,0.14,2,1,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
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