No office rate
Choose 69650 for stapes mobilization. Choose 69660 when the documented operation is a stapedectomy or stapedotomy with restoration of ossicular continuity.
On this page
CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
69650 Stapes mobilization Medicare reimbursement rates in California
An otologist surgically frees a fixed stapes to address conductive hearing loss when the operative work is mobilization rather than stapes removal. Compare 69650 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 69650 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
$735.10–$886.49
29 of 29 localities have a supported rate.
Lowest: Chico
Highest: San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara (San Benito Cnty)
A spread of $151.39 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 69650 pays more and less in California
Otology surgery
About 69650: Stapes mobilization for conductive hearing loss
An otologist surgically frees a fixed stapes to address conductive hearing loss when the operative work is mobilization rather than stapes removal.
An otologist or other otolaryngologist performs this middle-ear operation to free a stapes that is abnormally fixed and limiting sound transmission. It is generally performed in an operating room under magnification, commonly for conductive hearing loss associated with stapes fixation. The defining work is mobilizing the stapes; a procedure that removes or opens the stapes and restores ossicular continuity is coded according to the applicable stapes surgery code instead.
Report 69650 when the operative report supports mobilization as the procedure performed, rather than a more extensive stapes operation. Documentation should identify the affected ear, the stapes fixation or other indication, and the work performed on the stapes. CMS assigns a 90-day global period, including the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care. For multiple procedures in one session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and 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 69650
- 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
- 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 RVU9.56 · 45%
- Practice expense (office) RVU10.53 · 49%
- Malpractice RVU1.39 · 6%
48
Medicare services in 2024 · #5383 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.
69650 compared with similar codes
Office rates for California, from the same CMS release.
No office rate
Both codes are for stapes surgery, but the operative technique determines which code applies. Use the operative report to distinguish mobilization from the work represented by 69661.
No office rate
Use 69650 for mobilization, not revision stapes surgery. When the operative report documents revision work, evaluate 69662 and the applicable procedure details.
Compare 69650 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 $739.13 |
| Chico | Office Unavailable | Facility $735.10 |
| El Centro | Office Unavailable | Facility $735.33 |
| Fresno | Office Unavailable | Facility $735.10 |
| Hanford-Corcoran | Office Unavailable | Facility $735.10 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim (Los Angeles/Orange Cnty) | Office Unavailable | Facility $779.31 |
| Madera | Office Unavailable | Facility $735.10 |
| Merced | Office Unavailable | Facility $735.10 |
| Modesto | Office Unavailable | Facility $735.10 |
| Napa | Office Unavailable | Facility $826.57 |
| Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura | Office Unavailable | Facility $772.90 |
| Redding | Office Unavailable | Facility $735.10 |
| Rest Of California | Office Unavailable | Facility $735.10 |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario | Office Unavailable | Facility $750.14 |
| Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom | Office Unavailable | Facility $764.73 |
| Salinas | Office Unavailable | Facility $761.73 |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad | Office Unavailable | Facility $774.70 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley (Marin Cnty) | Office Unavailable | Facility $866.87 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley (San Francisco/San Mateo/Alameda/Contra Costa Cnty) | Office Unavailable | Facility $865.29 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara (San Benito Cnty) | Office Unavailable | Facility $886.49 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara (Santa Clara Cnty) | Office Unavailable | Facility $880.04 |
| San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles | Office Unavailable | Facility $750.23 |
| Santa Cruz-Watsonville | Office Unavailable | Facility $778.23 |
| Santa Maria-Santa Barbara | Office Unavailable | Facility $763.23 |
| Santa Rosa-Petaluma | Office Unavailable | Facility $785.68 |
| Stockton | Office Unavailable | Facility $735.10 |
| Vallejo | Office Unavailable | Facility $824.30 |
| Visalia | Office Unavailable | Facility $735.10 |
| Yuba City | Office Unavailable | Facility $735.10 |
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69650 billing questions
When should 69650 be chosen instead of a stapedectomy code?
Use 69650 when the documented operation mobilizes the stapes. If the surgeon removes or opens the stapes and restores ossicular continuity, select the applicable stapedectomy or stapedotomy code instead.
What documentation supports 69650?
The operative report should identify the ear, the reason for surgery such as stapes fixation with conductive hearing loss, and the specific mobilization performed.
Does the 90-day global period include postoperative care?
Yes. CMS includes the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care in the global period.
How is bilateral 69650 paid?
CMS pays a bilateral procedure reported with modifier 50 at 150%.
Can an assistant surgeon or co-surgeon be billed?
CMS applies a statutory restriction to assistant-at-surgery payment for this code. Co-surgeons and team surgery are not permitted.
What happens when another procedure is performed in the same session?
Under the standard multiple-procedure reduction, CMS pays the highest-valued procedure in full and the other procedures at 50%.
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.
7,63469644,,Revise middle ear & mastoid,A,,16.80,21.80,NA,21.80,,2.46,41.06,41.06,0,090,0.07,0.79,0.14,2,1,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
7,63569645,,Revise middle ear & mastoid,A,,16.29,21.73,NA,21.73,,2.42,40.44,40.44,0,090,0.07,0.79,0.14,2,1,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
7,63669646,,Revise middle ear & mastoid,A,,17.91,22.21,NA,22.21,,2.73,42.85,42.85,0,090,0.07,0.79,0.14,2,1,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
7,63769650,,Stapes mobilization,A,,9.56,10.53,NA,10.53,,1.39,21.48,21.48,0,090,0.07,0.79,0.14,2,1,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
7,63869660,,Revise middle ear bone,A,,11.73,11.07,NA,11.07,,1.72,24.52,24.52,0,090,0.07,0.79,0.14,2,1,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
7,63969661,,Revise middle ear bone,A,,15.52,14.09,NA,14.09,,2.26,31.87,31.87,0,090,0.07,0.79,0.14,2,1,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
7,64069662,,Revise middle ear bone,A,,15.21,13.02,NA,13.02,,2.32,30.55,30.55,0,090,0.07,0.79,0.14,2,1,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00