No office rate
Both codes describe transcutaneous implant removal; the distinction is the documented extent, below 100 square centimeters for 69727 versus 100 square centimeters or greater here.
On this page
CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
69728 Implant removal Medicare reimbursement rates in California
Removal of a transcutaneous osseointegrated skull implant when the documented extent is 100 square centimeters or greater. Compare 69728 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 69728 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
$525.10–$620.89
29 of 29 localities have a supported rate.
Lowest: Chico
Highest: San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara (San Benito Cnty)
A spread of $95.79 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 69728 pays more and less in California
Otolaryngology surgery
About 69728: Extensive transcutaneous skull implant removal
Removal of a transcutaneous osseointegrated skull implant when the documented extent is 100 square centimeters or greater.
This code describes operative removal of a transcutaneous osseointegrated implant in the skull, commonly part of a bone-conduction hearing system with an implant beneath the skin and an external sound processor. An otolaryngologist, often a neurotologist, typically performs the procedure in an operating room when the implant must be removed. The code’s extent category is 100 square centimeters or greater; the operative report should identify the transcutaneous approach and document the extent supporting that category.
Report this code for removal, not initial placement or replacement, and distinguish it from percutaneous implant removal. Medicare assigns a 90-day global period, including the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care. For bilateral procedures reported with modifier 50, payment is at 150%. 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. Medicare does not pay an assistant at surgery for this code; co-surgeons and team surgery are not permitted.
CMS billing rules for 69728
- 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 RVU8.29 · 53%
- Practice expense (office) RVU6.06 · 39%
- Malpractice RVU1.21 · 8%
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.
69728 compared with similar codes
Office rates for California, from the same CMS release.
No office rate
69726 is for removal by a percutaneous approach. This code is for transcutaneous removal in the 100-square-centimeter-or-greater extent category.
No office rate
69730 describes replacement of a transcutaneous implant in the 100-square-centimeter-or-greater category. Choose this code when the procedure is removal rather than replacement.
Compare 69728 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 $528.61 |
| Chico | Office Unavailable | Facility $525.10 |
| El Centro | Office Unavailable | Facility $525.31 |
| Fresno | Office Unavailable | Facility $525.10 |
| Hanford-Corcoran | Office Unavailable | Facility $525.10 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim (Los Angeles/Orange Cnty) | Office Unavailable | Facility $554.53 |
| Madera | Office Unavailable | Facility $525.10 |
| Merced | Office Unavailable | Facility $525.10 |
| Modesto | Office Unavailable | Facility $525.10 |
| Napa | Office Unavailable | Facility $581.64 |
| Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura | Office Unavailable | Facility $549.07 |
| Redding | Office Unavailable | Facility $525.10 |
| Rest Of California | Office Unavailable | Facility $525.10 |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario | Office Unavailable | Facility $538.19 |
| Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom | Office Unavailable | Facility $543.93 |
| Salinas | Office Unavailable | Facility $541.73 |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad | Office Unavailable | Facility $549.19 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley (Marin Cnty) | Office Unavailable | Facility $607.15 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley (San Francisco/San Mateo/Alameda/Contra Costa Cnty) | Office Unavailable | Facility $605.77 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara (San Benito Cnty) | Office Unavailable | Facility $620.89 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara (Santa Clara Cnty) | Office Unavailable | Facility $615.27 |
| San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles | Office Unavailable | Facility $533.81 |
| Santa Cruz-Watsonville | Office Unavailable | Facility $550.30 |
| Santa Maria-Santa Barbara | Office Unavailable | Facility $542.32 |
| Santa Rosa-Petaluma | Office Unavailable | Facility $555.42 |
| Stockton | Office Unavailable | Facility $525.10 |
| Vallejo | Office Unavailable | Facility $579.66 |
| Visalia | Office Unavailable | Facility $525.10 |
| Yuba City | Office Unavailable | Facility $525.10 |
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69728 billing questions
How is this code distinguished from 69727?
Both describe removal of a transcutaneous osseointegrated skull implant. Use 69728 for documented extent of 100 square centimeters or greater and 69727 for extent below 100 square centimeters.
When should 69726 be considered instead?
69726 describes removal by a percutaneous approach. This code is for transcutaneous implant removal with the documented extent at or above the 100-square-centimeter threshold.
Is removal included when a new implant is placed?
This code represents removal, while placement or replacement has its own code. The operative report should make clear whether the service was removal alone or replacement of an existing implant.
What documentation supports reporting 69728?
Document the transcutaneous approach, that the procedure removed an osseointegrated skull implant, and the extent supporting the 100-square-centimeter-or-greater category.
How does Medicare handle bilateral reporting and multiple procedures?
A bilateral procedure reported with modifier 50 is paid at 150%. In a session with multiple procedures, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and other procedures are paid at 50%.
Can an assistant or co-surgeon be reported?
Medicare does not pay an assistant at surgery for this code. 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.
7,65569725,,Release facial nerve,A,,26.95,17.80,NA,17.80,,3.93,48.68,48.68,0,090,0.07,0.79,0.14,2,1,2,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
7,65669726,,Rmv ntr oi implt skl prq esp,A,,6.20,5.54,NA,5.54,,0.91,12.65,12.65,0,090,0.07,0.79,0.14,2,1,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
7,65769727,,Rmv ntr oi imp sk tc esp<100,A,,7.20,5.79,NA,5.79,,1.06,14.05,14.05,0,090,0.07,0.79,0.14,2,1,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
7,65869728,,Rmv ntr oi imp sk tc>=100,A,,8.29,6.06,NA,6.06,,1.21,15.56,15.56,0,090,0.07,0.79,0.14,2,1,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
7,65969729,,Impl oi implt sk tc esp>=100,A,,9.72,6.43,NA,6.43,,1.47,17.62,17.62,0,090,0.07,0.79,0.14,2,1,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
7,66069730,,Rplc oi implt sk tc esp>=100,A,,9.99,6.47,NA,6.47,,1.45,17.91,17.91,0,090,0.07,0.79,0.14,2,1,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
7,66169740,,Repair facial nerve,A,,15.86,12.33,NA,12.33,,2.32,30.51,30.51,0,090,0.07,0.79,0.14,2,1,2,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00