No office rate
Use 69960 when the operative work decompresses the internal auditory canal. Compare the operative target with 69950 when the service is incision of an inner-ear nerve.
On this page
CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
69960 Canal decompression Medicare reimbursement rates in California
Surgical decompression of the internal auditory canal is reported when an otologic or skull-base operation releases structures within the canal. Compare 69960 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 69960 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
$1635.51–$1909.73
29 of 29 localities have a supported rate.
Lowest: Chico
Highest: San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara (San Benito Cnty)
A spread of $274.22 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 69960 pays more and less in California
Otology surgery
About 69960: Internal auditory canal decompression
Surgical decompression of the internal auditory canal is reported when an otologic or skull-base operation releases structures within the canal.
This operation releases or decompresses the internal auditory canal, a bony passage containing the hearing and balance nerve structures. It is performed in an operating room by an otologist, neurotologist, or other surgeon experienced in skull-base procedures. The procedure is distinct from removing the labyrinth, dividing an inner-ear nerve, or decompressing the facial nerve; the operative target and work documented should support canal decompression.
Report the code for the canal-release service, with the operative report identifying the canal and describing the decompression performed. CMS assigns a 90-day global period, which includes the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care. When multiple procedures are performed in the same session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and other procedures are subject to the standard multiple-procedure reduction. For bilateral surgery reported with modifier 50, payment is at 150%. Assistant-at-surgery payment may be available; co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation, and team surgery is not permitted.
CMS billing rules for 69960
- 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
- 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 RVU28.68 · 59%
- Practice expense (office) RVU16.02 · 33%
- Malpractice RVU4.18 · 9%
14
Medicare services in 2024 · #6118 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.
69960 compared with similar codes
Office rates for California, from the same CMS release.
No office rate
69955 is directed at the facial nerve; 69960 is for decompression of the internal auditory canal.
No office rate
69970 describes removal of an inner-ear lesion. Select 69960 when the documented work is canal decompression rather than lesion excision.
No office rate
69905 describes labyrinth removal through a transcanal approach. It is not the code for decompression of the internal auditory canal.
Compare 69960 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 $1647.61 |
| Chico | Office Unavailable | Facility $1635.51 |
| El Centro | Office Unavailable | Facility $1636.21 |
| Fresno | Office Unavailable | Facility $1635.51 |
| Hanford-Corcoran | Office Unavailable | Facility $1635.51 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim (Los Angeles/Orange Cnty) | Office Unavailable | Facility $1722.92 |
| Madera | Office Unavailable | Facility $1635.51 |
| Merced | Office Unavailable | Facility $1635.51 |
| Modesto | Office Unavailable | Facility $1635.51 |
| Napa | Office Unavailable | Facility $1794.45 |
| Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura | Office Unavailable | Facility $1704.21 |
| Redding | Office Unavailable | Facility $1635.51 |
| Rest Of California | Office Unavailable | Facility $1635.51 |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario | Office Unavailable | Facility $1680.72 |
| Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom | Office Unavailable | Facility $1689.56 |
| Salinas | Office Unavailable | Facility $1682.63 |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad | Office Unavailable | Facility $1702.31 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley (Marin Cnty) | Office Unavailable | Facility $1867.49 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley (San Francisco/San Mateo/Alameda/Contra Costa Cnty) | Office Unavailable | Facility $1862.74 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara (San Benito Cnty) | Office Unavailable | Facility $1909.73 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara (Santa Clara Cnty) | Office Unavailable | Facility $1890.33 |
| San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles | Office Unavailable | Facility $1658.52 |
| Santa Cruz-Watsonville | Office Unavailable | Facility $1703.01 |
| Santa Maria-Santa Barbara | Office Unavailable | Facility $1683.50 |
| Santa Rosa-Petaluma | Office Unavailable | Facility $1718.59 |
| Stockton | Office Unavailable | Facility $1635.51 |
| Vallejo | Office Unavailable | Facility $1787.61 |
| Visalia | Office Unavailable | Facility $1635.51 |
| Yuba City | Office Unavailable | Facility $1635.51 |
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69960 billing questions
How is canal decompression distinguished from inner-ear nerve incision?
Choose the code that matches the operative target and work. Report 69960 for decompression of the internal auditory canal, rather than a procedure whose primary service is incision of an inner-ear nerve.
Is removal of an inner-ear lesion included?
The operative report must establish whether the service was canal decompression or lesion removal. When a lesion is excised, compare the documented work with 69970 rather than treating lesion removal as canal decompression.
What postoperative care is included?
The 90-day global period includes the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care.
Can modifier 50 be used for bilateral canal decompression?
CMS identifies this as a bilateral procedure; when bilateral surgery is reported with modifier 50, payment is at 150%.
What documentation supports assistant or co-surgeon billing?
Assistant-at-surgery payment may be made. Co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation, while team surgery is 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.
7,67169949,,Unlisted px inner ear,C,,0.00,0.00,,0.00,,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,YYY,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,1,0,1,1,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
7,67269950,,Incise inner ear nerve,A,,26.94,14.37,NA,14.37,,3.93,45.24,45.24,0,090,0.07,0.79,0.14,2,1,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
7,67369955,,Release facial nerve,A,,28.68,18.26,NA,18.26,,4.18,51.12,51.12,0,090,0.07,0.79,0.14,2,1,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
7,67469960,,Release inner ear canal,A,,28.68,16.02,NA,16.02,,4.18,48.88,48.88,0,090,0.07,0.79,0.14,2,1,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
7,67569970,,Remove inner ear lesion,A,,31.60,18.95,NA,18.95,,4.61,55.16,55.16,0,090,0.07,0.79,0.14,2,1,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
7,67669979,,Unlisted px temporal bone,C,,0.00,0.00,,0.00,,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,YYY,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,1,0,1,1,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
7,67769990,,Microsurgery add-on,R,,3.37,1.17,NA,1.17,,1.39,5.93,5.93,0,ZZZ,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,0,2,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00