No office rate
29830 is diagnostic elbow arthroscopy. Choose 29834 when the surgeon arthroscopically removes a loose or foreign body.
On this page
CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
29834 Elbow arthroscopy Medicare reimbursement rates in Colorado
Reports arthroscopic removal of a loose or foreign body from the elbow when a surgeon treats a fragment or object within the joint. Compare 29834 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in Colorado.
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 29834 in Colorado?
Colorado has 1 payment locality in this comparison. Use the service location to choose the applicable amount. These are the supported base rates for the payment area shown below, using the same CMS release.
Office / nonfacility
No supported rate
Facility setting
$475.82
1 of 1 localities have a supported rate.
Payment area: Colorado
One mapped payment locality.
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.
Orthopedic surgery
About 29834: Arthroscopic elbow loose body removal
Reports arthroscopic removal of a loose or foreign body from the elbow when a surgeon treats a fragment or object within the joint.
An orthopedic surgeon uses an arthroscope and instruments passed through small portals to locate and remove a loose fragment or foreign object in the elbow joint. A typical situation is removal of a free osteochondral fragment after an elbow injury or in a degenerative joint. This is a therapeutic procedure, not simply inspection of the joint.
Report the service when the operative record supports arthroscopic removal of a loose or foreign body; document the treated elbow and the finding and removal. The code has a 90-day global period, including the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care. For bilateral surgery, modifier 50 is paid at 150%. Endoscopy-family pricing applies when related endoscopies are performed together. An assistant at surgery may be paid; co-surgeons require supporting documentation, and team surgery is not permitted.
CMS billing rules for 29834
- 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
- Endoscopy family pricing applies when related endoscopies are performed together.
- 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 RVU6.26 · 45%
- Practice expense (office) RVU6.51 · 46%
- Malpractice RVU1.26 · 9%
454
Medicare services in 2024 · #3649 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.
29834 compared with similar codes
Office rates for Colorado, from the same CMS release.
No office rate
29835 is for partial synovectomy, not removal of a loose or foreign body.
No office rate
29837 describes limited elbow debridement. Use 29834 when the documented therapeutic work is removal of a loose or foreign body.
Compare 29834 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.
1 of 1 payment localities
Colorado →
Office / nonfacility
Unavailable
Facility
$475.82
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How this local rate is calculated
Each RVU component is multiplied by its own geographic practice cost index (GPCI). The three adjusted components are added, then multiplied by the conversion factor. These are the inputs used for 29834 in Colorado.
PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv
3,330
- Code
- 29834
- Physician work
- 6.26
- Practice expense
- 6.51
- Malpractice
- 1.26
GPCI2026.csv
37
- Locality
- Colorado
- Physician work
- 1.012
- Practice expense
- 1.064
- Malpractice
- 0.781
| Component | RVU | Locality factor | Adjusted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Physician work | 6.26 | × 1.012 | 6.3351 |
| Practice expense | 6.51 | × 1.064 | 6.9266 |
| Malpractice | 1.26 | × 0.781 | 0.9841 |
| Total RVUs | 14.2458 | ||
| Conversion factor | × 33.4009 | ||
Facility rate, Colorado$475.82
Explore RVUs, geographic factors and the full formula
Facility
| Component | RVU | Local GPCI |
|---|---|---|
| Work | 6.26 | 1.012 |
| Practice expense | 6.51 | 1.064 |
| Malpractice | 1.26 | 0.781 |
(6.26 × 1.012 + 6.51 × 1.064 + 1.26 × 0.781) × $33.4009 = $475.82
The office and facility calculations use their respective practice-expense RVUs. The facility amount here is the physician fee, not a separate hospital or facility bill.
29834 billing questions
How is this different from diagnostic elbow arthroscopy?
This code describes therapeutic removal of a loose or foreign body. Diagnostic elbow arthroscopy, such as 29830, is for inspection without this removal service.
When should I choose a synovectomy or debridement code instead?
Use the elbow code that matches the work documented: 29835 or 29836 for synovectomy, and 29837 or 29838 for debridement. This code is for removing a loose or foreign body.
What does the 90-day global period include?
The day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care are included in the global period.
How is bilateral elbow surgery reported?
For a bilateral procedure, report modifier 50; CMS pays this code at 150%.
Can an assistant or co-surgeon be paid?
An assistant at surgery may be paid. Co-surgeons are paid only with supporting documentation; 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.
3,32729827,,Sho arthrs srg rt8tr cuf rpr,A,,15.20,10.98,NA,10.98,,3.05,29.23,29.23,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,3,1,2,1,0,9,29805,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,32829828,,Sho arthrs srg bicp tenodsis,A,,12.83,9.85,NA,9.85,,2.58,25.26,25.26,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,3,1,2,1,0,9,29805,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,32929830,,Elbow arthroscopy,A,,5.73,6.19,NA,6.19,,1.23,13.15,13.15,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,1,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,33029834,,Elbow arthroscopy/surgery,A,,6.26,6.51,NA,6.51,,1.26,14.03,14.03,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,3,1,2,1,0,9,29830,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,33129835,,Elbow arthroscopy/surgery,A,,6.45,6.77,NA,6.77,,1.36,14.58,14.58,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,3,1,2,1,0,9,29830,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,33229836,,Elbow arthroscopy/surgery,A,,7.53,7.43,NA,7.43,,1.45,16.41,16.41,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,3,1,2,1,0,9,29830,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,33329837,,Elbow arthroscopy/surgery,A,,6.83,6.89,NA,6.89,,1.45,15.17,15.17,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,3,1,2,1,0,9,29830,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3401112,CA,69,VISALIA,1.017,1.096,0.536
3501112,CA,70,YUBA CITY,1.017,1.096,0.536
3601112,CA,75,REST OF CALIFORNIA,1.017,1.096,0.536
3704112,CO,01,COLORADO,1.012,1.064,0.781
3813102,CT,00,CONNECTICUT,1.020,1.077,1.210
3912202,DC,01,DC + MD/VA SUBURBS,1.054,1.178,1.113
4012102,DE,01,DELAWARE,1.005,0.988,0.899