No office rate
Use 29822 for limited arthroscopic debridement; 29826 describes subacromial decompression with acromial bone work, not simply tissue cleanup.
On this page
CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
29826 Shoulder decompression Medicare reimbursement rates in Delaware
Reports arthroscopic subacromial decompression, including partial acromioplasty, when performed with an eligible primary shoulder arthroscopy for impingement. Compare 29826 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in Delaware.
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 29826 in Delaware?
Delaware 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
$145.80
1 of 1 localities have a supported rate.
Payment area: Delaware
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 29826: Arthroscopic shoulder decompression
Reports arthroscopic subacromial decompression, including partial acromioplasty, when performed with an eligible primary shoulder arthroscopy for impingement.
An orthopedic surgeon uses a shoulder arthroscope and instruments to create more room in the subacromial space, typically by removing part of the acromion’s undersurface; release of the coracoacromial ligament may also be performed. The service is commonly part of arthroscopic treatment of shoulder impingement and may accompany procedures such as rotator cuff repair or distal clavicle excision.
Code 29826 is an add-on, not a stand-alone arthroscopy service. Report it with an eligible primary shoulder arthroscopy and document the decompression performed, including the acromial work and any ligament release. CMS pays it within the primary procedure’s global period. For a bilateral procedure reported with modifier 50, CMS pays 150% under the stated bilateral rule.
CMS billing rules for 29826
- Global period
- Add-on code: billed only together with a primary procedure and paid within that procedure's global period.
- Bilateral procedures
- Bilateral procedure with modifier 50 is paid at 150%.
Where the value comes from
- Work RVU2.93 · 66%
- Practice expense (office) RVU0.91 · 21%
- Malpractice RVU0.58 · 13%
88.1K
Medicare services in 2024 · #601 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.
29826 compared with similar codes
Office rates for Delaware, from the same CMS release.
No office rate
Use 29823 for extensive arthroscopic debridement. It does not represent the acromial decompression service captured by 29826.
No office rate
29824 is for arthroscopic distal clavicle excision. It may be a primary procedure paired with 29826, but it describes different bone work.
No office rate
29827 describes arthroscopic rotator cuff repair. Add 29826 only when subacromial decompression is also performed and documented.
Compare 29826 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
Delaware →
Office / nonfacility
Unavailable
Facility
$145.80
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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 29826 in Delaware.
PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv
3,326
- Code
- 29826
- Physician work
- 2.93
- Practice expense
- 0.91
- Malpractice
- 0.58
GPCI2026.csv
40
- Locality
- Delaware
- Physician work
- 1.005
- Practice expense
- 0.988
- Malpractice
- 0.899
| Component | RVU | Locality factor | Adjusted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Physician work | 2.93 | × 1.005 | 2.9446 |
| Practice expense | 0.91 | × 0.988 | 0.8991 |
| Malpractice | 0.58 | × 0.899 | 0.5214 |
| Total RVUs | 4.3651 | ||
| Conversion factor | × 33.4009 | ||
Facility rate, Delaware$145.80
Explore RVUs, geographic factors and the full formula
Facility
| Component | RVU | Local GPCI |
|---|---|---|
| Work | 2.93 | 1.005 |
| Practice expense | 0.91 | 0.988 |
| Malpractice | 0.58 | 0.899 |
(2.93 × 1.005 + 0.91 × 0.988 + 0.58 × 0.899) × $33.4009 = $145.80
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.
29826 billing questions
Can 29826 be reported by itself?
No. It is an add-on code and must be reported with an eligible primary shoulder arthroscopy.
Can 29826 be reported with a rotator cuff repair?
Yes. It may be reported with 29827 when the surgeon also performs and documents the subacromial decompression.
How is 29826 different from 29822 or 29823?
29826 represents subacromial decompression with acromial bone work, while 29822 and 29823 represent limited or extensive arthroscopic debridement.
What should the operative report support?
Document the subacromial decompression, including the acromial work and whether the coracoacromial ligament was released, as well as the separately reportable primary arthroscopy.
How is a bilateral procedure reported under the CMS rule?
Report modifier 50 for the bilateral procedure; CMS pays 150% under the stated bilateral rule.
Is 29826 paid outside the primary procedure's global period?
No. CMS identifies this add-on as paid within the global period of its primary procedure.
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.
3,32329823,,Sho arthrs srg xtnsv dbrdmt,A,,7.78,7.39,NA,7.39,,1.56,16.73,16.73,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,3,1,2,1,0,9,29805,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,32429824,,Sho arthrs srg dstl claviclc,A,,8.76,8.61,NA,8.61,,1.76,19.13,19.13,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,3,1,2,1,0,9,29805,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,32529825,,Sho arthrs srg lss&rescj ads,A,,7.60,7.45,NA,7.45,,1.52,16.57,16.57,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,3,1,2,1,0,9,29805,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,32629826,,Sho arthrs srg decompression,A,,2.93,0.91,NA,0.91,,0.58,4.42,4.42,0,ZZZ,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,1,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
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
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
4109102,FL,03,FORT LAUDERDALE,1.000,1.013,1.808
4209102,FL,04,MIAMI,1.000,1.041,2.529
4309102,FL,99,REST OF FLORIDA,1.000,0.956,1.503