Billing code 31600: TracheostomyMedicare rate & RVUs in Delaware
Reports planned surgical creation of a tracheal airway for a patient age two or older, rather than an emergency airway procedure.
CMS doesn’t publish an office rate for 31600 in Delaware.
Medicare allowed amount for participating (non-QP) physicians, before deductible, coinsurance and claim adjustments. Not a patient’s bill or a hospital charge.
On this page 9 sections
What 31600 covers
This service creates an airway through the front of the neck into the trachea and places a tracheostomy tube. It is performed by a surgeon, commonly an otolaryngologist, general surgeon, or thoracic surgeon, in an operating room or another controlled setting. Typical situations include anticipated prolonged ventilatory support, upper-airway obstruction, or airway access needed for planned treatment.
Select this code for a planned procedure in a patient age two or older; the patient’s age and whether the airway was created electively or in an emergency distinguish it from nearby tracheostomy codes. The operative report should support the indication, planned approach, tracheal opening, and tube placement. The 0-day global period includes same-day preoperative and postoperative care. When multiple procedures are performed in the same session, Medicare pays the highest-valued procedure in full and reduces the others to 50%. Medicare does not pay an assistant at surgery for this code; co-surgeons and team surgery are not permitted.
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.
31600 in Delaware
| Payment locality | Office | Facility |
|---|---|---|
| Delaware | Unavailable | $269.84 |
How the 31600 rate is calculated
Each of 31600’s three RVUs is multiplied by a geographic index (GPCI) for the payment locality, added up, and multiplied by the conversion factor. Drag the indexes or enter a ZIP to see what moves the rate.
How the rate is built · 31600
RVUs × geographic indexes × conversion factor
Swap in your local Medicare rate.
Work 5.42Practice expense 1.69Malpractice 1.07
All indexes start at 1.000 (the national rate). Enter a ZIP or drag a slider.
Payment rules and modifiers for 31600
The CMS indicators that decide how 31600 is paid alongside other services.
CMS payment indicators · 31600
Tracheostomy
| Rule | CMS value | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Global period | 000 | Same-day global: pre- and post-op care on the day of the procedure is included. |
| Multiple procedures | 2 | Standard reduction: highest-valued procedure at 100%, others at 50%. |
| Bilateral (modifier 50) | 0 | The 150% bilateral adjustment doesn’t apply. |
| Assistant at surgery (80/81/82/AS) | 1 | Not paid (statutory restriction). |
| Co-surgeons (62) | 0 | Not permitted. |
| Team surgery (66) | 0 | Not permitted. |
| Professional/technical | 0 | Physician service: no professional/technical split. |
What modifiers do to the payment
Modifier 51 · payment effect
With and without the modifier
31600 without 51 · national facility
$273.22
Tracheostomy
31600-51 · Second procedure: 50%
$136.61
When this isn’t the highest-valued procedure in the session, Medicare pays 50% of its fee schedule amount (the highest is paid at 100%).
31600 compared with similar codes
Compare codes
31600 vs 31601 vs 31603 vs 31605: national Medicare rates
Swap in your local Medicare rate.
How to choose
- 31601Tracheostomy
- Choose 31601 for a planned tracheostomy in a patient younger than two years. Code 31600 is for patients age two or older.
- 31603Emergency tracheostomy
- Choose 31603 for emergency tracheostomy through the trachea. Code 31600 describes a planned procedure.
- 31605Emergency airway
- Choose 31605 for emergency airway access through the cricothyroid membrane. Code 31600 is a planned tracheostomy through the trachea.
31600 billing questions
How does this code differ from 31601?
Both describe planned surgical tracheostomy, but 31600 is for patients age two or older. Code 31601 is for patients younger than two.
When should an emergency tracheostomy code be used instead?
Use an emergency code when the airway is created urgently rather than as a planned procedure. Code 31603 describes an emergency tracheostomy through the trachea; 31605 describes an emergency airway through the cricothyroid membrane.
Is the tracheostomy tube placement included?
Yes. Placement of the tube through the surgically created tracheal opening is part of the service.
Can an assistant surgeon be billed for this procedure?
Medicare does not pay an assistant at surgery for 31600. Co-surgeon and team-surgery billing are also not permitted for this code.
How does the multiple-procedure reduction affect 31600?
When it is performed with other procedures in the same session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and the other procedures are paid 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 indexes and the conversion factor. Services without a published rate are labeled, never given a made-up amount. Amounts are Medicare allowed amounts before claim adjustments: not a patient’s bill or a commercial rate.
CMS RVU26D · effective Oct 1, 2026 through the day before Jan 1, 2027
Show the CMS file lines behind this rate
Fee sheets
Put 31600 and the rest of your codes on one sheet
Build a fee sheet from your own code list at your locality, put your payer contracts beside Medicare, and see what changed each quarter.
Build my fee sheetOr price your code list free →