No office rate
Choose 44010 for a duodenal incision for exploration, biopsy, or foreign-body removal; 44020 applies to the small intestine beyond the duodenum.
On this page
CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
44010 Duodenotomy Medicare reimbursement rates in Delaware
A surgeon opens the duodenum to inspect its lumen, obtain tissue, or remove an intraluminal foreign body when an incision is required. Compare 44010 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 44010 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
$773.24
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.
Gastrointestinal surgery
About 44010: Duodenotomy for exploration or removal
A surgeon opens the duodenum to inspect its lumen, obtain tissue, or remove an intraluminal foreign body when an incision is required.
This service is an operative incision into the duodenum to examine its lumen, take a biopsy, or remove a foreign body. A general or gastrointestinal surgeon typically performs it in a hospital operating room, often during an open abdominal operation. The code is specific to the duodenum; an equivalent incision in the small intestine beyond the duodenum is reported with a different code.
Report 44010 when the operative record supports a duodenal incision for exploration, tissue sampling, or foreign-body removal. Documentation should identify the duodenal site and the purpose and findings of the incision. The code has a 90-day global period, including the day-before preoperative visit and related postoperative care through day 90. 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 50% multiple-procedure reduction. Assistant-at-surgery payment may be available; co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation, and team surgery is not permitted. Modifier 50 is inappropriate for this code.
CMS billing rules for 44010
- 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 adjustment does not apply; the descriptor or anatomy makes modifier 50 inappropriate.
- 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 RVU13.90 · 59%
- Practice expense (office) RVU6.89 · 29%
- Malpractice RVU2.64 · 11%
117
Medicare services in 2024 · #4761 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.
44010 compared with similar codes
Office rates for Delaware, from the same CMS release.
No office rate
44021 is for small-bowel decompression. It is not the code for a duodenal incision made to explore, obtain a biopsy, or remove a foreign body.
No office rate
44025 concerns an incision into the large bowel; 44010 is limited to the duodenum.
No office rate
44120 describes small-intestine resection with anastomosis. Use 44010 when the duodenum is incised for exploration, biopsy, or foreign-body removal rather than resected.
Compare 44010 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
$773.24
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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 44010 in Delaware.
PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv
5,325
- Code
- 44010
- Physician work
- 13.90
- Practice expense
- 6.89
- Malpractice
- 2.64
GPCI2026.csv
40
- Locality
- Delaware
- Physician work
- 1.005
- Practice expense
- 0.988
- Malpractice
- 0.899
| Component | RVU | Locality factor | Adjusted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Physician work | 13.90 | × 1.005 | 13.9695 |
| Practice expense | 6.89 | × 0.988 | 6.8073 |
| Malpractice | 2.64 | × 0.899 | 2.3734 |
| Total RVUs | 23.1502 | ||
| Conversion factor | × 33.4009 | ||
Facility rate, Delaware$773.24
Explore RVUs, geographic factors and the full formula
Facility
| Component | RVU | Local GPCI |
|---|---|---|
| Work | 13.9 | 1.005 |
| Practice expense | 6.89 | 0.988 |
| Malpractice | 2.64 | 0.899 |
(13.9 × 1.005 + 6.89 × 0.988 + 2.64 × 0.899) × $33.4009 = $773.24
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.
44010 billing questions
How is 44010 different from 44020?
44010 is for an incision into the duodenum. Use 44020 for the corresponding exploration, biopsy, or foreign-body removal incision in small intestine beyond the duodenum.
Is 44010 the right code when the duodenum is opened for decompression?
No. 44010 describes a duodenal incision for exploration, biopsy, or foreign-body removal. Code 44021 describes small-bowel decompression, a different service.
Can the incision and closure be billed separately?
The incision and its closure are part of the reported operative service. The record should establish the duodenal site and the reason the incision was made.
Should modifier 50 be appended?
No. Bilateral adjustment is inappropriate for this code and its anatomy.
How does the multiple-procedure reduction affect 44010?
For procedures performed in the same session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and the other procedures are subject to the standard 50% reduction.
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.
5,32243999,,Unlisted procedure stomach,C,,0.00,0.00,,0.00,,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,YYY,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,0,0,1,1,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
5,32344005,,Freeing of bowel adhesion,A,,18.00,8.01,NA,8.01,,4.54,30.55,30.55,0,090,0.09,0.81,0.10,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
5,3244400F,,Rehab thxpy options w/pt,I,,0.00,0.00,,0.00,,0.00,0.00,0.00,9,XXX,0.00,0.00,0.00,9,9,9,9,9,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
5,32544010,,Incision of small bowel,A,,13.90,6.89,NA,6.89,,2.64,23.43,23.43,0,090,0.09,0.81,0.10,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
5,32644015,,Insert needle cath bowel,A,,2.55,0.62,NA,0.62,,0.62,3.79,3.79,0,ZZZ,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
5,32744020,,Explore small intestine,A,,15.81,7.56,NA,7.56,,4.03,27.40,27.40,0,090,0.09,0.81,0.10,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
5,32844021,,Decompress small bowel,A,,15.90,7.35,NA,7.35,,3.96,27.21,27.21,0,090,0.09,0.81,0.10,2,0,2,1,0,9,,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