No office rate
Use 44900 for open drainage of the appendiceal abscess; use 44960 when the operation includes appendectomy for rupture with abscess or generalized peritonitis.
On this page
CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
44900 Abscess drainage Medicare reimbursement rates in Florida
Report open incision and drainage when a surgeon treats a contained abscess arising from appendicitis without describing appendectomy as the procedure performed. Compare 44900 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in Florida.
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 44900 in Florida?
Florida has 3 payment localities in this comparison. Use the service location to choose the applicable amount. These are the supported base rates for the 3 payment areas shown below, using the same CMS release.
Office / nonfacility
No supported rate
Facility setting
$788.87–$920.07
3 of 3 localities have a supported rate.
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 44900 pays more and less in Florida
General surgery
About 44900: Open drainage of appendiceal abscess
Report open incision and drainage when a surgeon treats a contained abscess arising from appendicitis without describing appendectomy as the procedure performed.
This code describes an operation to open and drain an abscess associated with the appendix through an open approach. A general surgeon typically performs it in a hospital operating room when appendicitis has led to a localized collection and the operative plan is drainage rather than removal of the appendix. The operative report should identify the appendiceal abscess and document the open drainage performed.
Report the code when the documented operation matches open drainage; do not select it for appendectomy alone. It has a 90-day global period that 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. Modifier 50 is not appropriate for the single appendix. An assistant at surgery may be paid; co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation, and team surgery is not permitted.
CMS billing rules for 44900
- 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 RVU12.26 · 55%
- Practice expense (office) RVU6.74 · 30%
- Malpractice RVU3.27 · 15%
26
Medicare services in 2024 · #5759 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.
44900 compared with similar codes
Office rates for Florida, from the same CMS release.
No office rate
44950 describes appendectomy, while 44900 describes open drainage of an appendiceal abscess. Base selection on the operative service documented.
No office rate
44970 describes laparoscopic appendectomy. It is not the open abscess-drainage service represented by 44900.
Compare 44900 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.
3 of 3 payment localities
Fort Lauderdale →
Office / nonfacility
Unavailable
Facility
$835.02
Miami →
Office / nonfacility
Unavailable
Facility
$920.07
Rest Of Florida →
Office / nonfacility
Unavailable
Facility
$788.87
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44900 billing questions
How does 44900 differ from 44960?
44900 describes open drainage of an appendiceal abscess. Choose 44960 when the operative service includes appendectomy for a ruptured appendix with abscess or generalized peritonitis.
What documentation supports 44900?
The operative report should identify the appendiceal abscess, state that the surgeon used an open approach, and describe the incision and drainage performed.
Can 44900 be reported with an appendectomy code?
Do not use 44900 as a substitute for the appendectomy code when the appendix is removed. The operative report must support the procedure or procedures actually performed; same-session procedures are subject to the multiple-procedure payment rule.
Can modifier 50 be used for 44900?
No. The operation concerns the single appendix, so modifier 50 is not appropriate.
What postoperative care is included?
The 90-day global period includes the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care.
Can an assistant or co-surgeon be paid?
Assistant-at-surgery payment may be made. Co-surgeon payment requires 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.
5,45044820,,Excision of mesentery lesion,A,,13.39,7.23,NA,7.23,,3.58,24.20,24.20,0,090,0.09,0.81,0.10,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
5,45144850,,Repair of mesentery,A,,11.81,6.52,NA,6.52,,2.91,21.24,21.24,0,090,0.09,0.81,0.10,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
5,45244899,,Unlisted px meckel's dvrtclm,C,,0.00,0.00,,0.00,,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,YYY,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,0,2,1,1,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
5,45344900,,I&d appendix abscess open,A,,12.26,6.74,NA,6.74,,3.27,22.27,22.27,0,090,0.09,0.81,0.10,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
5,45444950,,Appendectomy,A,,10.34,5.18,NA,5.18,,2.61,18.13,18.13,0,090,0.09,0.81,0.10,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
5,45544955,,Appendectomy add-on,A,,1.49,0.39,NA,0.39,,0.36,2.24,2.24,0,ZZZ,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
5,45644960,,Appendectomy,A,,14.14,6.88,NA,6.88,,3.68,24.70,24.70,0,090,0.09,0.81,0.10,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00