No office rate
26075 addresses the metacarpophalangeal joint. Choose 26070 for a carpometacarpal joint.
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CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
26070 Hand joint arthrotomy Medicare reimbursement rates in Georgia
Open exploration, drainage, or foreign-body removal in a carpometacarpal joint is reported when the surgeon treats pathology within that joint. Compare 26070 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in Georgia.
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 26070 in Georgia?
Georgia has 2 payment localities in this comparison. Use the service location to choose the applicable amount. These are the supported base rates for the 2 payment areas shown below, using the same CMS release.
Office / nonfacility
No supported rate
Facility setting
$299.36–$320.56
2 of 2 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.
Hand surgery
About 26070: Carpometacarpal joint exploration or drainage
Open exploration, drainage, or foreign-body removal in a carpometacarpal joint is reported when the surgeon treats pathology within that joint.
This code describes an open procedure on a carpometacarpal joint of the hand to investigate the joint, drain it, or remove a foreign body. Orthopedic or hand surgeons typically perform it in an operating room when a joint problem requires direct surgical access, such as suspected joint infection or an intra-articular foreign body. The procedure concerns the joint itself, not an adjacent tendon sheath, palm bursa, or finger joint.
Select the code based on the carpometacarpal joint treated and the operative work documented. The operative report should identify the joint and describe the exploration, drainage, or foreign-body removal. These services are part of the arthrotomy rather than separate services for the same joint. Medicare assigns a 90-day global period, including the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care. When 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 identifies bilateral surgery and is paid at 150%. Medicare does not pay an assistant at surgery; co-surgeons and team surgery are not permitted.
CMS billing rules for 26070
- 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 procedure with modifier 50 is paid at 150%.
- Assistant at surgery
- Statutory restriction: assistant at surgery is not paid.
- Co-surgeons
- Co-surgeons not permitted.
- Team surgery
- Team surgery not permitted.
Where the value comes from
- Work RVU3.71 · 40%
- Practice expense (office) RVU4.98 · 53%
- Malpractice RVU0.68 · 7%
195
Medicare services in 2024 · #4343 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.
26070 compared with similar codes
Office rates for Georgia, from the same CMS release.
No office rate
26080 is for an interphalangeal joint. The joint location, rather than the general act of exploration or drainage, distinguishes it from 26070.
No office rate
26020 applies when drainage is performed on a hand tendon sheath. Use 26070 when the operative work is within a carpometacarpal joint.
Compare 26070 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.
2 of 2 payment localities
Atlanta →
Office / nonfacility
Unavailable
Facility
$320.56
Rest Of Georgia →
Office / nonfacility
Unavailable
Facility
$299.36
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26070 billing questions
How does this differ from 26075?
26070 is for an arthrotomy involving a carpometacarpal joint. Code 26075 is for the corresponding work at a metacarpophalangeal joint.
Does this code include drainage or foreign-body removal?
Yes. Exploration, drainage, or removal of a foreign body from the carpometacarpal joint is included in the reported arthrotomy; do not separately report those same-joint tasks.
When should 26020 be considered instead?
Use 26020 when the operative target is a hand tendon sheath that requires drainage, rather than the carpometacarpal joint.
What documentation supports reporting 26070?
The operative note should identify the carpometacarpal joint and document the open joint work performed, such as exploration, drainage, or foreign-body removal.
How is bilateral treatment reported?
For bilateral procedures, report modifier 50; CMS lists payment at 150%.
Can an assistant or co-surgeon be reported?
CMS lists a statutory restriction on assistant-at-surgery payment and does not permit co-surgeons or team surgery for this code.
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.
2,53626045,,Release palm contracture,A,,5.59,6.87,NA,6.87,,1.11,13.57,13.57,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,1,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,53726055,,Incise finger tendon sheath,A,,3.03,15.24,,5.00,,0.58,18.85,8.61,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,53826060,,Incision of finger tendon,A,,2.84,4.00,NA,4.00,,0.45,7.29,7.29,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,0,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,53926070,,Explore/treat hand joint,A,,3.71,4.98,NA,4.98,,0.68,9.37,9.37,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,1,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,54026075,,Explore/treat finger joint,A,,3.81,5.34,NA,5.34,,0.73,9.88,9.88,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,1,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,54126080,,Explore/treat finger joint,A,,4.36,6.41,NA,6.41,,0.84,11.61,11.61,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,54226100,,Biopsy hand joint lining,A,,3.70,5.65,NA,5.65,,0.79,10.14,10.14,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,1,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00