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CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01

21740 Sternal reconstruction Medicare reimbursement rates in Guam

Open sternal reconstruction reshapes or rebuilds the sternum to correct a congenital or acquired chest-wall deformity, such as pectus deformity. Compare 21740 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in Guam.

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 21740 in Guam?

Guam 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

$966.54

1 of 1 localities have a supported rate.

Payment area: Hawaii, Guam

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.

Find 21740 in your payment locality →

Thoracic surgery

About 21740: Open sternal reconstruction for deformity

Open sternal reconstruction reshapes or rebuilds the sternum to correct a congenital or acquired chest-wall deformity, such as pectus deformity.

This service involves surgically reconstructing the sternum to correct a congenital or acquired deformity. It is typically performed by a thoracic surgeon in an operating room. Open reconstruction may be selected for a chest-wall deformity such as pectus excavatum or carinatum; the operative approach and extent of reconstruction distinguish it from minimally invasive repair techniques.

Report the code when the surgeon’s work reconstructs the sternum, not simply closes a separated median sternotomy. The operative report should identify the deformity, the anatomic problem addressed, and the reconstruction performed. This major surgery has a 90-day global period, including 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 others at 50%. Modifier 50 is inappropriate. An assistant at surgery may be paid; co-surgeons are paid only with supporting documentation, and team surgery is not permitted.

CMS billing rules for 21740

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 RVU17.13 · 58%
  • Practice expense (office) RVU8.19 · 28%
  • Malpractice RVU4.31 · 15%

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.

21740 compared with similar codes

Office rates for Guam, from the same CMS release.

21742

Repair stern/nuss w/o scope

No office rate

Choose 21742 for minimally invasive pectus repair performed without thoracoscopy. Code 21740 describes open sternal reconstruction.

21743

Repair sternum/nuss w/scope

No office rate

Choose 21743 for minimally invasive pectus repair performed with thoracoscopy. Code 21740 describes open sternal reconstruction.

21750

Sternal repair

Postoperative separation

No office rate

Code 21750 is for closing a separated median sternotomy. Code 21740 is for reconstructing the sternum to correct a congenital or acquired deformity.

Compare 21740 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

Office and facility base rates · shared scale starting at $0

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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 21740 in Hawaii, Guam.

PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv

2,023

Code
21740
Physician work
17.13
Practice expense
8.19
Malpractice
4.31

GPCI2026.csv

46

Locality
Hawaii, Guam
Physician work
1.000
Practice expense
1.137
Malpractice
0.579
Facility calculation for 21740 in Hawaii, Guam
ComponentRVULocality factorAdjusted
Physician work17.13× 1.00017.1300
Practice expense8.19× 1.1379.3120
Malpractice4.31× 0.5792.4955
Total RVUs28.9375
Conversion factor× 33.4009

Facility rate, Hawaii, Guam$966.54

Explore RVUs, geographic factors and the full formula

Facility

Facility calculation inputs
ComponentRVULocal GPCI
Work17.131
Practice expense8.191.137
Malpractice4.310.579

(17.13 × 1 + 8.19 × 1.137 + 4.31 × 0.579) × $33.4009 = $966.54

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.

21740 billing questions

How does this differ from the minimally invasive pectus repair codes?

This code describes open sternal reconstruction for a deformity. The minimally invasive pectus codes distinguish repair performed without thoracoscopy from repair performed with thoracoscopy.

Should this be reported for closure of a separated median sternotomy?

No. Code 21750 describes closure of median sternotomy separation; choose based on the documented procedure and indication rather than the shared sternal anatomy.

Can modifier 50 be used for bilateral reconstruction?

No. The CMS bilateral adjustment does not apply to this code, and modifier 50 is inappropriate.

What documentation supports reporting this code?

The operative report should describe the congenital or acquired sternal deformity, the reconstruction performed, and the extent of the surgical work.

How does the 90-day global period affect postoperative reporting?

The global period includes the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care. Those related services are included in the surgical global package.

What happens when another procedure is performed in the same session?

Under the standard multiple procedure reduction, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and 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 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.

RVUs for 21740PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv, line 2,023 (RVU26D)
Geographic factors for Hawaii, GuamGPCI2026.csv, line 46 (RVU26D)