No office rate
Use 29885 for drilling for osteochondritis dissecans. Code 29886 is associated with drilling for an osteochondral lesion; follow the documented lesion and procedure.
On this page
CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
29886 Knee arthroscopy Medicare reimbursement rates in Illinois
Reports arthroscopic drilling of an osteochondral lesion in the knee to stimulate healing, when the documented procedure matches this lesion-specific code. Compare 29886 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in Illinois.
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 29886 in Illinois?
Illinois has 4 payment localities in this comparison. Use the service location to choose the applicable amount. These are the supported base rates for the 4 payment areas shown below, using the same CMS release.
Office / nonfacility
No supported rate
Facility setting
$614.54–$684.30
4 of 4 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 29886 pays more and less in Illinois
Orthopedic surgery
About 29886: Arthroscopic knee osteochondral lesion drilling
Reports arthroscopic drilling of an osteochondral lesion in the knee to stimulate healing, when the documented procedure matches this lesion-specific code.
An orthopedic surgeon performs this procedure through a knee arthroscope, using instruments to drill into a focal osteochondral lesion. The drilling is intended to stimulate a healing response in the affected area. It is typically performed in an operating room for a patient with a symptomatic lesion identified through clinical evaluation and imaging, then assessed during arthroscopy. The operative report should identify the lesion and site, describe the drilling performed, and document any fixation or other treatment undertaken.
Choose this code when the documented arthroscopic work matches drilling for an osteochondral lesion; distinguish it from codes for osteochondritis dissecans drilling and drilling with fixation. This is a major surgery code with a 90-day global period, including the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care. When related endoscopies are performed together, endoscopy family pricing applies. For bilateral procedures, modifier 50 is paid at 150%. Medicare does not pay an assistant at surgery, and co-surgeons and team surgery are not permitted.
CMS billing rules for 29886
- 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
- Endoscopy family pricing applies when related endoscopies are performed together.
- 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 RVU8.28 · 46%
- Practice expense (office) RVU8.07 · 45%
- Malpractice RVU1.76 · 10%
30
Medicare services in 2024 · #5667 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.
29886 compared with similar codes
Office rates for Illinois, from the same CMS release.
No office rate
Code 29887 is associated with drilling an osteochondral defect with fixation. Code 29886 describes osteochondral lesion drilling; the operative report should establish whether fixation was performed.
No office rate
Code 29879 describes arthroscopic abrasion arthroplasty, a different cartilage-treatment technique. Select according to the procedure actually performed, not simply the presence of a cartilage lesion.
Compare 29886 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.
4 of 4 payment localities
Chicago →
Office / nonfacility
Unavailable
Facility
$684.30
East St. Louis →
Office / nonfacility
Unavailable
Facility
$642.94
Rest Of Illinois →
Office / nonfacility
Unavailable
Facility
$614.54
Suburban Chicago →
Office / nonfacility
Unavailable
Facility
$659.49
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29886 billing questions
How does this code differ from 29885?
Code 29886 is identified with drilling for an osteochondral lesion. Code 29885 is the neighboring code for drilling for osteochondritis dissecans; choose based on the lesion and procedure documented.
When would 29887 be considered instead?
Consider 29887 when the operative documentation supports drilling of an osteochondral defect with fixation. The documentation should make clear whether fixation was performed.
What documentation supports reporting 29886?
Document the knee and lesion site, the arthroscopic findings, and the drilling performed. Include the operative technique and any fixation or additional treatment.
How is bilateral treatment reported?
For a bilateral procedure, report modifier 50; CMS pays the bilateral procedure at 150%.
Can an assistant or co-surgeon be paid for this procedure?
CMS does not pay an assistant at surgery for this code. Co-surgeons and team surgery are not permitted.
What postoperative care is included?
The 90-day global period includes the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care.
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.
3,36429883,,Arthrs kne srg mnisc rpr m&l,A,,11.48,9.64,NA,9.64,,2.41,23.53,23.53,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,3,1,0,0,0,9,29870,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,36529884,,Arthrs knee surg lysis ads,A,,8.07,7.82,NA,7.82,,1.66,17.55,17.55,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,3,1,2,1,0,9,29870,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,36629885,,Arthrs kne srg drlg ost diss,A,,9.95,9.26,NA,9.26,,2.12,21.33,21.33,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,3,1,2,1,0,9,29870,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,36729886,,Arthrs knee surg drlg od les,A,,8.28,8.07,NA,8.07,,1.76,18.11,18.11,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,3,1,1,0,0,9,29870,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,36829887,,Arthrs knee srg drlg od fixj,A,,9.91,9.25,NA,9.25,,2.11,21.27,21.27,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,3,1,2,1,0,9,29870,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,36929888,,Arthrs aid acl rpr/agmntj,A,,13.94,9.95,NA,9.95,,2.74,26.63,26.63,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,1,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,37029889,,Arthrs aid pcl rpr/agmntj,A,,16.97,13.32,NA,13.32,,3.61,33.90,33.90,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,1,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00