No office rate
Choose 29880 when meniscectomy is performed on both menisci in one knee; 29881 is for one meniscus.
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CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
29880 Knee meniscectomy Medicare reimbursement rates in Indiana
Reports arthroscopic removal of damaged tissue from both the medial and lateral menisci in one knee, with cartilage smoothing included when performed. Compare 29880 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in Indiana.
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 29880 in Indiana?
Indiana 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
$490.09
1 of 1 localities have a supported rate.
Payment area: Indiana
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.
Orthopedic surgery
About 29880: Arthroscopic medial and lateral meniscectomy
Reports arthroscopic removal of damaged tissue from both the medial and lateral menisci in one knee, with cartilage smoothing included when performed.
An orthopedic surgeon uses a knee arthroscope and instruments through small incisions to remove damaged portions of both menisci in the same knee. This is commonly performed for meniscal tears that are treated by resection rather than repair. If the surgeon also smooths damaged articular cartilage during the procedure, that work is included. A repair of one or both menisci is a different service.
Report this code once for the knee when operative documentation supports work on both the medial and lateral menisci; identify the treated side and describe the findings and tissue removed. A 90-day global period includes the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care. When related endoscopies are performed together, endoscopy family pricing applies. For bilateral knee procedures, modifier 50 is paid at 150%. Assistant-at-surgery payment requires medical-necessity documentation, and co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation; team surgery is not permitted.
CMS billing rules for 29880
- 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
- Assistant at surgery is paid only with documentation of medical necessity.
- Co-surgeons
- Co-surgeons paid only with supporting documentation.
- Team surgery
- Team surgery not permitted.
Where the value comes from
- Work RVU7.21 · 45%
- Practice expense (office) RVU7.28 · 46%
- Malpractice RVU1.47 · 9%
39.1K
Medicare services in 2024 · #881 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.
29880 compared with similar codes
Office rates for Indiana, from the same CMS release.
No office rate
29882 reports arthroscopic repair of one meniscus. This code reports meniscectomy of both menisci, not repair.
No office rate
29883 reports arthroscopic repair of both menisci. Use this code when both menisci are treated by resection instead.
No office rate
29877 describes arthroscopic cartilage debridement. Cartilage smoothing performed during this meniscectomy is included, not separately reported as 29877.
Compare 29880 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
Indiana →
Office / nonfacility
Unavailable
Facility
$490.09
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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 29880 in Indiana.
PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv
3,361
- Code
- 29880
- Physician work
- 7.21
- Practice expense
- 7.28
- Malpractice
- 1.47
GPCI2026.csv
52
- Locality
- Indiana
- Physician work
- 1.000
- Practice expense
- 0.927
- Malpractice
- 0.486
| Component | RVU | Locality factor | Adjusted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Physician work | 7.21 | × 1.000 | 7.2100 |
| Practice expense | 7.28 | × 0.927 | 6.7486 |
| Malpractice | 1.47 | × 0.486 | 0.7144 |
| Total RVUs | 14.6730 | ||
| Conversion factor | × 33.4009 | ||
Facility rate, Indiana$490.09
Explore RVUs, geographic factors and the full formula
Facility
| Component | RVU | Local GPCI |
|---|---|---|
| Work | 7.21 | 1 |
| Practice expense | 7.28 | 0.927 |
| Malpractice | 1.47 | 0.486 |
(7.21 × 1 + 7.28 × 0.927 + 1.47 × 0.486) × $33.4009 = $490.09
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.
29880 billing questions
When should this code be selected instead of 29881?
Use this code when the surgeon performs meniscectomy on both the medial and lateral menisci in the same knee. Code 29881 describes work on one meniscus.
Can cartilage smoothing be reported separately?
No. Cartilage debridement or smoothing performed during this meniscectomy is included in the service.
How is work on both knees reported?
For bilateral procedures, report modifier 50; CMS pays the bilateral procedure at 150%.
What documentation supports reporting this code?
Document the knee side, the medial and lateral meniscal findings, and the resection performed on each meniscus. The operative report should distinguish resection from meniscal repair.
Can an assistant or co-surgeon be paid?
Assistant-at-surgery payment requires documentation of medical necessity. Co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation, and team surgery is 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.
3,35829876,,Arthrs knee surg synvct maj,A,,8.65,7.99,NA,7.99,,1.77,18.41,18.41,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,3,1,1,0,0,9,29870,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,35929877,,Arthrs knee surg dbrdmt/shvg,A,,8.09,7.82,NA,7.82,,1.66,17.57,17.57,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,3,1,0,0,0,9,29870,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,36029879,,Arthrs kne srg abrasj arthrp,A,,8.77,8.07,NA,8.07,,1.82,18.66,18.66,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,3,1,0,0,0,9,29870,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,36129880,,Arthrs kne srg mnisectmy m&l,A,,7.21,7.28,NA,7.28,,1.47,15.96,15.96,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,3,1,0,1,0,9,29870,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,36229881,,Arthrs kne srg mnisectmy m/l,A,,6.85,7.19,NA,7.19,,1.40,15.44,15.44,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,3,1,0,0,0,9,29870,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,36329882,,Arthrs kne srg mnisc rpr m/l,A,,9.36,8.00,NA,8.00,,1.86,19.22,19.22,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,3,1,1,0,0,9,29870,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,36429883,,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
4906102,IL,12,EAST ST. LOUIS,1.000,0.920,2.014
5006102,IL,15,SUBURBAN CHICAGO,1.007,1.027,1.772
5106102,IL,99,REST OF ILLINOIS,1.000,0.913,1.563
5208102,IN,00,INDIANA,1.000,0.927,0.486
5305102,IA,00,IOWA,1.000,0.915,0.397
5405202,KS,00,KANSAS,1.000,0.904,0.504
5515102,KY,00,KENTUCKY,1.000,0.889,0.915