No office rate
Both codes describe thigh/knee decompression services. Use the full descriptors and operative documentation to identify which specific service was performed.
On this page
CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
27498 Fasciotomy Medicare reimbursement rates in Iowa
Reports operative decompression of the thigh or knee by releasing constricting fascia, such as for compartment pressure requiring surgical relief. Compare 27498 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in Iowa.
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 27498 in Iowa?
Iowa 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
$564.80
1 of 1 localities have a supported rate.
Payment area: Iowa
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 27498: Thigh or knee compartment decompression
Reports operative decompression of the thigh or knee by releasing constricting fascia, such as for compartment pressure requiring surgical relief.
A surgeon releases constricting fascia in the thigh or around the knee to relieve pressure within the affected area. This type of operation may be performed for acute compartment syndrome, including after trauma or another operation, in a hospital or other surgical facility. The operative report should identify the treated anatomy, the decompression performed, and the clinical reason for relieving pressure.
Report 27498 when the documented thigh or knee procedure matches this code’s specific service, rather than selecting a neighboring code from the brief descriptor alone. The record should make the treated site and operative work clear enough to distinguish this service from other compartment-decompression options. Medicare treats it as major surgery: the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care are included. When multiple procedures are performed in one session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and other procedures are subject to the standard 50% reduction. Bilateral reporting with modifier 50 is paid at 150%. An assistant at surgery may be paid, and co-surgeons are permitted; team surgery is not permitted.
CMS billing rules for 27498
- 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
- Assistant at surgery may be paid.
- Co-surgeons
- Co-surgeons permitted.
- Team surgery
- Team surgery not permitted.
Where the value comes from
- Work RVU8.44 · 45%
- Practice expense (office) RVU8.48 · 45%
- Malpractice RVU1.79 · 10%
80
Medicare services in 2024 · #5048 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.
27498 compared with similar codes
Office rates for Iowa, from the same CMS release.
No office rate
This is another code in the thigh/knee decompression family. The operative details, not the shared short descriptor, determine the appropriate family member.
No office rate
27498 is a listed thigh/knee decompression code; 27499 is the unlisted femur or knee option when no listed procedure code fits.
No office rate
27602 concerns decompression of leg compartments. 27498 concerns the thigh or knee region.
Compare 27498 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
Iowa →
Office / nonfacility
Unavailable
Facility
$564.80
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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 27498 in Iowa.
PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv
2,920
- Code
- 27498
- Physician work
- 8.44
- Practice expense
- 8.48
- Malpractice
- 1.79
GPCI2026.csv
53
- Locality
- Iowa
- Physician work
- 1.000
- Practice expense
- 0.915
- Malpractice
- 0.397
| Component | RVU | Locality factor | Adjusted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Physician work | 8.44 | × 1.000 | 8.4400 |
| Practice expense | 8.48 | × 0.915 | 7.7592 |
| Malpractice | 1.79 | × 0.397 | 0.7106 |
| Total RVUs | 16.9098 | ||
| Conversion factor | × 33.4009 | ||
Facility rate, Iowa$564.80
Explore RVUs, geographic factors and the full formula
Facility
| Component | RVU | Local GPCI |
|---|---|---|
| Work | 8.44 | 1 |
| Practice expense | 8.48 | 0.915 |
| Malpractice | 1.79 | 0.397 |
(8.44 × 1 + 8.48 × 0.915 + 1.79 × 0.397) × $33.4009 = $564.80
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.
27498 billing questions
How should 27498 be distinguished from 27496 or 27497?
All are in the thigh/knee decompression family. Compare the specific service documented in the operative report with each code’s full descriptor; the short CMS label alone does not establish the distinction.
What documentation supports reporting 27498?
Document the thigh or knee anatomy treated, the operative decompression performed, and the clinical reason for relieving pressure. The operative details should support this code rather than another option in the decompression family.
Does the Medicare global period include postoperative care?
Yes. The day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care are included in the major-surgery global period.
How does Medicare handle bilateral reporting?
When the procedure is performed bilaterally and reported with modifier 50, Medicare pays it at 150%.
Can an assistant or co-surgeon be reported?
An assistant at surgery may be paid, and co-surgeons are permitted. Team surgery is not permitted for this code.
What happens if another procedure is performed in the same session?
The highest-valued procedure is paid in full, and other procedures are subject to the standard multiple-procedure reduction, with payment 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.
2,91727495,,Reinforce thigh,A,,16.13,11.45,NA,11.45,,3.43,31.01,31.01,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,1,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,91827496,,Decompression of thigh/knee,A,,6.61,7.89,NA,7.89,,1.40,15.90,15.90,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,1,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,91927497,,Decompression of thigh/knee,A,,7.60,7.30,NA,7.30,,1.62,16.52,16.52,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,1,0,2,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,92027498,,Decompression of thigh/knee,A,,8.44,8.48,NA,8.48,,1.79,18.71,18.71,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,1,2,2,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,92127499,,Decompression of thigh/knee,A,,9.19,8.72,NA,8.72,,1.96,19.87,19.87,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,1,2,2,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,92227500,,Treatment of thigh fracture,A,,6.14,9.75,,6.47,,1.31,17.20,13.92,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,1,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,92327501,,Treatment of thigh fracture,A,,6.29,8.87,,6.75,,1.32,16.48,14.36,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,1,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
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
5607202,LA,01,NEW ORLEANS,1.000,0.941,1.136