No office rate
29821 is for complete synovectomy; 29820 describes partial synovial removal. Use the operative report's documented extent to distinguish them.
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CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
29820 Shoulder synovectomy Medicare reimbursement rates in Iowa
Arthroscopic partial synovectomy removes a limited amount of inflamed shoulder-joint synovium as therapeutic treatment during shoulder surgery. Compare 29820 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 29820 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
$455.64
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 29820: Shoulder arthroscopic partial synovectomy
Arthroscopic partial synovectomy removes a limited amount of inflamed shoulder-joint synovium as therapeutic treatment during shoulder surgery.
During shoulder arthroscopy, the surgeon removes a portion of abnormal synovial lining to treat active synovitis. The lining may be thickened and inflamed in conditions such as inflammatory arthritis or degenerative shoulder disease. An orthopedic surgeon performs the procedure with an arthroscope and instruments through small portals, commonly in a hospital outpatient department or ambulatory surgery center. This is therapeutic tissue removal, not simply inspection or biopsy.
Report 29820 when the operative note supports partial synovectomy and identifies the synovium treated and work performed; synovitis noted during inspection alone is not enough. Distinguish partial removal from complete synovectomy. Diagnostic inspection that is part of the same surgical arthroscopy is not separately reported. CMS assigns a 90-day global period, including the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care. Endoscopy-family pricing applies when related endoscopies are performed together. For bilateral surgery, modifier 50 is paid at 150%. Assistant-at-surgery payment may be available; co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation, and team surgery is not permitted.
CMS billing rules for 29820
- 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 may be paid.
- Co-surgeons
- Co-surgeons paid only with supporting documentation.
- Team surgery
- Team surgery not permitted.
Where the value comes from
- Work RVU7.03 · 47%
- Practice expense (office) RVU6.64 · 44%
- Malpractice RVU1.35 · 9%
584
Medicare services in 2024 · #3417 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.
29820 compared with similar codes
Office rates for Iowa, from the same CMS release.
No office rate
29822 describes limited shoulder debridement, not partial synovectomy. Do not use it merely because synovial tissue was removed.
No office rate
29823 describes extensive shoulder debridement. It is not selected based only on the amount of synovium removed.
No office rate
29805 is diagnostic shoulder arthroscopy, with or without synovial biopsy. Use 29820 when the surgeon therapeutically removes part of the synovium.
Compare 29820 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
$455.64
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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 29820 in Iowa.
PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv
3,320
- Code
- 29820
- Physician work
- 7.03
- Practice expense
- 6.64
- Malpractice
- 1.35
GPCI2026.csv
53
- Locality
- Iowa
- Physician work
- 1.000
- Practice expense
- 0.915
- Malpractice
- 0.397
| Component | RVU | Locality factor | Adjusted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Physician work | 7.03 | × 1.000 | 7.0300 |
| Practice expense | 6.64 | × 0.915 | 6.0756 |
| Malpractice | 1.35 | × 0.397 | 0.5360 |
| Total RVUs | 13.6415 | ||
| Conversion factor | × 33.4009 | ||
Facility rate, Iowa$455.64
Explore RVUs, geographic factors and the full formula
Facility
| Component | RVU | Local GPCI |
|---|---|---|
| Work | 7.03 | 1 |
| Practice expense | 6.64 | 0.915 |
| Malpractice | 1.35 | 0.397 |
(7.03 × 1 + 6.64 × 0.915 + 1.35 × 0.397) × $33.4009 = $455.64
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.
29820 billing questions
How is partial synovectomy distinguished from complete synovectomy?
Use 29820 for partial removal of shoulder synovium and 29821 when the surgeon performs a complete synovectomy. The operative report should describe the extent of synovial removal.
Can diagnostic shoulder arthroscopy be reported with 29820?
Do not separately report diagnostic inspection that is part of the same operative shoulder arthroscopy. Report 29805 when the service is diagnostic rather than therapeutic synovial removal.
Can synovectomy and debridement be reported together?
Do not separately code removal or trimming of the same synovial tissue as debridement. A separately documented debridement of other structures requires distinct work and must meet the requirements for the applicable debridement code.
What does the 90-day global period include?
The day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care are included in the global period for 29820.
How is bilateral 29820 reported?
CMS identifies this as a bilateral procedure; modifier 50 is paid at 150%. The operative documentation should support treatment of both shoulders.
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.
3,31729806,,Sho arthrs srg capsulorraphy,A,,14.76,11.35,NA,11.35,,3.02,29.13,29.13,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,3,1,1,1,0,9,29805,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,31829807,,Sho arthrs srg rpr slap les,A,,14.30,11.27,NA,11.27,,2.93,28.50,28.50,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,3,1,1,1,0,9,29805,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,31929819,,Sho arthrs srg rmvl loose/fb,A,,7.60,7.37,NA,7.37,,1.50,16.47,16.47,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,3,1,1,1,0,9,29805,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,32029820,,Sho arthrs srg prtl synvct,A,,7.03,6.64,NA,6.64,,1.35,15.02,15.02,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,3,1,2,1,0,9,29805,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,32129821,,Sho arthrs srg compl synvct,A,,7.69,7.46,NA,7.46,,1.54,16.69,16.69,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,3,1,2,1,0,9,29805,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,32229822,,Sho arthrs srg lmtd dbrdmt,A,,6.85,7.19,NA,7.19,,1.41,15.45,15.45,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,3,1,2,0,0,9,29805,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,32329823,,Sho arthrs srg xtnsv dbrdmt,A,,7.78,7.39,NA,7.39,,1.56,16.73,16.73,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,3,1,2,1,0,9,29805,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
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