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CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01

41530 Tongue base reduction Medicare reimbursement rates in Iowa

Reports radiofrequency reduction of tongue-base tissue, typically to address retrolingual obstruction in a patient with obstructive sleep apnea. Compare 41530 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 41530 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

$842.74

1 of 1 localities have a supported rate.

Payment area: Iowa

One mapped payment locality.

Facility setting

$332.36

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.

Find 41530 in your payment locality →

Otolaryngology surgery

About 41530: Radiofrequency tongue base reduction

Reports radiofrequency reduction of tongue-base tissue, typically to address retrolingual obstruction in a patient with obstructive sleep apnea.

An otolaryngologist delivers radiofrequency energy into one or more areas of the tongue base to reduce tissue volume. The procedure is used for selected patients with obstructive sleep apnea and obstruction behind the tongue, and is generally performed in an operating room or outpatient surgical setting. The code covers treatment of one or more areas during the procedure; it is not a tongue-suspension operation or a palate procedure.

Report the service when the operative record supports radiofrequency reduction at the tongue base, including the treated site and technique. The procedure has a 0-day global period, so same-day preoperative and postoperative care is included. When multiple procedures occur in the same session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and other procedures are subject to the standard multiple-procedure reduction. Modifier 50 is inappropriate. Assistant-at-surgery payment requires documented medical necessity; co-surgeons and team surgery are not permitted for this code.

CMS billing rules for 41530

Global period
Minor procedure with a 0-day global period: same-day preoperative and postoperative care is 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 is paid only with documentation of medical necessity.
Co-surgeons
Co-surgeons not permitted.
Team surgery
Team surgery not permitted.

Where the value comes from

  • Work RVU3.41 · 12%
  • Practice expense (office) RVU23.64 · 86%
  • Malpractice RVU0.48 · 2%

52

Medicare services in 2024 · #5329 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.

41530 compared with similar codes

Office rates for Iowa, from the same CMS release.

41512

Tongue suspension

Permanent suture technique

No office rate

Choose 41530 for radiofrequency tissue-volume reduction at the tongue base. Choose 41512 when the surgeon performs tongue suspension instead.

42145

Palatopharyngoplasty

Palate and pharynx repair

No office rate

CPT 42145 describes palatopharyngoplasty at the palate and pharynx, not radiofrequency reduction of tongue-base tissue.

41599

Unlisted px tongue flr mouth

No office rate

Use 41530 when the performed service matches the listed tongue-base radiofrequency procedure; reserve 41599 for a distinct tongue or floor-of-mouth procedure without a specific code.

Compare 41530 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
  • Iowa →

    Office / nonfacility

    $842.74

    Facility

    $332.36

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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 41530 in Iowa.

PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv

4,937

Code
41530
Physician work
3.41
Practice expense
23.64
Malpractice
0.48

GPCI2026.csv

53

Locality
Iowa
Physician work
1.000
Practice expense
0.915
Malpractice
0.397
Office / nonfacility calculation for 41530 in Iowa
ComponentRVULocality factorAdjusted
Physician work3.41× 1.0003.4100
Practice expense23.64× 0.91521.6306
Malpractice0.48× 0.3970.1906
Total RVUs25.2312
Conversion factor× 33.4009

Office / nonfacility rate, Iowa$842.74

Values as parsed from CMS release RVU26D, effective 2026-10-01. The amount is rounded to the nearest cent only at the end.
Explore RVUs, geographic factors and the full formula

Office / nonfacility

Office / nonfacility calculation inputs
ComponentRVULocal GPCI
Work3.411
Practice expense23.640.915
Malpractice0.480.397

(3.41 × 1 + 23.64 × 0.915 + 0.48 × 0.397) × $33.4009 = $842.74

Facility

Facility calculation inputs
ComponentRVULocal GPCI
Work3.411
Practice expense6.940.915
Malpractice0.480.397

(3.41 × 1 + 6.94 × 0.915 + 0.48 × 0.397) × $33.4009 = $332.36

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.

41530 billing questions

How does 41530 differ from tongue suspension?

41530 reduces tongue-base tissue with radiofrequency energy. CPT 41512 describes tongue suspension, which supports the tongue through a different surgical method.

Can multiple tongue-base treatment areas be reported as multiple units?

The descriptor includes one or more treated areas in the procedure. Document the areas treated, but do not report separate units solely for multiple areas in the same procedure.

What same-day care is included in the global period?

The 0-day global period includes same-day preoperative and postoperative care associated with the procedure.

Can 41530 be reported with palate surgery?

It may be reported with a separately performed palate operation as part of multilevel surgery when each service is documented. When procedures occur in the same session, the multiple-procedure payment reduction applies.

When is an assistant-at-surgery claim payable?

Assistant-at-surgery payment is allowed only when the record documents medical necessity. Co-surgeon and team-surgery payment are not permitted for this code.

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 41530PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv, line 4,937 (RVU26D)
Geographic factors for IowaGPCI2026.csv, line 53 (RVU26D)