No office rate
This code is for nephrectomy associated with a complicated congenital kidney abnormality; 50075 is tied to removal for a large staghorn calculus.
On this page
CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
50070 Nephrectomy Medicare reimbursement rates in Iowa
Removal of a kidney for a complicated congenital renal abnormality, reported when the operative treatment requires nephrectomy rather than correction of the anomaly. Compare 50070 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 50070 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
$980.96
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.
Urologic surgery
About 50070: Nephrectomy for congenital renal abnormality
Removal of a kidney for a complicated congenital renal abnormality, reported when the operative treatment requires nephrectomy rather than correction of the anomaly.
This code describes surgical removal of a kidney for a complicated congenital kidney abnormality; partial removal of the ureter may be included when needed for the operation. A urologist typically performs the procedure in an operating-room setting. The record should identify the congenital abnormality and explain why nephrectomy was performed, with operative details supporting the extent of surgery.
Report the code for the qualifying congenital-anomaly indication, not simply because a patient has a kidney stone or undergoes another renal operation. CMS assigns a 90-day global period, including the day-before preoperative visit and related postoperative care during that period. 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. Bilateral reporting with 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 50070
- 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 paid only with supporting documentation.
- Team surgery
- Team surgery not permitted.
Where the value comes from
- Work RVU21.30 · 67%
- Practice expense (office) RVU7.63 · 24%
- Malpractice RVU2.74 · 9%
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.
50070 compared with similar codes
Office rates for Iowa, from the same CMS release.
No office rate
Use 50070 for the specified congenital-abnormality indication. Code 50220 describes nephrectomy in a broader clinical circumstance.
No office rate
Code 50225 addresses nephrectomy complicated by prior surgery; 50070 is selected for the congenital kidney abnormality indication.
Compare 50070 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
$980.96
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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 50070 in Iowa.
PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv
5,872
- Code
- 50070
- Physician work
- 21.30
- Practice expense
- 7.63
- Malpractice
- 2.74
GPCI2026.csv
53
- Locality
- Iowa
- Physician work
- 1.000
- Practice expense
- 0.915
- Malpractice
- 0.397
| Component | RVU | Locality factor | Adjusted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Physician work | 21.30 | × 1.000 | 21.3000 |
| Practice expense | 7.63 | × 0.915 | 6.9815 |
| Malpractice | 2.74 | × 0.397 | 1.0878 |
| Total RVUs | 29.3692 | ||
| Conversion factor | × 33.4009 | ||
Facility rate, Iowa$980.96
Explore RVUs, geographic factors and the full formula
Facility
| Component | RVU | Local GPCI |
|---|---|---|
| Work | 21.3 | 1 |
| Practice expense | 7.63 | 0.915 |
| Malpractice | 2.74 | 0.397 |
(21.3 × 1 + 7.63 × 0.915 + 2.74 × 0.397) × $33.4009 = $980.96
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.
50070 billing questions
When should this code be chosen over a general nephrectomy code?
Use it when the nephrectomy is for the specified complicated congenital kidney abnormality. A general nephrectomy code may be more appropriate when that indication is not documented.
Does the code include removal of part of the ureter?
Partial ureter removal may be included when it is part of the nephrectomy for the congenital abnormality. The operative report should establish the procedure performed.
How is bilateral surgery reported?
For bilateral procedures, report modifier 50; CMS pays the bilateral procedure at 150%.
What postoperative care is included?
The 90-day global period includes the day-before preoperative visit and related postoperative care for 90 days.
Can an assistant or co-surgeon be reported?
Assistant-at-surgery payment may be available. Co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation, while team surgery is not permitted.
What happens when another procedure is performed in the same session?
Under the standard multiple-procedure rule, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and other procedures are paid 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.
5,8695005F,,Pt counsld on exam for moles,I,,0.00,0.00,,0.00,,0.00,0.00,0.00,9,XXX,0.00,0.00,0.00,9,9,9,9,9,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
5,87050060,,Nl removal calculus,A,,20.43,7.46,NA,7.46,,2.62,30.51,30.51,0,090,0.08,0.83,0.09,2,1,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
5,87150065,,Nl sec surg operj calculus,A,,21.76,7.73,NA,7.73,,2.79,32.28,32.28,0,090,0.08,0.83,0.09,2,1,2,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
5,87250070,,Nl comp cgen kdn abnormality,A,,21.30,7.63,NA,7.63,,2.74,31.67,31.67,0,090,0.08,0.83,0.09,2,1,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
5,87350075,,Nl rmvl lg staghorn calculus,A,,26.41,9.02,NA,9.02,,3.39,38.82,38.82,0,090,0.08,0.83,0.09,2,1,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
5,87450080,,Perq nl/pl lithotrp smpl<2cm,A,,12.10,5.16,NA,5.16,,1.56,18.82,18.82,0,090,0.08,0.83,0.09,2,1,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
5,87550081,,Perq nl/pl lithotrp cplx>2cm,A,,20.39,6.99,NA,6.99,,2.61,29.99,29.99,0,090,0.08,0.83,0.09,2,1,2,1,0,9,,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