No office rate
Use 21600 for partial rib removal without documented costotransverse resection. The operative anatomy and purpose, not rib removal alone, distinguish the services.
On this page
CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
21610 Costotransversectomy Medicare reimbursement rates in Maine
Reports resection at the rib–transverse process junction, commonly to reach a thoracic spinal target when that work is distinct from the definitive procedure. Compare 21610 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in Maine.
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 21610 in Maine?
Maine has 2 payment localities in this comparison. Use the service location to choose the applicable amount. These are the supported base rates for the 2 payment areas shown below, using the same CMS release.
Office / nonfacility
No supported rate
Facility setting
$1095.80–$1131.87
2 of 2 localities have a supported rate.
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.
Thoracic surgery
About 21610: Thoracic costotransverse resection
Reports resection at the rib–transverse process junction, commonly to reach a thoracic spinal target when that work is distinct from the definitive procedure.
A costotransversectomy removes tissue at the junction of a rib and transverse process to provide a route to a thoracic spinal target. Spine surgeons, including orthopedic spine surgeons and neurosurgeons, may perform it in a hospital operating room when treating or accessing a lesion involving the thoracic vertebra or spinal canal. The operative report should identify the structures removed and explain the target and purpose of the resection.
Report this code when the documented costotransverse work is distinct, rather than merely an approach included in the definitive spinal procedure. CMS assigns a 90-day global period, including the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care. For multiple procedures in one session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and other procedures are subject to the standard 50% reduction. CMS treats modifier 50 as inappropriate for this code. Assistant-at-surgery services may be paid; co-surgeon and team-surgery payment are not permitted.
CMS billing rules for 21610
- 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 adjustment does not apply; the descriptor or anatomy makes modifier 50 inappropriate.
- Assistant at surgery
- Assistant at surgery may be paid.
- Co-surgeons
- Co-surgeons not permitted.
- Team surgery
- Team surgery not permitted.
Where the value comes from
- Work RVU15.51 · 43%
- Practice expense (office) RVU14.38 · 39%
- Malpractice RVU6.54 · 18%
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Medicare services in 2024 · #5265 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.
21610 compared with similar codes
Office rates for Maine, from the same CMS release.
No office rate
Use 63055 for thoracic transpedicular decompression of the spinal cord or nerve roots, including costovertebral-joint work. Do not separately code access work already included in the definitive procedure.
No office rate
Use 63046 for posterior thoracic decompression by laminectomy. Code 21610 concerns access through the rib–transverse process junction.
Compare 21610 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.
2 of 2 payment localities
Rest Of Maine →
Office / nonfacility
Unavailable
Facility
$1095.80
Southern Maine →
Office / nonfacility
Unavailable
Facility
$1131.87
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21610 billing questions
How is this different from partial rib removal?
Costotransversectomy concerns resection at the rib–transverse process junction, often to reach a thoracic spinal target. Code 21600 describes partial rib removal and is not selected solely because a rib portion was removed.
Can this be reported with a thoracic decompression code?
Report it only when the operative note supports distinct costotransverse work. Do not separately report approach work that is included in the definitive spinal procedure.
Is modifier 50 appropriate?
No. CMS identifies modifier 50 as inappropriate for this code.
What documentation supports reporting it?
Document the rib and transverse-process area addressed, the structures resected, the spinal target, and why the work was distinct from any accompanying procedure.
What postoperative care is included?
The 90-day global period includes the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care.
Can an assistant or co-surgeon be reported?
Assistant-at-surgery services may be paid. CMS does not permit co-surgeon or team-surgery payment 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.
2,00921601,,Exc chest wall tumor w/ribs,A,,17.34,11.50,NA,11.50,,4.44,33.28,33.28,0,090,0.10,0.71,0.19,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,01021602,,Exc ch wal tum w/o lymphadec,A,,21.64,18.83,NA,18.83,,5.31,45.78,45.78,0,090,0.10,0.71,0.19,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,01121603,,Exc ch wal tum w/lymphadec,A,,24.54,19.34,NA,19.34,,6.18,50.06,50.06,0,090,0.10,0.71,0.19,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,01221610,,Costotransversectomy,A,,15.51,14.38,NA,14.38,,6.54,36.43,36.43,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,0,2,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,01321615,,Excision 1st &/cervical rib,A,,10.19,4.71,NA,4.71,,2.54,17.44,17.44,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,1,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,01421616,,Exc 1st&/crv rib w/sympth,A,,12.37,4.41,NA,4.41,,3.16,19.94,19.94,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,1,2,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,01521620,,Ostectomy sternum partial,A,,7.10,6.16,NA,6.16,,1.72,14.98,14.98,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00