No office rate
Use 27870 for open ankle fusion; 27702 describes ankle joint replacement. The operative plan distinguishes permanent fusion from prosthetic replacement.
On this page
CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
27870 Ankle fusion Medicare reimbursement rates in Maine
Reports open fusion of the ankle’s tibiotalar joint, commonly for painful arthritis or deformity when permanent stabilization is planned. Compare 27870 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 27870 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
$867.01–$891.70
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.
Orthopedic surgery
About 27870: Open tibiotalar joint fusion
Reports open fusion of the ankle’s tibiotalar joint, commonly for painful arthritis or deformity when permanent stabilization is planned.
An orthopedic surgeon exposes the tibiotalar joint, prepares the opposing bone surfaces, aligns the ankle, and stabilizes it to achieve fusion. This operation is commonly performed for advanced post-traumatic or degenerative ankle arthritis, painful deformity, or instability when preserving ankle motion is not the treatment goal. It is typically performed in a hospital or ambulatory surgery setting.
Report 27870 when the operative work is an open fusion of the tibiotalar joint; documentation should identify the joint, open approach, indication, and stabilization performed. The 90-day global period includes the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care. When multiple procedures are performed in the same session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and other procedures are subject to the standard 50% reduction. Modifier 50 is paid at 150% for a bilateral procedure. An assistant at surgery may be paid; co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation, and team surgery is not permitted.
CMS billing rules for 27870
- 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 RVU15.02 · 54%
- Practice expense (office) RVU10.07 · 36%
- Malpractice RVU2.69 · 10%
4.5K
Medicare services in 2024 · #1945 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.
27870 compared with similar codes
Office rates for Maine, from the same CMS release.
No office rate
27870 fuses the tibiotalar joint. 27871 is for fusion of the distal tibiofibular joint, a separate articulation.
No office rate
27870 is limited to ankle-joint fusion. 28705 describes pantalar fusion, which extends across the ankle and hindfoot joints.
Compare 27870 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
$867.01
Southern Maine →
Office / nonfacility
Unavailable
Facility
$891.70
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27870 billing questions
How is 27870 different from distal tibiofibular fusion?
27870 is for open fusion of the tibiotalar ankle joint. A fusion limited to the distal tibiofibular joint is a different operation.
Does 27870 describe an ankle replacement?
No. It reports fusion, which permanently joins the ankle bones; ankle arthroplasty replaces the joint and is a different procedure.
What documentation supports reporting 27870?
Document the tibiotalar joint as the fusion site, the open approach, the clinical reason for fusion, and the work performed to prepare and stabilize the joint.
How does the global period affect postoperative visits?
The 90-day global period includes the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care.
Can 27870 be reported bilaterally or with an assistant?
Modifier 50 applies to a bilateral procedure and is paid at 150%. An assistant at surgery may be paid; co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation.
What happens when another procedure is performed in the same session?
The highest-valued procedure is paid in full, with other procedures subject to the standard multiple procedure reduction. Team surgery is not permitted.
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.
3,07127846,,Treat ankle dislocation,A,,10.02,8.28,NA,8.28,,1.91,20.21,20.21,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,1,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,07227848,,Treat ankle dislocation,A,,11.39,8.55,NA,8.55,,2.15,22.09,22.09,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,1,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,07327860,,Fixation of ankle joint,A,,2.33,1.95,NA,1.95,,0.35,4.63,4.63,0,010,0.10,0.80,0.10,2,1,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,07427870,,Fusion of ankle joint open,A,,15.02,10.07,NA,10.07,,2.69,27.78,27.78,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,1,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,07527871,,Fusion of tibiofibular joint,A,,9.30,8.22,NA,8.22,,1.85,19.37,19.37,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,1,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,07627880,,Amputation of lower leg,A,,14.99,5.97,NA,5.97,,3.67,24.63,24.63,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,1,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,07727881,,Amputation of lower leg,A,,13.13,6.41,NA,6.41,,3.18,22.72,22.72,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,1,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00