$69.79–$76.57
20612 addresses a ganglion cyst in soft tissue. Choose 20615 when the lesion being treated is a bone cyst.
On this page
CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
20615 Bone cyst treatment Medicare reimbursement rates in Massachusetts
Report this service when a clinician aspirates and injects a bone cyst as treatment, rather than draining a joint, bursa, or soft-tissue ganglion. Compare 20615 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in Massachusetts.
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 20615 in Massachusetts?
Massachusetts 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
$257.79–$283.77
2 of 2 localities have a supported rate.
Facility setting
$147.00–$158.15
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.
Musculoskeletal procedure
About 20615: Aspiration and injection of bone cyst
Report this service when a clinician aspirates and injects a bone cyst as treatment, rather than draining a joint, bursa, or soft-tissue ganglion.
This procedure treats a cystic lesion within bone by needle aspiration followed by injection. Orthopedic surgeons commonly perform it for a diagnosed bone cyst in an outpatient procedure room or hospital setting; the target is the bone lesion, not fluid in a joint or bursa. The operative or procedure note should identify the bone and lesion treated and document the aspiration and therapeutic injection.
Select the code for the bone-cyst treatment performed, not simply because fluid was withdrawn near a joint. Related postoperative visits are included for 10 days. When multiple procedures are performed in the same session, CMS pays the highest-valued procedure in full and reduces the others to 50%. Modifier 50 is inappropriate for this service. CMS does not pay an assistant at surgery, and co-surgeon and team-surgery reporting are not permitted.
CMS billing rules for 20615
- Global period
- Minor procedure with a 10-day global period: related postoperative visits for 10 days 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
- Statutory restriction: assistant at surgery is not paid.
- Co-surgeons
- Co-surgeons not permitted.
- Team surgery
- Team surgery not permitted.
Where the value comes from
- Work RVU2.27 · 30%
- Practice expense (office) RVU4.95 · 66%
- Malpractice RVU0.25 · 3%
158
Medicare services in 2024 · #4518 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.
20615 compared with similar codes
Office rates for Massachusetts, from the same CMS release.
$70.39–$76.90
20610 is for aspiration or injection of a major joint or bursa. It does not describe treatment of a cystic lesion within bone.
$107.21–$117.54
20611 applies to ultrasound-guided aspiration or injection of a major joint or bursa; 20615 is selected for bone-cyst treatment.
Compare 20615 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
Metropolitan Boston →
Office / nonfacility
$283.77
Facility
$158.15
Rest Of Massachusetts →
Office / nonfacility
$257.79
Facility
$147.00
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20615 billing questions
How is this different from a joint aspiration code?
Use 20615 when the treated target is a cystic lesion in bone. Joint and bursa aspiration or injection codes apply when the target is the joint or bursa.
How is this different from aspiration of a ganglion cyst?
20615 treats a bone cyst. Code 20612 applies to aspiration or injection of a ganglion cyst, which is a soft-tissue lesion.
Are related postoperative visits included?
Yes. CMS assigns a 10-day global period, which includes related postoperative visits during that period.
Can modifier 50 be used for treatment on both sides?
No. The descriptor or anatomy makes bilateral adjustment inappropriate for 20615.
How does CMS pay when other procedures are performed in the same session?
The highest-valued procedure is paid in full, and the other procedures are reduced to 50%. CMS does not pay an assistant at surgery or permit co-surgeon or team-surgery reporting for 20615.
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.
1,77120610,,Drain/inj joint/bursa w/o us,A,,0.77,1.16,,0.29,,0.13,2.06,1.19,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,1,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
1,77220611,,Drain/inj joint/bursa w/us,A,,1.07,1.91,,0.29,,0.14,3.12,1.50,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,1,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
1,77320612,,Aspirate/inj ganglion cyst,A,,0.68,1.26,,0.33,,0.09,2.03,1.10,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
1,77420615,,Treatment of bone cyst,A,,2.27,4.95,,1.80,,0.25,7.47,4.32,0,010,0.10,0.80,0.10,2,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
1,77520650,,Insert and remove bone pin,A,,2.22,4.87,,2.19,,0.38,7.47,4.79,0,010,0.10,0.80,0.10,2,0,1,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
1,77620660,,Apply rem fixation device,A,,3.90,1.27,NA,1.27,,1.26,6.43,6.43,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
1,77720661,,Application halo cranial,A,,5.13,9.68,NA,9.68,,1.76,16.57,16.57,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00