No office rate
26860 reports the primary finger interphalangeal joint fusion. Use 26861 for each additional finger interphalangeal joint fused in that operative session.
On this page
CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
26861 Finger joint fusion Medicare reimbursement rates in Massachusetts
Reports fusion of an additional finger interphalangeal joint during the same operative session as the primary finger joint fusion. Compare 26861 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 26861 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
No supported rate
Facility setting
$86.44–$91.55
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.
Hand surgery
About 26861: Additional finger interphalangeal joint fusion
Reports fusion of an additional finger interphalangeal joint during the same operative session as the primary finger joint fusion.
A hand surgeon fuses an additional interphalangeal joint in a finger by preparing the joint surfaces and stabilizing them so the bones can unite. The service may involve a proximal or distal interphalangeal joint; the thumb is coded separately. Internal fixation may be used. This add-on represents another finger joint treated during the operative session, not a later fusion or a separate visit.
Report 26861 with the primary finger interphalangeal fusion code, 26860, for each additional joint treated. The operative report should identify the digit and joint, document the fusion work, and distinguish each additional joint from the one represented by the primary code. CMS classifies 26861 as an add-on: it is billed only with a primary procedure and paid within that procedure’s global period. When autogenous bone graft is used for the additional joint, compare the graft-specific add-on code instead.
CMS billing rules for 26861
- Global period
- Add-on code: billed only together with a primary procedure and paid within that procedure's global period.
Where the value comes from
- Work RVU1.70 · 65%
- Practice expense (office) RVU0.56 · 22%
- Malpractice RVU0.34 · 13%
692
Medicare services in 2024 · #3275 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.
26861 compared with similar codes
Office rates for Massachusetts, from the same CMS release.
No office rate
26863 is the additional-joint counterpart when autogenous bone graft is used; 26861 is for the additional fusion without that graft.
No office rate
26850 concerns a finger metacarpophalangeal joint. Code 26861 concerns an additional interphalangeal joint.
Compare 26861 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
Unavailable
Facility
$91.55
Rest Of Massachusetts →
Office / nonfacility
Unavailable
Facility
$86.44
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26861 billing questions
When should 26861 be reported instead of 26860?
Use 26860 for the primary finger interphalangeal joint fusion. Report 26861 for each additional finger interphalangeal joint fused in the same operative session.
Can 26861 be billed by itself?
No. It is an add-on code and must be reported with the primary procedure, 26860. CMS payment is within that primary procedure’s global period.
How is 26861 different from 26863?
Both represent an additional finger interphalangeal joint fusion. Use 26863 when the additional joint fusion includes autogenous bone graft; 26861 is the corresponding option without that graft.
What should the operative note identify?
Document the digit and interphalangeal joint fused, the fusion work performed, and which joint is the additional one. The note should support the primary procedure and each separately treated additional joint.
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.
2,69626850,,Fusion of knuckle,A,,6.96,12.87,NA,12.87,,1.32,21.15,21.15,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,0,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,69726852,,Fusion of knuckle with graft,A,,8.49,13.71,NA,13.71,,1.61,23.81,23.81,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,69826860,,Fusion of finger joint,A,,4.76,12.49,NA,12.49,,0.91,18.16,18.16,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,69926861,,Fusion of finger jnt add-on,A,,1.70,0.56,NA,0.56,,0.34,2.60,2.60,0,ZZZ,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,70026862,,Fusion/graft of finger joint,A,,7.37,13.32,NA,13.32,,1.39,22.08,22.08,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,70126863,,Fuse/graft added joint,A,,3.79,1.25,NA,1.25,,0.70,5.74,5.74,0,ZZZ,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,0,2,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,70226910,,Amputate metacarpal bone,A,,7.60,13.08,NA,13.08,,1.49,22.17,22.17,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00