No office rate
For Medicare, use G0289 for qualifying cartilage debridement in a different compartment at the time of another surgical knee arthroscopy; 29877 describes chondroplasty reported on its own when appropriate.
On this page
CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
29877 Knee chondroplasty Medicare reimbursement rates in Massachusetts
Reports arthroscopic smoothing of unstable knee articular cartilage, typically to remove damaged flaps and leave a stable cartilage surface. Compare 29877 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 29877 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
$593.77–$642.51
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 29877: Arthroscopic knee cartilage debridement
Reports arthroscopic smoothing of unstable knee articular cartilage, typically to remove damaged flaps and leave a stable cartilage surface.
A surgeon uses a knee arthroscope and instruments to trim or smooth unstable, damaged articular cartilage. The goal is to leave a stable cartilage edge, not to repair a meniscus or stimulate new cartilage growth. This procedure may address focal chondral damage or frayed cartilage encountered during knee arthroscopy, and is performed in an operating room or ambulatory surgery setting.
Report 29877 when the documented work is cartilage debridement or shaving, rather than a more specific procedure such as abrasion arthroplasty. The operative report should identify the treated cartilage and the work performed. Medicare applies endoscopy-family pricing when related endoscopies are performed together. The code has a 90-day global period, including the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care. Bilateral reporting with modifier 50 is paid at 150%. Assistant-at-surgery payment requires documented medical necessity; co-surgeons and team surgery are not permitted.
CMS billing rules for 29877
- 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
- Endoscopy family pricing applies when related endoscopies are performed together.
- Bilateral procedures
- Bilateral procedure with modifier 50 is paid at 150%.
- Assistant at surgery
- Assistant at surgery is paid only with documentation of medical necessity.
- Co-surgeons
- Co-surgeons not permitted.
- Team surgery
- Team surgery not permitted.
Where the value comes from
- Work RVU8.09 · 46%
- Practice expense (office) RVU7.82 · 45%
- Malpractice RVU1.66 · 9%
2.3K
Medicare services in 2024 · #2372 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.
29877 compared with similar codes
Office rates for Massachusetts, from the same CMS release.
No office rate
29877 smooths or trims damaged cartilage. 29879 describes abrasion arthroplasty, which works into the underlying bone.
No office rate
29880 reports medial and lateral meniscectomy, not cartilage smoothing. Chondroplasty in the same compartment is generally included in the meniscectomy service.
No office rate
29881 reports meniscectomy in one meniscus. It is not a substitute for cartilage debridement; Medicare uses compartment-specific rules when both are performed.
Compare 29877 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
$642.51
Rest Of Massachusetts →
Office / nonfacility
Unavailable
Facility
$593.77
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29877 billing questions
How is 29877 different from abrasion arthroplasty?
29877 describes trimming or smoothing damaged articular cartilage. Abrasion arthroplasty, reported with 29879, involves a different technique that works into underlying bone.
Can 29877 be reported with a knee meniscectomy?
Chondroplasty performed in the same compartment as a meniscectomy is generally included in the meniscectomy service. For qualifying chondroplasty in a different compartment during another knee arthroscopy, Medicare uses G0289 rather than separately reporting 29877.
What documentation supports 29877?
The operative report should identify the cartilage damage, the knee compartment treated, and the arthroscopic trimming or smoothing performed. A finding of cartilage wear alone does not establish that debridement was performed.
How should bilateral 29877 be reported?
Report modifier 50 for a bilateral procedure. CMS pays bilateral procedures reported with modifier 50 at 150%.
What postoperative care is included?
The 90-day global period includes the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care.
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.
3,35629874,,Arthrs knee surg rmv loos/fb,A,,7.01,6.72,NA,6.72,,1.42,15.15,15.15,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,3,1,0,0,0,9,29870,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,35729875,,Arthrs knee surg synvct lmtd,A,,6.29,6.60,NA,6.60,,1.31,14.20,14.20,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,3,1,0,0,0,9,29870,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,35829876,,Arthrs knee surg synvct maj,A,,8.65,7.99,NA,7.99,,1.77,18.41,18.41,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,3,1,1,0,0,9,29870,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,35929877,,Arthrs knee surg dbrdmt/shvg,A,,8.09,7.82,NA,7.82,,1.66,17.57,17.57,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,3,1,0,0,0,9,29870,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,36029879,,Arthrs kne srg abrasj arthrp,A,,8.77,8.07,NA,8.07,,1.82,18.66,18.66,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,3,1,0,0,0,9,29870,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,36129880,,Arthrs kne srg mnisectmy m&l,A,,7.21,7.28,NA,7.28,,1.47,15.96,15.96,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,3,1,0,1,0,9,29870,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,36229881,,Arthrs kne srg mnisectmy m/l,A,,6.85,7.19,NA,7.19,,1.40,15.44,15.44,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,3,1,0,0,0,9,29870,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00