No office rate
Choose 25444 for prosthetic replacement of the lunate; choose 25443 when the prosthetic arthroplasty involves the distal scaphoid.
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CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
25444 Wrist arthroplasty Medicare reimbursement rates in Minnesota
Reports wrist arthroplasty in which the surgeon replaces the lunate with a prosthesis, including selected cases of lunate collapse from Kienböck disease. Compare 25444 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in Minnesota.
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 25444 in Minnesota?
Minnesota has 1 payment locality in this comparison. Use the service location to choose the applicable amount. These are the supported base rates for the payment area shown below, using the same CMS release.
Office / nonfacility
No supported rate
Facility setting
$718.14
1 of 1 localities have a supported rate.
Payment area: Minnesota
One mapped payment locality.
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 25444: Wrist arthroplasty with lunate prosthesis
Reports wrist arthroplasty in which the surgeon replaces the lunate with a prosthesis, including selected cases of lunate collapse from Kienböck disease.
An orthopedic or hand surgeon uses this code when performing wrist arthroplasty with a prosthetic lunate. A typical clinical setting is treatment of advanced lunate damage, such as collapse associated with Kienböck disease, when the operative plan calls for lunate replacement rather than removal alone or reconstruction of a different carpal bone. The service is generally performed in an operating room under anesthesia.
Select 25444 when the operative report supports prosthetic replacement of the lunate; document the condition treated, the bone replaced, and the implant procedure. The code has a 90-day global period, including the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care. For procedures on both wrists, modifier 50 is paid at 150%. When multiple procedures are performed in the same session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and others at 50%. Assistant-at-surgery payment may be available; co-surgeons and team surgery are not permitted.
CMS billing rules for 25444
- 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 not permitted.
- Team surgery
- Team surgery not permitted.
Where the value comes from
- Work RVU11.13 · 49%
- Practice expense (office) RVU9.46 · 42%
- Malpractice RVU2.15 · 9%
118
Medicare services in 2024 · #4750 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.
25444 compared with similar codes
Office rates for Minnesota, from the same CMS release.
No office rate
25445 is for prosthetic arthroplasty involving the trapezium, not the lunate.
No office rate
25215 represents removal of the proximal row of carpal bones. It is distinct from replacing the lunate with a prosthesis under 25444.
Compare 25444 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.
1 of 1 payment localities
Minnesota →
Office / nonfacility
Unavailable
Facility
$718.14
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How this local rate is calculated
Each RVU component is multiplied by its own geographic practice cost index (GPCI). The three adjusted components are added, then multiplied by the conversion factor. These are the inputs used for 25444 in Minnesota.
PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv
2,461
- Code
- 25444
- Physician work
- 11.13
- Practice expense
- 9.46
- Malpractice
- 2.15
GPCI2026.csv
66
- Locality
- Minnesota
- Physician work
- 1.000
- Practice expense
- 1.029
- Malpractice
- 0.296
| Component | RVU | Locality factor | Adjusted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Physician work | 11.13 | × 1.000 | 11.1300 |
| Practice expense | 9.46 | × 1.029 | 9.7343 |
| Malpractice | 2.15 | × 0.296 | 0.6364 |
| Total RVUs | 21.5007 | ||
| Conversion factor | × 33.4009 | ||
Facility rate, Minnesota$718.14
Explore RVUs, geographic factors and the full formula
Facility
| Component | RVU | Local GPCI |
|---|---|---|
| Work | 11.13 | 1 |
| Practice expense | 9.46 | 1.029 |
| Malpractice | 2.15 | 0.296 |
(11.13 × 1 + 9.46 × 1.029 + 2.15 × 0.296) × $33.4009 = $718.14
The office and facility calculations use their respective practice-expense RVUs. The facility amount here is the physician fee, not a separate hospital or facility bill.
25444 billing questions
When should 25444 be chosen over a lunate excision code?
Use 25444 when the surgeon performs arthroplasty with a prosthetic lunate. Removal of the lunate without prosthetic replacement is a different service.
How does 25444 differ from 25443?
25444 describes prosthetic replacement of the lunate; 25443 describes prosthetic arthroplasty involving the distal scaphoid. Follow the bone identified in the operative report.
Can 25444 be reported for both wrists?
For bilateral performance, CMS lists modifier 50 and payment at 150%. The operative documentation should support lunate prosthetic arthroplasty on each side.
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 surgeon be reported?
CMS indicates that assistant-at-surgery payment may be made. Co-surgeons and team surgery are not permitted 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.
2,45825441,,Arthrp w/prostc dstl rds,A,,12.96,10.31,NA,10.31,,2.75,26.02,26.02,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,1,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,45925442,,Arthrp w/prostc dstl ulna,A,,10.84,9.28,NA,9.28,,2.05,22.17,22.17,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,1,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,46025443,,Arthrp prostc dstl scph crpl,A,,10.39,9.49,NA,9.49,,2.20,22.08,22.08,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,1,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,46125444,,Arthrp w/prostc lunate,A,,11.13,9.46,NA,9.46,,2.15,22.74,22.74,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,1,2,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,46225445,,Arthrp w/prostc trapezium,A,,9.63,8.39,NA,8.39,,1.86,19.88,19.88,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,1,1,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,46325446,,Arthrp w/prostc dst rds&crps,A,,16.87,11.34,NA,11.34,,3.28,31.49,31.49,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,1,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,46425447,,Arthrp ntrcrp/crp/mtcr ntrps,A,,10.24,10.07,NA,10.07,,1.96,22.27,22.27,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,1,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
6314212,MA,99,REST OF MASSACHUSETTS,1.016,1.053,0.797
6408202,MI,01,DETROIT,1.000,0.965,1.686
6508202,MI,99,REST OF MICHIGAN,1.000,0.913,1.129
6606202,MN,00,MINNESOTA,1.000,1.029,0.296
6707302,MS,00,MISSISSIPPI,1.000,0.861,0.739
6805302,MO,02,METROPOLITAN KANSAS CITY,1.000,0.939,0.977
6905302,MO,01,METROPOLITAN ST. LOUIS,1.000,0.952,1.002