No office rate
Choose 22850 for posterior nonsegmental instrumentation and 22852 for posterior segmental instrumentation. The operative report should make the construct type clear.
On this page
CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
22850 Spinal hardware removal Medicare reimbursement rates in Nebraska
Reports operative removal of posterior nonsegmental spinal fixation, such as a Harrington rod, when the surgeon removes the construct from the spine. Compare 22850 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in Nebraska.
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 22850 in Nebraska?
Nebraska 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
$631.41
1 of 1 localities have a supported rate.
Payment area: Nebraska
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.
Spine surgery
About 22850: Posterior nonsegmental spinal hardware removal
Reports operative removal of posterior nonsegmental spinal fixation, such as a Harrington rod, when the surgeon removes the construct from the spine.
A spine surgeon reports this service for operative removal of posterior nonsegmental fixation hardware, classically an older rod construct such as a Harrington rod. Removal may be part of a revision for painful or prominent hardware, infection, or another documented clinical reason. The service is typically performed in an operating room; the surgeon’s report should identify the posterior approach, the hardware removed, and the work performed to extract it.
Choose this code for nonsegmental posterior instrumentation, not segmental posterior hardware or anterior instrumentation. Document the construct and the reason for removal, along with any separately performed revision work. Medicare assigns a 90-day global period, including the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care. When multiple procedures occur in the same session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and other procedures are subject to the standard 50% multiple-procedure reduction. Assistant-at-surgery payment may be available; co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation, and team surgery is not permitted.
CMS billing rules for 22850
- 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 adjustment does not apply; the descriptor or anatomy makes modifier 50 inappropriate.
- 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 RVU9.57 · 45%
- Practice expense (office) RVU8.88 · 41%
- Malpractice RVU3.01 · 14%
2.8K
Medicare services in 2024 · #2223 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.
22850 compared with similar codes
Office rates for Nebraska, from the same CMS release.
No office rate
22855 addresses removal of anterior instrumentation; 22850 is for posterior nonsegmental instrumentation.
No office rate
22849 describes reinsertion of spinal fixation in a revision. It does not describe removal alone as 22850 does.
Compare 22850 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
Nebraska →
Office / nonfacility
Unavailable
Facility
$631.41
Need rates for a whole code list?
Fee-sheet and API access are in early access. Tell us which codes and locations your team needs.
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 22850 in Nebraska.
PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv
2,122
- Code
- 22850
- Physician work
- 9.57
- Practice expense
- 8.88
- Malpractice
- 3.01
GPCI2026.csv
72
- Locality
- Nebraska
- Physician work
- 1.000
- Practice expense
- 0.923
- Malpractice
- 0.378
| Component | RVU | Locality factor | Adjusted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Physician work | 9.57 | × 1.000 | 9.5700 |
| Practice expense | 8.88 | × 0.923 | 8.1962 |
| Malpractice | 3.01 | × 0.378 | 1.1378 |
| Total RVUs | 18.9040 | ||
| Conversion factor | × 33.4009 | ||
Facility rate, Nebraska$631.41
Explore RVUs, geographic factors and the full formula
Facility
| Component | RVU | Local GPCI |
|---|---|---|
| Work | 9.57 | 1 |
| Practice expense | 8.88 | 0.923 |
| Malpractice | 3.01 | 0.378 |
(9.57 × 1 + 8.88 × 0.923 + 3.01 × 0.378) × $33.4009 = $631.41
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.
22850 billing questions
How do I distinguish this from 22852?
This code is for removal of posterior nonsegmental instrumentation. Use 22852 for removal of posterior segmental instrumentation; document the type of construct removed.
Is anterior hardware removal reported with this code?
No. This code describes posterior nonsegmental hardware removal. Anterior instrumentation removal is represented by 22855.
What documentation supports reporting the removal?
The operative report should identify the posterior nonsegmental construct, the reason for removal, and the removal work performed. Include any revision or replacement work separately in the operative description.
How does the 90-day global period affect postoperative care?
The day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care are included in the global period for this major surgery.
Can an assistant or co-surgeon be reported?
Assistant-at-surgery payment may be available. Co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation; team surgery is not permitted for this code.
What happens when another procedure is performed in the same session?
Medicare pays the highest-valued procedure in full and applies the standard multiple-procedure reduction to the other procedures in that session.
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.
2,11922847,,Insert spine fixation device,A,,13.44,4.28,NA,4.28,,2.86,20.58,20.58,0,ZZZ,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,0,2,2,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,12022848,,Insert pelv fixation device,A,,5.84,1.93,NA,1.93,,1.74,9.51,9.51,0,ZZZ,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,0,2,2,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,12122849,,Reinsert spinal fixation,A,,18.69,12.26,NA,12.26,,5.78,36.73,36.73,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,12222850,,Remove spine fixation device,A,,9.57,8.88,NA,8.88,,3.01,21.46,21.46,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,12322852,,Remove spine fixation device,A,,9.14,8.73,NA,8.73,,2.85,20.72,20.72,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,12422853,,Insj biomechanical device,A,,4.14,1.38,NA,1.38,,1.33,6.85,6.85,0,ZZZ,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,0,2,2,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,12522854,,Insj biomechanical device,A,,5.36,1.80,NA,1.80,,1.84,9.00,9.00,0,ZZZ,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,0,2,2,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
6905302,MO,01,METROPOLITAN ST. LOUIS,1.000,0.952,1.002
7005302,MO,99,REST OF MISSOURI,1.000,0.862,0.974
7103202,MT,01,MONTANA**,1.000,1.000,0.998
7205402,NE,00,NEBRASKA,1.000,0.923,0.378
7301312,NV,00,NEVADA**,1.000,1.001,0.833
7414312,NH,40,NEW HAMPSHIRE,1.000,1.041,0.875
7512402,NJ,01,NORTHERN NJ,1.063,1.160,1.068