No office rate
26100 identifies biopsy of hand joint lining; 26110 is specific to finger joint lining. Base code selection on the joint site in the operative report.
On this page
CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
26110 Joint biopsy Medicare reimbursement rates in Nebraska
Reports surgical sampling of the lining of a finger joint when tissue is needed to investigate a joint disorder such as persistent synovitis. Compare 26110 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 26110 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
$290.27
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.
Hand surgery
About 26110: Finger joint lining biopsy
Reports surgical sampling of the lining of a finger joint when tissue is needed to investigate a joint disorder such as persistent synovitis.
A surgeon obtains a tissue sample from the synovial lining of a finger joint for diagnostic examination. This may be considered when clinical evaluation has not established the cause of persistent joint inflammation or when tissue findings are needed to assess suspected inflammatory, infectious, or proliferative disease. Hand and orthopedic surgeons typically perform the procedure in an operating room or other surgical setting, with the specimen submitted for pathology.
Select this service when the operative report identifies a biopsy of the finger joint lining, rather than removal of a separate soft-tissue mass or treatment of the joint itself. Documentation should identify the finger and joint, the tissue sampled, the reason for biopsy, and the specimen sent for examination. CMS assigns a 90-day global period, including the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care. When multiple procedures are performed in the same session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and other procedures are subject to the standard multiple-procedure reduction. Modifier 50 is inappropriate; assistant-at-surgery payment is restricted, and co-surgeons and team surgery are not permitted.
CMS billing rules for 26110
- 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
- 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 RVU3.56 · 37%
- Practice expense (office) RVU5.28 · 55%
- Malpractice RVU0.68 · 7%
504
Medicare services in 2024 · #3556 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.
26110 compared with similar codes
Office rates for Nebraska, from the same CMS release.
No office rate
Both nearby descriptors refer to finger-joint lining biopsy. Confirm the exact documented procedure and current code descriptor before choosing between them.
No office rate
26111 is for excision of a subcutaneous hand or finger lesion, not sampling of synovial tissue within a finger joint.
Compare 26110 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
$290.27
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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 26110 in Nebraska.
PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv
2,544
- Code
- 26110
- Physician work
- 3.56
- Practice expense
- 5.28
- Malpractice
- 0.68
GPCI2026.csv
72
- Locality
- Nebraska
- Physician work
- 1.000
- Practice expense
- 0.923
- Malpractice
- 0.378
| Component | RVU | Locality factor | Adjusted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Physician work | 3.56 | × 1.000 | 3.5600 |
| Practice expense | 5.28 | × 0.923 | 4.8734 |
| Malpractice | 0.68 | × 0.378 | 0.2570 |
| Total RVUs | 8.6905 | ||
| Conversion factor | × 33.4009 | ||
Facility rate, Nebraska$290.27
Explore RVUs, geographic factors and the full formula
Facility
| Component | RVU | Local GPCI |
|---|---|---|
| Work | 3.56 | 1 |
| Practice expense | 5.28 | 0.923 |
| Malpractice | 0.68 | 0.378 |
(3.56 × 1 + 5.28 × 0.923 + 0.68 × 0.378) × $33.4009 = $290.27
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.
26110 billing questions
How does this differ from code 26100?
Code 26110 is for sampling the lining of a finger joint. Code 26100 identifies biopsy of the lining of a hand joint; use the code that matches the documented anatomic site.
Is this code appropriate for removing a finger mass?
Use 26110 when the procedure samples finger-joint lining for diagnosis. A separately excised soft-tissue lesion is a different service; codes 26111 and 26115 describe subcutaneous hand or finger lesion excision by size.
What documentation supports reporting the biopsy?
The operative note should identify the finger joint, the lining tissue sampled, the diagnostic reason for sampling, and the specimen submitted for pathology.
Can modifier 50 be used for biopsies on both sides?
No. CMS identifies bilateral adjustment as inappropriate for this code. Do not use modifier 50 to report bilateral performance.
How are other procedures in the same session paid?
Under the standard multiple-procedure rule, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and the other procedures are subject to a 50% reduction. Related postoperative care is included in the 90-day global period.
Is an assistant or co-surgeon payable?
CMS restricts assistant-at-surgery payment for this service and does not permit co-surgeon or team-surgery reporting.
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.
2,54126080,,Explore/treat finger joint,A,,4.36,6.41,NA,6.41,,0.84,11.61,11.61,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,54226100,,Biopsy hand joint lining,A,,3.70,5.65,NA,5.65,,0.79,10.14,10.14,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,1,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,54326105,,Biopsy finger joint lining,A,,3.73,5.66,NA,5.66,,0.80,10.19,10.19,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,1,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,54426110,,Biopsy finger joint lining,A,,3.56,5.28,NA,5.28,,0.68,9.52,9.52,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,54526111,,Exc hand les sc 1.5 cm/>,A,,5.28,5.45,NA,5.45,,1.04,11.77,11.77,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,0,2,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,54626113,,Exc hand tum deep 1.5 cm/>,A,,6.95,7.07,NA,7.07,,1.31,15.33,15.33,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,0,2,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,54726115,,Exc hand les sc < 1.5 cm,A,,3.86,13.00,,5.01,,0.75,17.61,9.62,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
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