No office rate
Use 26565 for shortening a metacarpal. Use 26568 when the operation lengthens a metacarpal or phalanx.
On this page
CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
26568 Bone lengthening Medicare reimbursement rates in Nebraska
Reports operative lengthening of a metacarpal or finger phalanx, such as correction of a congenitally short bone or acquired shortening. Compare 26568 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 26568 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
$829.31
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 26568: Metacarpal or phalanx lengthening
Reports operative lengthening of a metacarpal or finger phalanx, such as correction of a congenitally short bone or acquired shortening.
A hand surgeon lengthens a metacarpal or phalanx when a bone is abnormally short and length restoration is part of the treatment plan. Typical situations include congenital shortening, such as brachymetacarpia, and shortening after injury. The procedure is generally performed in an operating room by an orthopedic or plastic surgeon with hand-surgery expertise; the operative approach may use an osteotomy and a method of gradual or immediate lengthening.
Choose this code for the lengthening procedure, not simply because an osteotomy is performed. The operative report should identify the bone treated, the reason for lengthening, the correction performed, and the method used. 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. An assistant at surgery may be paid; co-surgeons and team surgery are not permitted.
CMS billing rules for 26568
- 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 not permitted.
- Team surgery
- Team surgery not permitted.
Where the value comes from
- Work RVU9.04 · 33%
- Practice expense (office) RVU16.32 · 60%
- Malpractice RVU1.92 · 7%
24
Medicare services in 2024 · #5806 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.
26568 compared with similar codes
Office rates for Nebraska, from the same CMS release.
No office rate
Use 26567 for shortening a phalanx. It is not the code for lengthening a short finger bone.
No office rate
26548 addresses metacarpal deformity correction by osteotomy. Choose 26568 when the documented procedure lengthens the metacarpal or phalanx.
No office rate
26546 addresses nonunion or malunion of a metacarpal or phalanx; 26568 describes lengthening rather than repair of a failed or malunited bone.
Compare 26568 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
$829.31
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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 26568 in Nebraska.
PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv
2,651
- Code
- 26568
- Physician work
- 9.04
- Practice expense
- 16.32
- Malpractice
- 1.92
GPCI2026.csv
72
- Locality
- Nebraska
- Physician work
- 1.000
- Practice expense
- 0.923
- Malpractice
- 0.378
| Component | RVU | Locality factor | Adjusted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Physician work | 9.04 | × 1.000 | 9.0400 |
| Practice expense | 16.32 | × 0.923 | 15.0634 |
| Malpractice | 1.92 | × 0.378 | 0.7258 |
| Total RVUs | 24.8291 | ||
| Conversion factor | × 33.4009 | ||
Facility rate, Nebraska$829.31
Explore RVUs, geographic factors and the full formula
Facility
| Component | RVU | Local GPCI |
|---|---|---|
| Work | 9.04 | 1 |
| Practice expense | 16.32 | 0.923 |
| Malpractice | 1.92 | 0.378 |
(9.04 × 1 + 16.32 × 0.923 + 1.92 × 0.378) × $33.4009 = $829.31
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.
26568 billing questions
When should I report 26568 instead of a shortening osteoplasty?
Report 26568 when the operation lengthens a metacarpal or phalanx. Codes 26565 and 26567 describe shortening procedures, not lengthening.
What operative documentation supports this code?
Document the bone treated, the cause of its short length, the lengthening performed, and the operative method. The record should make clear that length restoration—not only correction of alignment—was performed.
Can modifier 50 be used when both hands are treated?
No. CMS identifies bilateral adjustment as inappropriate for this code, so modifier 50 should not be used.
How does the 90-day global period affect postoperative billing?
The day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care are included in the global period. CMS treats 26568 as major surgery.
Can an assistant surgeon be paid for this procedure?
CMS permits assistant-at-surgery payment for 26568. Co-surgeons and team surgery are not permitted.
How are other procedures in the same session paid?
Under the standard multiple-procedure rule, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and other procedures performed in that session are subject to a 50% reduction.
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.
2,64826562,,Repair of web finger,A,,16.26,19.49,NA,19.49,,3.46,39.21,39.21,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,0,2,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,64926565,,Correct metacarpal flaw,A,,6.74,12.62,NA,12.62,,1.31,20.67,20.67,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,0,2,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,65026567,,Correct finger deformity,A,,6.82,12.81,NA,12.81,,1.33,20.96,20.96,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,0,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,65126568,,Lengthen metacarpal/finger,A,,9.04,16.32,NA,16.32,,1.92,27.28,27.28,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,0,2,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,65226580,,Repair cleft hand,A,,19.26,19.99,NA,19.99,,4.10,43.35,43.35,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,1,2,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,65326587,,Reconstruct extra finger,A,,14.14,11.93,NA,11.93,,3.01,29.08,29.08,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,0,2,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,65426590,,Repair finger deformity,A,,18.20,18.03,NA,18.03,,3.88,40.11,40.11,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,0,2,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
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