No office rate
29860 is for diagnostic hip arthroscopy. Use 29861 when the arthroscopic work includes removal of a loose or foreign body.
On this page
CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
29861 Hip arthroscopy Medicare reimbursement rates in Nebraska
Arthroscopic hip surgery to extract an intra-articular loose or foreign body, such as a fragment that is causing symptoms or limiting joint motion. Compare 29861 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 29861 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
$598.92
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.
Orthopedic surgery
About 29861: Hip arthroscopy with loose body removal
Arthroscopic hip surgery to extract an intra-articular loose or foreign body, such as a fragment that is causing symptoms or limiting joint motion.
An orthopedic surgeon uses a camera and instruments through small incisions to inspect the hip joint and remove a loose fragment or foreign object from within it. The procedure is generally performed in a hospital outpatient department or ambulatory surgery center when imaging and clinical findings support removal; the operative report should identify the material removed and the arthroscopic work performed.
Report this service when arthroscopic removal is the therapeutic work, rather than a diagnostic examination alone or treatment directed primarily at debridement or synovectomy. Documentation should establish the intra-articular finding and its removal. CMS assigns a 90-day global period, including the day-before preoperative visit and related postoperative care. When related endoscopies are performed together, endoscopy-family pricing applies. For bilateral surgery, modifier 50 is paid at 150%. Assistant-at-surgery services may be paid; co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation, and team surgery is not permitted.
CMS billing rules for 29861
- 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 may be paid.
- Co-surgeons
- Co-surgeons paid only with supporting documentation.
- Team surgery
- Team surgery not permitted.
Where the value comes from
- Work RVU9.85 · 50%
- Practice expense (office) RVU8.01 · 41%
- Malpractice RVU1.82 · 9%
94
Medicare services in 2024 · #4927 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.
29861 compared with similar codes
Office rates for Nebraska, from the same CMS release.
No office rate
29862 describes hip arthroscopic debridement. 29861 identifies arthroscopic removal of a loose or foreign body.
No office rate
29863 describes hip arthroscopic synovectomy. 29861 is selected for removal of a loose or foreign body.
No office rate
29874 addresses arthroscopic removal of a loose or foreign body in the knee; 29861 is for the hip.
Compare 29861 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
$598.92
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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 29861 in Nebraska.
PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv
3,347
- Code
- 29861
- Physician work
- 9.85
- Practice expense
- 8.01
- Malpractice
- 1.82
GPCI2026.csv
72
- Locality
- Nebraska
- Physician work
- 1.000
- Practice expense
- 0.923
- Malpractice
- 0.378
| Component | RVU | Locality factor | Adjusted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Physician work | 9.85 | × 1.000 | 9.8500 |
| Practice expense | 8.01 | × 0.923 | 7.3932 |
| Malpractice | 1.82 | × 0.378 | 0.6880 |
| Total RVUs | 17.9312 | ||
| Conversion factor | × 33.4009 | ||
Facility rate, Nebraska$598.92
Explore RVUs, geographic factors and the full formula
Facility
| Component | RVU | Local GPCI |
|---|---|---|
| Work | 9.85 | 1 |
| Practice expense | 8.01 | 0.923 |
| Malpractice | 1.82 | 0.378 |
(9.85 × 1 + 8.01 × 0.923 + 1.82 × 0.378) × $33.4009 = $598.92
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.
29861 billing questions
How does this differ from diagnostic hip arthroscopy?
Use 29861 when the arthroscopic procedure removes a loose or foreign body. A diagnostic hip arthroscopy is the appropriate service when the work is examination rather than therapeutic removal.
Can diagnostic hip arthroscopy be reported separately with this procedure?
The diagnostic inspection is part of the operative arthroscopy when removal is performed; do not separately report 29860 for that same hip and session.
When does 29862 describe the work instead?
29862 describes arthroscopic debridement. Choose 29861 when the documented therapeutic work is removal of a loose or foreign body, not debridement as the primary service.
What should the operative report document?
Document the intra-articular loose or foreign body, its removal, and the arthroscopic work performed. This supports that the service was therapeutic removal rather than diagnostic inspection alone.
How is bilateral surgery reported?
For bilateral procedures, report modifier 50; CMS pays the bilateral procedure at 150%. The code has a 90-day global period.
Can an assistant or co-surgeon be billed?
Assistant-at-surgery services may be paid. Co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation; team surgery is not permitted.
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.
3,34429855,,Tibial arthroscopy/surgery,A,,10.49,9.20,NA,9.20,,2.16,21.85,21.85,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,1,2,2,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,34529856,,Tibial arthroscopy/surgery,A,,13.92,10.59,NA,10.59,,2.97,27.48,27.48,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,1,2,2,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,34629860,,Hip arthroscopy dx,A,,8.78,7.95,NA,7.95,,1.69,18.42,18.42,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,1,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,34729861,,Hip arthro w/fb removal,A,,9.85,8.01,NA,8.01,,1.82,19.68,19.68,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,3,1,2,1,0,9,29860,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,34829862,,Hip arthr0 w/debridement,A,,10.89,9.69,NA,9.69,,2.17,22.75,22.75,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,3,1,2,1,0,9,29860,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,34929863,,Hip arthr0 w/synovectomy,A,,10.89,9.66,NA,9.66,,2.12,22.67,22.67,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,3,1,2,1,0,9,29860,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,35029866,,Autgrft implnt knee w/scope,A,,14.30,11.98,NA,11.98,,3.04,29.32,29.32,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,1,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
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