No office rate
Both concern hand or finger decompression. Select based on the operative approach and the specific work described in the applicable descriptor.
On this page
CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
26035 Hand decompression Medicare reimbursement rates in Ohio
Operative fasciotomy of the hand or finger relieves dangerous compartment pressure, including pressure involving intrinsic hand muscles, typically after trauma. Compare 26035 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in Ohio.
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 26035 in Ohio?
Ohio 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
$784.10
1 of 1 localities have a supported rate.
Payment area: Ohio
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 26035: Hand or finger compartment fasciotomy
Operative fasciotomy of the hand or finger relieves dangerous compartment pressure, including pressure involving intrinsic hand muscles, typically after trauma.
This operation releases tight fascial compartments in the hand or a finger to relieve pressure and protect muscle and other tissues. It is typically performed by an orthopedic, plastic, or hand surgeon in an operating room for acute compartment syndrome, such as after a crush injury or severe hand trauma. The operative report should identify the affected anatomy and describe the decompression performed; this is distinct from opening a tendon sheath to drain infection or releasing a tendon for triggering.
Report the code for the hand or finger fasciotomy with intrinsic-muscle decompression, supported by the operative findings and procedure details. CMS assigns a 90-day global period: the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care are included. 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 for this code. An assistant at surgery is payable only when medical necessity is documented; co-surgeons and team surgery are not permitted.
CMS billing rules for 26035
- 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 is paid only with documentation of medical necessity.
- Co-surgeons
- Co-surgeons not permitted.
- Team surgery
- Team surgery not permitted.
Where the value comes from
- Work RVU11.09 · 45%
- Practice expense (office) RVU10.96 · 45%
- Malpractice RVU2.36 · 10%
27
Medicare services in 2024 · #5731 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.
26035 compared with similar codes
Office rates for Ohio, from the same CMS release.
No office rate
This code concerns fasciotomy of the forearm or wrist. Use 26035 when the decompression is performed in the hand or finger.
No office rate
26020 is for drainage of an infected hand tendon sheath. It does not represent fasciotomy to relieve compartment pressure.
Compare 26035 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
Ohio →
Office / nonfacility
Unavailable
Facility
$784.10
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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 26035 in Ohio.
PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv
2,533
- Code
- 26035
- Physician work
- 11.09
- Practice expense
- 10.96
- Malpractice
- 2.36
GPCI2026.csv
85
- Locality
- Ohio
- Physician work
- 1.000
- Practice expense
- 0.913
- Malpractice
- 1.008
| Component | RVU | Locality factor | Adjusted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Physician work | 11.09 | × 1.000 | 11.0900 |
| Practice expense | 10.96 | × 0.913 | 10.0065 |
| Malpractice | 2.36 | × 1.008 | 2.3789 |
| Total RVUs | 23.4754 | ||
| Conversion factor | × 33.4009 | ||
Facility rate, Ohio$784.10
Explore RVUs, geographic factors and the full formula
Facility
| Component | RVU | Local GPCI |
|---|---|---|
| Work | 11.09 | 1 |
| Practice expense | 10.96 | 0.913 |
| Malpractice | 2.36 | 1.008 |
(11.09 × 1 + 10.96 × 0.913 + 2.36 × 1.008) × $33.4009 = $784.10
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.
26035 billing questions
When should this code be chosen instead of 26037?
Both codes describe hand or finger decompression procedures. Compare the operative work with the applicable code descriptors, especially whether the multiple-incision approach specified by 26037 was performed.
Can modifier 50 be reported for both hands?
No. CMS identifies bilateral adjustment as inapplicable to this code, and modifier 50 is inappropriate.
What postoperative care is included?
The 90-day global period includes the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care.
When is an assistant at surgery payable?
Only when the medical necessity of the assistant is documented. CMS does not permit co-surgeons or team surgery for this code.
How does CMS handle another procedure performed in the same session?
The highest-valued procedure is paid in full; other procedures performed in that session are subject to the standard multiple-procedure reduction.
Does this code describe drainage of an infected tendon sheath?
No. It describes pressure-relieving fasciotomy of the hand or finger; tendon-sheath drainage is a different service, such as the one described by 26020.
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.
2,53026025,,Drainage of palm bursa,A,,4.95,6.17,NA,6.17,,0.99,12.11,12.11,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,1,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,53126030,,Drainage of palm bursas,A,,6.09,6.67,NA,6.67,,1.19,13.95,13.95,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,1,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,53226034,,Treat hand bone lesion,A,,6.46,8.03,NA,8.03,,1.26,15.75,15.75,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,53326035,,Decompress fingers/hand,A,,11.09,10.96,NA,10.96,,2.36,24.41,24.41,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,0,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,53426037,,Decompress fingers/hand,A,,7.38,6.96,NA,6.96,,1.44,15.78,15.78,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,1,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,53526040,,Release palm contracture,A,,3.37,5.25,NA,5.25,,0.62,9.24,9.24,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,1,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,53626045,,Release palm contracture,A,,5.59,6.87,NA,6.87,,1.11,13.57,13.57,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,1,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
8213282,NY,99,REST OF NEW YORK,1.000,0.950,0.703
8311502,NC,00,NORTH CAROLINA,1.000,0.933,0.639
8403302,ND,01,NORTH DAKOTA**,1.000,1.000,0.406
8515202,OH,00,OHIO,1.000,0.913,1.008
8604312,OK,00,OKLAHOMA,1.000,0.893,0.777
8702302,OR,01,PORTLAND,1.016,1.111,0.744
8802302,OR,99,REST OF OREGON,1.000,0.996,0.703