Billing code 67938: Eyelid foreign bodyMedicare rate & RVUs in Oregon
Report removal of a foreign body embedded in an eyelid when the clinician extracts material from the lid rather than the conjunctiva or cornea.
Medicare pays $250.76–$275.15 for 67938 in the office in Oregon, from Rest Of Oregon to Portland. Which amount applies depends on the service address.
Medicare allowed amount for participating (non-QP) physicians, before deductible, coinsurance and claim adjustments. Not a patient’s bill or a hospital charge.
On this page 9 sections
What 67938 covers
This service removes material lodged within an eyelid, such as a fragment embedded in the upper or lower lid after an injury. An ophthalmologist or another qualified physician may perform the procedure in an office or facility setting. The work addresses the eyelid itself; material on the conjunctiva or cornea calls for a site-specific foreign-body service instead. Removal may require exposing the embedded material before extracting it.
Select the code when the record identifies an embedded eyelid foreign body and supports its location, laterality, and removal. For bilateral treatment, CMS pays the service with modifier 50 at 150%. When multiple procedures are performed in one session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and other procedures are subject to the standard 50% multiple-procedure reduction. The procedure has a 10-day global period, which includes related postoperative visits during that period. CMS does not pay an assistant at surgery for this service; co-surgeons and team surgery are not permitted.
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.
Where 67938 pays more and less in Oregon
| Payment locality | Office | Facility |
|---|---|---|
| Portland | $275.15 | $106.31 |
| Rest Of Oregon | $250.76 | $99.40 |
How the 67938 rate is calculated
Each of 67938’s three RVUs is multiplied by a geographic index (GPCI) for the payment locality, added up, and multiplied by the conversion factor. Drag the indexes or enter a ZIP to see what moves the rate.
How the rate is built · 67938
RVUs × geographic indexes × conversion factor
Swap in your local Medicare rate.
Work 1.35Practice expense 6.14Malpractice 0.06
All indexes start at 1.000 (the national rate). Enter a ZIP or drag a slider.
Payment rules and modifiers for 67938
67938 has a 10-day global period: related visits in that window are included in the surgery payment.
CMS payment indicators · 67938
Eyelid foreign body
| Rule | CMS value | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Global period | 010 | Minor procedure: the day of the procedure plus 10 days after are included. |
| Multiple procedures | 2 | Standard reduction: highest-valued procedure at 100%, others at 50%. |
| Bilateral (modifier 50) | 1 | Bilateral with modifier 50 pays 150% of the fee schedule amount. |
| Assistant at surgery (80/81/82/AS) | 1 | Not paid (statutory restriction). |
| Co-surgeons (62) | 0 | Not permitted. |
| Team surgery (66) | 0 | Not permitted. |
| Professional/technical | 0 | Physician service: no professional/technical split. |
| Split (54/55/56) | 0.10/0.80/0.10 | Share of the payment for pre-op, the procedure itself, and post-op care. |
Global surgery period · 67938
Eyelid foreign body
10-day global period ends
Oct 11, 2026
Covers Oct 1, 2026 through Oct 11, 2026 (11 days).
Visit on Oct 31, 2026
After the global period ends: visits and procedures are billed normally.
What modifiers do to the payment
Modifier 50 · payment effect
With and without the modifier
67938 without 50 · national office
$252.18
Eyelid foreign body
67938-50 · Bilateral: 150%
$378.27
Both sides on one line with modifier 50 are paid at 150% of the fee schedule amount (subject to multiple-procedure rules with other procedures).
67938 compared with similar codes
Compare codes
67938 vs 65205 vs 65210 vs 65220 vs 65222: national Medicare rates
Swap in your local Medicare rate.
How to choose
- 65205Eye foreign body removal
- Choose 65205 for a superficial foreign body on the conjunctiva. Choose 67938 when material is embedded in the eyelid.
- 65210Eye foreign body removal
- Choose 65210 for an embedded conjunctival foreign body. The location, not simply the depth of embedding, distinguishes it from 67938.
- 65220Corneal removal
- Choose 65220 for a superficial corneal foreign body. Use 67938 when the embedded material is in the eyelid.
- 65222Corneal removal
- 65222 describes corneal foreign-body removal using a slit lamp. It is not the eyelid code; 67938 applies to an embedded eyelid foreign body.
67938 billing questions
How is this different from removal of a conjunctival foreign body?
Use 67938 when the foreign body is embedded in the eyelid. A foreign body embedded in the conjunctiva is coded to the conjunctival foreign-body service instead.
Can I report a corneal foreign-body removal code for the same object?
No. Choose the code that matches the location of the material removed. If separate foreign bodies in different structures are treated, document each site and service distinctly.
What documentation supports 67938?
Record the eyelid involved, the embedded location and nature of the foreign body, and the removal performed. Document each side separately when both eyelids are treated.
How should bilateral removal be reported?
For removal from both sides, CMS identifies modifier 50 and pays the bilateral procedure at 150%. The record should establish treatment on each side.
Are related postoperative visits separately payable during the global period?
Related postoperative visits during the 10-day global period are included in the procedure payment.
Can an assistant or co-surgeon be billed for this procedure?
CMS does not pay an assistant at surgery for 67938. Co-surgeons and team surgery are 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 indexes and the conversion factor. Services without a published rate are labeled, never given a made-up amount. Amounts are Medicare allowed amounts before claim adjustments: not a patient’s bill or a commercial rate.
CMS RVU26D · effective Oct 1, 2026 through the day before Jan 1, 2027
Show the CMS file lines behind this rate
Fee sheets
Put 67938 and the rest of your codes on one sheet
Build a fee sheet from your own code list at your locality, put your payer contracts beside Medicare, and see what changed each quarter.
Build my fee sheetOr price your code list free →