No office rate
50543 is for laparoscopic removal of only part of the kidney. Use 50546 when the entire kidney is removed with partial ureterectomy.
On this page
CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
50546 Nephrectomy Medicare reimbursement rates in Pennsylvania
Reports laparoscopic removal of a kidney with partial ureter removal, commonly for a diseased or nonfunctioning kidney when radical or donor nephrectomy is not performed. Compare 50546 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in Pennsylvania.
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 50546 in Pennsylvania?
Pennsylvania has 2 payment localities in this comparison. Use the service location to choose the applicable amount. These are the supported base rates for the 2 payment areas shown below, using the same CMS release.
Office / nonfacility
No supported rate
Facility setting
$1051.75–$1122.08
2 of 2 localities have a supported rate.
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.
Urologic surgery
About 50546: Laparoscopic nephrectomy with partial ureterectomy
Reports laparoscopic removal of a kidney with partial ureter removal, commonly for a diseased or nonfunctioning kidney when radical or donor nephrectomy is not performed.
A urologist typically performs this operation in a hospital operating room using laparoscopic access to remove the kidney and part of the ureter. It may be selected for a kidney with chronic infection, obstruction, or other disease when removal is indicated but the operative work is not a radical nephrectomy or donor-kidney procurement. The kidney and removed ureteral segment are submitted for examination when clinically indicated.
Select the code from the documented approach and extent of removal. The operative report should establish laparoscopic removal of the kidney and partial ureterectomy, and distinguish that work from partial nephrectomy, radical nephrectomy, or total ureterectomy. This major surgery has a 90-day global period that includes the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care. For multiple procedures in one session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and other procedures are subject to a 50% reduction. Bilateral reporting with modifier 50 is paid at 150%. Assistant-at-surgery payment may be available; co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation, and team surgery is not permitted.
CMS billing rules for 50546
- 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 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 RVU21.32 · 66%
- Practice expense (office) RVU8.03 · 25%
- Malpractice RVU2.96 · 9%
1.9K
Medicare services in 2024 · #2519 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.
50546 compared with similar codes
Office rates for Pennsylvania, from the same CMS release.
No office rate
50545 is for the radical laparoscopic operation. Choose 50546 when the documented procedure is kidney removal with partial ureterectomy rather than radical nephrectomy.
No office rate
50548 applies when total ureterectomy accompanies laparoscopic nephrectomy. For partial ureter removal, compare with 50546.
Compare 50546 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.
2 of 2 payment localities
Metropolitan Philadelphia →
Office / nonfacility
Unavailable
Facility
$1122.08
Rest Of Pennsylvania →
Office / nonfacility
Unavailable
Facility
$1051.75
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50546 billing questions
How does this differ from laparoscopic radical nephrectomy?
Use 50546 for kidney removal with partial ureterectomy when the operative work is not radical nephrectomy. Code 50545 describes the radical procedure, which has a different extent of removal.
Does this code include the partial ureterectomy?
Yes. The partial ureter removal is part of the service represented by 50546; document the extent in the operative report.
When is 50548 a better choice?
When the laparoscopic nephrectomy includes total ureterectomy, compare the case with 50548. The operative report should make clear how much ureter was removed.
What postoperative care is included?
The 90-day global period includes the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care.
Can an assistant or co-surgeon be reported?
Assistant-at-surgery payment may be available. Co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation; team surgery is not permitted.
How is bilateral performance handled?
For bilateral performance, modifier 50 is paid at 150% under the CMS rule for this code.
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.
5,93350543,,Laparo partial nephrectomy,A,,26.72,9.63,NA,9.63,,3.46,39.81,39.81,0,090,0.08,0.83,0.09,2,1,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
5,93450544,,Laparoscopy pyeloplasty,A,,22.79,7.29,NA,7.29,,2.95,33.03,33.03,0,090,0.08,0.83,0.09,2,1,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
5,93550545,,Laparo radical nephrectomy,A,,24.43,7.91,NA,7.91,,3.18,35.52,35.52,0,090,0.08,0.83,0.09,2,1,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
5,93650546,,Laparoscopic nephrectomy,A,,21.32,8.03,NA,8.03,,2.96,32.31,32.31,0,090,0.08,0.83,0.09,2,1,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
5,93750547,,Laparo removal donor kidney,A,,25.68,14.12,NA,14.12,,6.31,46.11,46.11,0,090,0.08,0.83,0.09,2,1,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
5,93850548,,Laparo remove w/ureter,A,,24.73,7.71,NA,7.71,,3.22,35.66,35.66,0,090,0.08,0.83,0.09,2,1,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
5,93950549,,Unlisted laps px renal,C,,0.00,0.00,,0.00,,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,YYY,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,1,2,1,1,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00