No office rate
Use 50860 when the ureter is brought to the skin. Code 50800 concerns a ureter-to-bowel connection.
On this page
CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
50860 Ureterostomy Medicare reimbursement rates in Tennessee
Reports surgery that brings a ureter to the skin to create an external urinary drainage route instead of a bowel-based diversion. Compare 50860 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in Tennessee.
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 50860 in Tennessee?
Tennessee 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
$797.02
1 of 1 localities have a supported rate.
Payment area: Tennessee
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.
Urologic surgery
About 50860: Ureter-to-skin implantation
Reports surgery that brings a ureter to the skin to create an external urinary drainage route instead of a bowel-based diversion.
Code 50860 represents surgery that brings a ureter to the skin and creates an external route for urine drainage. A urologist typically performs the operation in a hospital operating room when the planned diversion directs urine through a cutaneous opening rather than through bowel or a reconstructed bladder. The operative report should establish that the ureter was implanted at the skin; this is not a code for implanting a ureter into bowel or replacing a ureter with bowel.
Report the service for the operation performed, with documentation identifying the ureter or ureters and the side or sides treated. CMS assigns a 90-day global period, which includes 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 others at 50%. Bilateral reporting with 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 50860
- 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 RVU16.65 · 65%
- Practice expense (office) RVU6.67 · 26%
- Malpractice RVU2.14 · 8%
22
Medicare services in 2024 · #5872 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.
50860 compared with similar codes
Office rates for Tennessee, from the same CMS release.
No office rate
50860 creates a cutaneous drainage route; 50815 describes urinary diversion to intestine.
No office rate
Choose 50860 for implantation of a ureter at the skin, not a bowel-based urinary diversion.
No office rate
50860 brings the ureter to the skin. Code 50840 is for replacing a ureter with bowel.
Compare 50860 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
Tennessee →
Office / nonfacility
Unavailable
Facility
$797.02
Need rates for a whole code list?
Fee-sheet and API access are in early access. Tell us which codes and locations your team needs.
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 50860 in Tennessee.
PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv
5,996
- Code
- 50860
- Physician work
- 16.65
- Practice expense
- 6.67
- Malpractice
- 2.14
GPCI2026.csv
95
- Locality
- Tennessee
- Physician work
- 1.000
- Practice expense
- 0.909
- Malpractice
- 0.537
| Component | RVU | Locality factor | Adjusted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Physician work | 16.65 | × 1.000 | 16.6500 |
| Practice expense | 6.67 | × 0.909 | 6.0630 |
| Malpractice | 2.14 | × 0.537 | 1.1492 |
| Total RVUs | 23.8622 | ||
| Conversion factor | × 33.4009 | ||
Facility rate, Tennessee$797.02
Explore RVUs, geographic factors and the full formula
Facility
| Component | RVU | Local GPCI |
|---|---|---|
| Work | 16.65 | 1 |
| Practice expense | 6.67 | 0.909 |
| Malpractice | 2.14 | 0.537 |
(16.65 × 1 + 6.67 × 0.909 + 2.14 × 0.537) × $33.4009 = $797.02
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.
50860 billing questions
How is 50860 different from implanting a ureter into bowel?
50860 is for bringing the ureter to the skin for external drainage. Code 50800 describes a bowel connection rather than a cutaneous outlet.
What operative documentation supports 50860?
The report should show that the surgeon brought and implanted the ureter at the skin. Document the side or sides treated and any other procedures performed in the session.
How is bilateral 50860 reported?
When the procedure is bilateral, report modifier 50; CMS pays the bilateral procedure at 150%.
Are related postoperative visits included?
Yes. 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 paid?
Assistant-at-surgery services may be paid. Co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation, while team surgery is not permitted.
What happens when another procedure is performed in the same session?
Under the standard multiple procedure reduction, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and other procedures are paid at 50%.
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.
5,99350830,,Revise urine flow,A,,32.93,10.70,NA,10.70,,4.23,47.86,47.86,0,090,0.08,0.83,0.09,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
5,99450840,,Replace ureter by bowel,A,,21.83,8.40,NA,8.40,,2.81,33.04,33.04,0,090,0.08,0.83,0.09,2,1,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
5,99550845,,Appendico-vesicostomy,A,,21.90,9.07,NA,9.07,,2.82,33.79,33.79,0,090,0.08,0.83,0.09,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
5,99650860,,Transplant ureter to skin,A,,16.65,6.67,NA,6.67,,2.14,25.46,25.46,0,090,0.08,0.83,0.09,2,1,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
5,99750900,,Repair of ureter,A,,14.66,6.25,NA,6.25,,1.88,22.79,22.79,0,090,0.08,0.83,0.09,2,1,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
5,99850920,,Closure ureter/skin fistula,A,,15.41,6.41,NA,6.41,,1.98,23.80,23.80,0,090,0.08,0.83,0.09,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
5,99950930,,Closure ureter/bowel fistula,A,,19.69,7.30,NA,7.30,,2.53,29.52,29.52,0,090,0.08,0.83,0.09,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
9214412,RI,01,RHODE ISLAND,1.019,1.033,0.892
9311202,SC,01,SOUTH CAROLINA,1.000,0.924,0.850
9403402,SD,02,SOUTH DAKOTA**,1.000,1.000,0.336
9510312,TN,35,TENNESSEE,1.000,0.909,0.537
9604412,TX,31,AUSTIN,1.002,1.058,0.886
9704412,TX,20,BEAUMONT,1.000,0.910,0.929
9804412,TX,09,BRAZORIA,1.008,0.991,0.780