No office rate
Use 50010 for open exposure and inspection without an incision into the kidney. Use 50045 when the surgeon opens the kidney as part of exploration.
On this page
CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
50010 Renal exploration Medicare reimbursement rates in Texas
Open surgical inspection of a kidney is reported when operative evaluation is needed without a more definitive renal procedure such as drainage or stone removal. Compare 50010 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in Texas.
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 50010 in Texas?
Texas has 8 payment localities in this comparison. Use the service location to choose the applicable amount. These are the supported base rates for the 8 payment areas shown below, using the same CMS release.
Office / nonfacility
No 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.
Where 50010 pays more and less in Texas
Urologic surgery
About 50010: Open renal exploration
Open surgical inspection of a kidney is reported when operative evaluation is needed without a more definitive renal procedure such as drainage or stone removal.
A urologist uses open surgery to expose and inspect the kidney when operative evaluation is needed to investigate a renal finding. The procedure is distinct from an operation that opens the kidney to explore its interior, drains an abscess, establishes drainage, or removes a stone. It is generally performed in an operating room rather than an office setting.
Report the service when the operative record supports renal exploration and no more specific renal procedure better describes the work. Document the indication, operative approach, findings, and any definitive treatment performed. CMS assigns a 90-day global period, including the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care. When multiple procedures occur 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 payment may be available; co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation, and team surgery is not permitted.
CMS billing rules for 50010
- 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 RVU11.97 · 62%
- Practice expense (office) RVU5.70 · 30%
- Malpractice RVU1.53 · 8%
80
Medicare services in 2024 · #5052 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.
50010 compared with similar codes
Office rates for Texas, from the same CMS release.
No office rate
50020 describes open drainage of a perirenal or renal abscess. 50010 is for exploration when abscess drainage is not the definitive service.
No office rate
50060 describes open stone removal. 50010 is not the choice when the operation removes a renal calculus.
Compare 50010 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.
8 of 8 payment localities
| Payment locality | Office | Facility |
|---|---|---|
| Austin | Office Unavailable | Facility $647.31 |
| Beaumont | Office Unavailable | Facility $620.53 |
| Brazoria | Office Unavailable | Facility $631.54 |
| Dallas | Office Unavailable | Facility $636.88 |
| Fort Worth | Office Unavailable | Facility $635.64 |
| Galveston | Office Unavailable | Facility $634.37 |
| Houston | Office Unavailable | Facility $662.38 |
| Rest Of Texas | Office Unavailable | Facility $626.63 |
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50010 billing questions
How is 50010 different from 50045?
50010 describes open exposure and inspection of the kidney. Choose 50045 when the surgeon makes an incision into the kidney as part of the exploration.
Can 50010 be reported when the surgeon drains a renal abscess?
When open drainage of a perirenal or renal abscess is performed, 50020 describes that definitive service rather than exploration alone.
Does the 90-day global period include postoperative visits?
Yes. The CMS global period includes the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care.
How is 50010 handled when other procedures occur in the same session?
Under the standard multiple procedure rule, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and the other procedures are paid at 50%.
Can 50010 be billed bilaterally or with an assistant?
For a bilateral service, modifier 50 is paid at 150%. Assistant-at-surgery payment may be available; co-surgeons require supporting documentation, and 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.
5,86249905,,Omental flap intra-abdom,A,,6.38,1.57,NA,1.57,,1.48,9.43,9.43,0,ZZZ,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,0,2,2,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
5,86349906,,Free omental flap microvasc,C,,0.00,0.00,,0.00,,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,090,0.09,0.81,0.10,2,0,1,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
5,86449999,,Unlisted px abd pertm&omn,C,,0.00,0.00,,0.00,,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,YYY,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,0,1,1,1,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
5,86550010,,Renal exploration,A,,11.97,5.70,NA,5.70,,1.53,19.20,19.20,0,090,0.08,0.83,0.09,2,1,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
5,86650020,,Drg perirnl/renal absc open,A,,17.63,7.53,NA,7.53,,2.27,27.43,27.43,0,090,0.08,0.83,0.09,2,0,1,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
5,86750040,,Nfros nfrot w/drg,A,,16.26,6.59,NA,6.59,,2.09,24.94,24.94,0,090,0.08,0.83,0.09,2,1,1,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
5,86850045,,Nephrotomy w/exploration,A,,16.40,6.62,NA,6.62,,2.11,25.13,25.13,0,090,0.08,0.83,0.09,2,1,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00