No office rate
Choose 66840 for lens-material removal by aspiration technique. Choose 66850 when the surgeon uses a pars plana approach.
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CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
66850 Lens removal Medicare reimbursement rates in Texas
Reports surgical removal of crystalline lens material through a pars plana approach, commonly for retained or dropped fragments after complicated cataract surgery. Compare 66850 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 66850 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 66850 pays more and less in Texas
Ophthalmic surgery
About 66850: Pars plana lens material removal
Reports surgical removal of crystalline lens material through a pars plana approach, commonly for retained or dropped fragments after complicated cataract surgery.
An ophthalmologist, often a vitreoretinal surgeon, removes crystalline lens material through a pars plana approach. A common setting is surgery to retrieve lens fragments that have moved into the vitreous after a complicated cataract extraction; trauma may also leave lens material requiring surgical removal. The operative report should identify the material removed and the surgical approach, and clarify whether vitrectomy was performed so the service can be distinguished from the related code for lens removal with vitrectomy.
This major surgery carries 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 50% multiple-procedure reduction. For bilateral surgery reported with modifier 50, CMS pays 150%. Assistant-at-surgery payment is restricted, and co-surgeon and team-surgery reporting are not permitted.
CMS billing rules for 66850
- 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
- Statutory restriction: assistant at surgery is not paid.
- Co-surgeons
- Co-surgeons not permitted.
- Team surgery
- Team surgery not permitted.
Where the value comes from
- Work RVU10.29 · 51%
- Practice expense (office) RVU8.95 · 45%
- Malpractice RVU0.82 · 4%
4.7K
Medicare services in 2024 · #1913 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.
66850 compared with similar codes
Office rates for Texas, from the same CMS release.
No office rate
Both involve pars plana lens-material removal; 66852 is the related code when vitrectomy is performed.
No office rate
66830 addresses removal of a secondary lens membrane, not retained or dropped crystalline lens material.
$315.33–$347.13
66821 is laser treatment for an after-cataract. It does not describe surgical removal of crystalline lens material.
Compare 66850 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 $684.93 |
| Beaumont | Office Unavailable | Facility $641.17 |
| Brazoria | Office Unavailable | Facility $664.06 |
| Dallas | Office Unavailable | Facility $668.03 |
| Fort Worth | Office Unavailable | Facility $665.40 |
| Galveston | Office Unavailable | Facility $665.97 |
| Houston | Office Unavailable | Facility $680.98 |
| Rest Of Texas | Office Unavailable | Facility $652.12 |
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66850 billing questions
How is this code distinguished from 66840?
This code identifies removal through a pars plana approach. Code 66840 describes removal using an aspiration technique, so the operative approach and method guide selection.
When is 66852 used instead?
Use 66852 when the pars plana lens-material removal is performed with vitrectomy. The operative report should support the vitrectomy service.
Does the 90-day global include postoperative care?
Yes. Related postoperative care during the 90-day period is included, as is the day-before preoperative visit.
How does CMS handle bilateral reporting?
When the procedure is performed bilaterally and reported with modifier 50, CMS pays 150%.
Can an assistant surgeon or co-surgeon be reported?
Assistant-at-surgery payment is restricted. Co-surgeons and team surgery are not permitted for this code under the listed CMS rules.
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.
7,39766825,,Reposition intraocular lens,A,,8.78,12.39,NA,12.39,,0.69,21.86,21.86,0,090,0.10,0.70,0.20,2,1,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
7,39866830,,Removal of lens lesion,A,,9.23,8.11,NA,8.11,,0.72,18.06,18.06,0,090,0.10,0.70,0.20,2,1,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
7,39966840,,Removal of lens material,A,,8.95,8.02,NA,8.02,,0.71,17.68,17.68,0,090,0.10,0.70,0.20,2,1,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
7,40066850,,Removal of lens material,A,,10.29,8.95,NA,8.95,,0.82,20.06,20.06,0,090,0.10,0.70,0.20,2,1,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
7,40166852,,Removal of lens material,A,,11.12,9.25,NA,9.25,,0.89,21.26,21.26,0,090,0.10,0.70,0.20,2,1,0,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
7,40266920,,Extraction of lens,A,,9.88,8.34,NA,8.34,,0.79,19.01,19.01,0,090,0.10,0.70,0.20,2,1,0,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
7,40366930,,Extraction of lens,A,,11.32,9.51,NA,9.51,,0.91,21.74,21.74,0,090,0.10,0.70,0.20,2,1,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00