No office rate
Choose 26410 when the hand tendon is repaired. Choose 26415 when the operative service removes the tendon instead of restoring it.
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CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
26415 Tendon excision Medicare reimbursement rates in Utah
Reports operative removal of a hand or finger tendon when the treatment plan calls for excision rather than repair, reconstruction, or release. Compare 26415 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in Utah.
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 26415 in Utah?
Utah 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
$797.52
1 of 1 localities have a supported rate.
Payment area: Utah
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.
Hand surgery
About 26415: Hand or finger tendon excision
Reports operative removal of a hand or finger tendon when the treatment plan calls for excision rather than repair, reconstruction, or release.
A hand surgeon, orthopedic surgeon, or plastic surgeon uses this service to remove a tendon from the hand or a finger. The operative report should identify the tendon and describe the condition and extent of tissue removed. This is a facility-based surgical service in Medicare claims data; it is distinct from freeing a tendon from adhesions or restoring continuity of a tendon that is being preserved.
Select the code when the operative work is tendon removal, not repair, grafting, or release. Documentation should connect the excision to the clinical problem and distinguish any separately performed reconstruction. The service has a 90-day global period, including the day-before preoperative visit and related postoperative care during that period. When multiple procedures occur in the same session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and other procedures are subject to the standard multiple-procedure reduction. Modifier 50 is inappropriate for this code. Assistant-at-surgery payment requires documented medical necessity; co-surgeons and team surgery are not permitted.
CMS billing rules for 26415
- 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 adjustment does not apply; the descriptor or anatomy makes modifier 50 inappropriate.
- Assistant at surgery
- Assistant at surgery is paid only with documentation of medical necessity.
- Co-surgeons
- Co-surgeons not permitted.
- Team surgery
- Team surgery not permitted.
Where the value comes from
- Work RVU8.30 · 33%
- Practice expense (office) RVU14.89 · 60%
- Malpractice RVU1.76 · 7%
18
Medicare services in 2024 · #5968 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.
26415 compared with similar codes
Office rates for Utah, from the same CMS release.
No office rate
26412 describes hand tendon repair with grafting. This code represents tendon removal; report graft reconstruction only when that work is performed and documented.
No office rate
26416 describes tendon grafting in the hand or finger. It addresses replacement tissue, while 26415 describes removal of the tendon.
No office rate
26440 describes releasing a tendon in the palm or finger. Use 26415 for removal, not for freeing a tendon from restriction.
Compare 26415 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
Utah →
Office / nonfacility
Unavailable
Facility
$797.52
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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 26415 in Utah.
PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv
2,587
- Code
- 26415
- Physician work
- 8.30
- Practice expense
- 14.89
- Malpractice
- 1.76
GPCI2026.csv
104
- Locality
- Utah
- Physician work
- 1.000
- Practice expense
- 0.940
- Malpractice
- 0.898
| Component | RVU | Locality factor | Adjusted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Physician work | 8.30 | × 1.000 | 8.3000 |
| Practice expense | 14.89 | × 0.940 | 13.9966 |
| Malpractice | 1.76 | × 0.898 | 1.5805 |
| Total RVUs | 23.8771 | ||
| Conversion factor | × 33.4009 | ||
Facility rate, Utah$797.52
Explore RVUs, geographic factors and the full formula
Facility
| Component | RVU | Local GPCI |
|---|---|---|
| Work | 8.3 | 1 |
| Practice expense | 14.89 | 0.94 |
| Malpractice | 1.76 | 0.898 |
(8.3 × 1 + 14.89 × 0.94 + 1.76 × 0.898) × $33.4009 = $797.52
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.
26415 billing questions
How is excision different from tendon repair?
Report excision when the operative work removes the tendon. Repair codes describe restoring or reconstructing a tendon rather than removing it.
Is freeing a tendon from adhesions included?
Freeing a tendon is a release procedure, not tendon excision. Choose the code that matches the work documented in the operative report.
What documentation supports this service?
Document the hand or finger tendon involved, why it was removed, and the extent of the excision. Describe separately any repair or graft reconstruction performed.
Can modifier 50 be reported?
No. The descriptor or anatomy makes a bilateral adjustment inappropriate for this code.
How are multiple procedures paid in the same session?
The highest-valued procedure is paid in full, and other procedures are subject to the standard multiple-procedure reduction. Assistant-at-surgery payment requires documented medical necessity.
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.
2,58426392,,Repair/graft hand tendon,A,,10.24,16.70,NA,16.70,,2.18,29.12,29.12,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,58526410,,Repair hand tendon,A,,4.65,12.37,NA,12.37,,0.90,17.92,17.92,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,58626412,,Repair/graft hand tendon,A,,6.32,13.29,NA,13.29,,1.21,20.82,20.82,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,0,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,58726415,,Excision hand/finger tendon,A,,8.30,14.89,NA,14.89,,1.76,24.95,24.95,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,0,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,58826416,,Graft hand or finger tendon,A,,9.32,15.56,NA,15.56,,1.98,26.86,26.86,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,58926418,,Repair finger tendon,A,,4.36,13.58,NA,13.58,,0.85,18.79,18.79,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,59026420,,Repair/graft finger tendon,A,,6.77,13.45,NA,13.45,,1.28,21.50,21.50,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,0,2,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
10104412,TX,15,GALVESTON,1.008,0.993,0.828
10204412,TX,18,HOUSTON,1.008,0.993,1.376
10304412,TX,99,REST OF TEXAS,1.000,0.949,0.903
10403502,UT,09,UTAH,1.000,0.940,0.898
10514512,VT,50,VERMONT,1.000,0.990,0.506
10611302,VA,00,VIRGINIA,1.000,0.983,0.706
10709202,VI,50,VIRGIN ISLANDS,1.000,1.011,0.985