No office rate
Both involve thumb carpometacarpal fusion, but 26842 is the graft-specific choice when autogenous bone graft is used.
On this page
CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
26841 Thumb fusion Medicare reimbursement rates in Utah
Reports surgical fusion of the thumb carpometacarpal joint, commonly for painful basal-joint arthritis or instability requiring a stable thumb base. Compare 26841 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 26841 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
$718.51
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 26841: Thumb carpometacarpal joint fusion
Reports surgical fusion of the thumb carpometacarpal joint, commonly for painful basal-joint arthritis or instability requiring a stable thumb base.
This procedure fuses the joint at the base of the thumb, where the first metacarpal meets the wrist-side carpal bone. The surgeon prepares the joint surfaces and may use internal fixation to hold the bones in position while they heal together. Hand surgeons commonly perform it in an operating room for selected patients with painful thumb-base arthritis, instability, or joint damage after trauma.
Report 26841 for the thumb carpometacarpal fusion when the service does not include the autogenous bone graft described by the graft-specific code. The operative report should identify the joint fused, the indication, the preparation and fixation performed, and whether a graft was used. The 90-day global period includes the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care. For procedures in the same session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and other procedures are subject to the standard 50% multiple-procedure reduction. Modifier 50 identifies bilateral performance, paid at 150%. Assistant-at-surgery payment requires documented medical necessity; co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation. Team surgery is not permitted.
CMS billing rules for 26841
- 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 is paid only with documentation of medical necessity.
- Co-surgeons
- Co-surgeons paid only with supporting documentation.
- Team surgery
- Team surgery not permitted.
Where the value comes from
- Work RVU7.17 · 32%
- Practice expense (office) RVU13.91 · 62%
- Malpractice RVU1.41 · 6%
122
Medicare services in 2024 · #4726 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.
26841 compared with similar codes
Office rates for Utah, from the same CMS release.
No office rate
Use 26843 when the fused hand joint is not the thumb carpometacarpal joint; select by the anatomical joint treated.
No office rate
This is a graft-associated hand-joint fusion code for a different joint site, rather than thumb carpometacarpal fusion.
No office rate
This is a thumb-base arthroplasty approach rather than fusion; the surgeon preserves motion through joint reconstruction instead of creating a bony union.
Compare 26841 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
$718.51
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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 26841 in Utah.
PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv
2,692
- Code
- 26841
- Physician work
- 7.17
- Practice expense
- 13.91
- Malpractice
- 1.41
GPCI2026.csv
104
- Locality
- Utah
- Physician work
- 1.000
- Practice expense
- 0.940
- Malpractice
- 0.898
| Component | RVU | Locality factor | Adjusted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Physician work | 7.17 | × 1.000 | 7.1700 |
| Practice expense | 13.91 | × 0.940 | 13.0754 |
| Malpractice | 1.41 | × 0.898 | 1.2662 |
| Total RVUs | 21.5116 | ||
| Conversion factor | × 33.4009 | ||
Facility rate, Utah$718.51
Explore RVUs, geographic factors and the full formula
Facility
| Component | RVU | Local GPCI |
|---|---|---|
| Work | 7.17 | 1 |
| Practice expense | 13.91 | 0.94 |
| Malpractice | 1.41 | 0.898 |
(7.17 × 1 + 13.91 × 0.94 + 1.41 × 0.898) × $33.4009 = $718.51
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.
26841 billing questions
When should 26841 be chosen over 26842?
Use 26841 for thumb carpometacarpal fusion without the autogenous bone graft specified for 26842. If an autogenous graft is used, select the graft-specific code.
What documentation supports reporting 26841?
Document the thumb carpometacarpal joint fused, the clinical reason for fusion, the operative work, fixation used, and whether a bone graft was performed.
Does the code include related postoperative visits?
Yes. Its 90-day global period includes the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care.
How is bilateral thumb fusion reported?
Report bilateral performance with modifier 50; CMS pays the bilateral procedure at 150%.
Can an assistant or co-surgeon be paid?
Assistant-at-surgery payment requires documentation of medical necessity. Co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation.
Is payment reduced when another procedure is performed in the same session?
Under the standard multiple-procedure rule, 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.
2,68926776,,Pin finger dislocation,A,,4.87,7.22,NA,7.22,,0.93,13.02,13.02,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,69026785,,Treat finger dislocation,A,,6.44,8.01,NA,8.01,,1.25,15.70,15.70,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,69126820,,Thumb fusion with graft,A,,8.24,14.38,NA,14.38,,1.75,24.37,24.37,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,1,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,69226841,,Fusion of thumb,A,,7.17,13.91,NA,13.91,,1.41,22.49,22.49,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,1,0,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,69326842,,Thumb fusion with graft,A,,8.28,14.39,NA,14.39,,1.76,24.43,24.43,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,1,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,69426843,,Fusion of hand joint,A,,7.59,13.83,NA,13.83,,1.62,23.04,23.04,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,69526844,,Fusion/graft of hand joint,A,,8.76,14.55,NA,14.55,,1.86,25.17,25.17,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
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