No office rate
Use 26170 for a tendon in the palm; use 26180 when the tendon excised is in a finger.
On this page
CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
26170 Tendon excision Medicare reimbursement rates in Vermont
Reports surgical removal of a tendon in the palm, counted per tendon when the palmar tendon itself is the operative target. Compare 26170 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in Vermont.
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 26170 in Vermont?
Vermont 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
$374.60
1 of 1 localities have a supported rate.
Payment area: Vermont
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 26170: Palm tendon excision, one tendon
Reports surgical removal of a tendon in the palm, counted per tendon when the palmar tendon itself is the operative target.
This procedure removes a tendon located in the palm. A hand, orthopedic, or plastic surgeon may perform it when the operative plan calls for removal of the tendon itself, rather than release of tendon adhesions, excision of a tendon-sheath lesion, or treatment of palmar fascia. The operative report should identify the tendon and its palmar location, explain the reason for removal, and document how many tendons were treated.
Report one service for each tendon excised. The documentation should make clear that the tendon—not a neighboring sheath, mass, or contracture—is the structure removed. This is major surgery with a 90-day global period, including the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care. When multiple procedures are performed in one session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and other procedures are subject to the standard 50% multiple-procedure reduction. Modifier 50 is inappropriate; follow the each-tendon descriptor. Assistant-at-surgery payment requires documentation of medical necessity. Co-surgeons and team surgery are not permitted.
CMS billing rules for 26170
- 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 RVU4.79 · 41%
- Practice expense (office) RVU6.02 · 51%
- Malpractice RVU0.92 · 8%
604
Medicare services in 2024 · #3388 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.
26170 compared with similar codes
Office rates for Vermont, from the same CMS release.
No office rate
26145 releases adhesions around a tendon while preserving it. This code reports removal of the palmar tendon itself.
$641.58
26160 describes removal of a tendon-sheath lesion. Choose this code when the lesion, rather than the tendon, is removed.
No office rate
26123 is used for fasciectomy involving palmar fascia and a digit in contracture treatment; it is not tendon excision.
Compare 26170 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
Vermont →
Office / nonfacility
Unavailable
Facility
$374.60
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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 26170 in Vermont.
PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv
2,559
- Code
- 26170
- Physician work
- 4.79
- Practice expense
- 6.02
- Malpractice
- 0.92
GPCI2026.csv
105
- Locality
- Vermont
- Physician work
- 1.000
- Practice expense
- 0.990
- Malpractice
- 0.506
| Component | RVU | Locality factor | Adjusted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Physician work | 4.79 | × 1.000 | 4.7900 |
| Practice expense | 6.02 | × 0.990 | 5.9598 |
| Malpractice | 0.92 | × 0.506 | 0.4655 |
| Total RVUs | 11.2153 | ||
| Conversion factor | × 33.4009 | ||
Facility rate, Vermont$374.60
Explore RVUs, geographic factors and the full formula
Facility
| Component | RVU | Local GPCI |
|---|---|---|
| Work | 4.79 | 1 |
| Practice expense | 6.02 | 0.99 |
| Malpractice | 0.92 | 0.506 |
(4.79 × 1 + 6.02 × 0.99 + 0.92 × 0.506) × $33.4009 = $374.60
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.
26170 billing questions
How does this differ from finger tendon excision?
This code is for a tendon in the palm. Code 26180 describes tendon excision in a finger.
Can this be reported for freeing a tendon from adhesions?
No. When the tendon is preserved and adhesions are released, consider tenolysis code 26145 rather than tendon excision.
What documentation supports reporting this code?
Document the tendon removed, its palmar location, the clinical reason for removal, and the number of tendons treated.
Should modifier 50 be used for work on both hands?
No. Modifier 50 is inappropriate for this code; report the service according to its each-tendon descriptor.
How are other procedures in the same session paid?
The highest-valued procedure is paid in full, and other procedures in the session are subject to the standard multiple-procedure reduction.
Can an assistant surgeon or co-surgeon be reported?
Assistant-at-surgery payment requires documentation of medical necessity. Co-surgeons and team surgery are 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.
2,55626140,,Revise finger joint each,A,,6.18,7.02,NA,7.02,,1.19,14.39,14.39,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,55726145,,Tendon excision palm/finger,A,,6.33,7.04,NA,7.04,,1.21,14.58,14.58,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,55826160,,Remove tendon sheath lesion,A,,3.48,15.55,,5.10,,0.66,19.69,9.24,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,55926170,,Removal of palm tendon each,A,,4.79,6.02,NA,6.02,,0.92,11.73,11.73,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,0,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,56026180,,Removal of finger tendon,A,,5.22,6.69,NA,6.69,,1.00,12.91,12.91,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,0,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,56126185,,Remove finger bone,A,,6.36,8.69,NA,8.69,,1.34,16.39,16.39,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,1,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,56226200,,Remove hand bone lesion,A,,5.51,6.26,NA,6.26,,1.08,12.85,12.85,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,0,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
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
10802402,WA,02,SEATTLE (KING CNTY),1.050,1.227,0.817