No office rate
Choose 29823 for debridement involving at least three distinct structures; 29822 is the limited level for one or two.
On this page
CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
29823 Arthroscopic debridement Medicare reimbursement rates in Virginia
Reports therapeutic shoulder arthroscopy involving extensive debridement of three or more distinct structures, such as labrum, cartilage, or rotator cuff tissue. Compare 29823 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in Virginia.
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 29823 in Virginia?
Virginia has 2 payment localities in this comparison. Use the service location to choose the applicable amount. These are the supported base rates for the 2 payment areas shown below, using the same CMS release.
Office / nonfacility
No supported rate
Facility setting
$539.28–$622.65
2 of 2 localities have a 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.
Orthopedic surgery
About 29823: Arthroscopic extensive shoulder debridement
Reports therapeutic shoulder arthroscopy involving extensive debridement of three or more distinct structures, such as labrum, cartilage, or rotator cuff tissue.
An orthopedic or sports medicine surgeon uses a shoulder arthroscope and instruments to remove or smooth damaged, unstable, or inflamed tissue in multiple distinct structures. Operative examples can include debridement of frayed labral tissue, articular cartilage, rotator cuff tissue, or synovium; the defining distinction from limited debridement is work on at least three separate structures. The service is commonly performed in an outpatient operating room or hospital operating room for conditions such as degenerative or traumatic shoulder damage.
Report the extensive service when the operative note identifies the distinct structures treated and the debridement performed on each; the amount of tissue removed or operative time alone does not establish the level. A 90-day global period includes the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care. When related endoscopic procedures are performed together, CMS endoscopy-family pricing applies. For bilateral procedures, modifier 50 is paid at 150%. Assistant-at-surgery payment may be made; co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation, and team surgery is not permitted.
CMS billing rules for 29823
- 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
- Endoscopy family pricing applies when related endoscopies are performed together.
- 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 RVU7.78 · 47%
- Practice expense (office) RVU7.39 · 44%
- Malpractice RVU1.56 · 9%
69.9K
Medicare services in 2024 · #672 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.
29823 compared with similar codes
Office rates for Virginia, from the same CMS release.
No office rate
29821 describes complete synovectomy. Extensive debridement is selected for therapeutic work across multiple structures, not simply removal of synovium.
No office rate
29827 is arthroscopic rotator cuff repair. Debridement removes or smooths tissue and does not describe repairing the cuff.
No office rate
29805 is diagnostic shoulder arthroscopy; 29823 describes therapeutic debridement of multiple structures.
Compare 29823 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.
2 of 2 payment localities
Dc + Md/Va Suburbs →
Office / nonfacility
Unavailable
Facility
$622.65
Virginia →
Office / nonfacility
Unavailable
Facility
$539.28
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29823 billing questions
How is extensive debridement distinguished from limited debridement?
Extensive debridement involves at least three distinct shoulder structures. Limited debridement is the neighboring service for work on one or two structures.
What should the operative note document?
Identify each distinct structure debrided and describe the therapeutic work performed there. A general statement that the surgeon performed extensive debridement does not show which structures support the level.
Can this be reported with a shoulder repair performed during the same arthroscopy?
A separate repair may occur in the same session, but report debridement only when its work is distinct and separately reportable under applicable coding edits. CMS endoscopy-family pricing applies when related endoscopies are performed together.
What does the 90-day global period include?
It includes the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care.
How are bilateral procedures and surgical assistance handled?
Modifier 50 is used for a bilateral procedure, with payment at 150%. Assistant-at-surgery payment may be made; co-surgeon payment requires 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.
3,32029820,,Sho arthrs srg prtl synvct,A,,7.03,6.64,NA,6.64,,1.35,15.02,15.02,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,3,1,2,1,0,9,29805,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,32129821,,Sho arthrs srg compl synvct,A,,7.69,7.46,NA,7.46,,1.54,16.69,16.69,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,3,1,2,1,0,9,29805,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,32229822,,Sho arthrs srg lmtd dbrdmt,A,,6.85,7.19,NA,7.19,,1.41,15.45,15.45,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,3,1,2,0,0,9,29805,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,32329823,,Sho arthrs srg xtnsv dbrdmt,A,,7.78,7.39,NA,7.39,,1.56,16.73,16.73,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,3,1,2,1,0,9,29805,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,32429824,,Sho arthrs srg dstl claviclc,A,,8.76,8.61,NA,8.61,,1.76,19.13,19.13,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,3,1,2,1,0,9,29805,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,32529825,,Sho arthrs srg lss&rescj ads,A,,7.60,7.45,NA,7.45,,1.52,16.57,16.57,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,3,1,2,1,0,9,29805,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,32629826,,Sho arthrs srg decompression,A,,2.93,0.91,NA,0.91,,0.58,4.42,4.42,0,ZZZ,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,1,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00