$512.30–$580.39
Both concern foreign bodies in muscle or a tendon sheath. Choose 20525 when the removal is deep or complicated rather than simple.
On this page
CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
20520 Foreign body removal Medicare reimbursement rates in Washington
Removal of a foreign object from muscle or a tendon sheath when the extraction is simple, rather than deep or complicated. Compare 20520 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in Washington.
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 20520 in Washington?
Washington 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
$236.87–$267.33
2 of 2 localities have a supported rate.
Facility setting
$144.37–$159.54
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.
Musculoskeletal procedure
About 20520: Simple muscle or tendon foreign body removal
Removal of a foreign object from muscle or a tendon sheath when the extraction is simple, rather than deep or complicated.
This service covers straightforward extraction of a foreign object located in muscle or a tendon sheath. A physician or other qualified practitioner may perform it in an office, emergency department, or outpatient procedure setting. Examples include removing a retained splinter or fragment when the object is in the specified tissue and can be removed without a deep or complicated procedure. The tissue location and degree of difficulty distinguish this service from removal of an object confined to subcutaneous tissue.
Report the service when the operative or procedure note supports both the muscle or tendon-sheath location and a simple removal. Document the object’s location and the work needed to extract it; use the deep or complicated family level when those circumstances are supported instead. The service has a 10-day global period, so related postoperative visits during that period are included. For multiple procedures in the same session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and other procedures are subject to the standard 50% reduction. Modifier 50 is inappropriate. Medicare does not pay an assistant at surgery for this code, and co-surgeons and team surgery are not permitted.
CMS billing rules for 20520
- Global period
- Minor procedure with a 10-day global period: related postoperative visits for 10 days 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
- 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 RVU1.85 · 27%
- Practice expense (office) RVU4.76 · 69%
- Malpractice RVU0.27 · 4%
1.5K
Medicare services in 2024 · #2675 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.
20520 compared with similar codes
Office rates for Washington, from the same CMS release.
$162.70–$184.08
This code is for a simple removal from muscle or a tendon sheath; 10120 is for a simple removal from subcutaneous tissue.
$282.54–$316.71
Use this code for simple removal from muscle or a tendon sheath. Code 10121 describes complicated removal from subcutaneous tissue.
Compare 20520 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
Rest Of Washington →
Office / nonfacility
$236.87
Facility
$144.37
Seattle (King Cnty) →
Office / nonfacility
$267.33
Facility
$159.54
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20520 billing questions
How do I distinguish this code from 20525?
Use this code for a simple removal from muscle or a tendon sheath. Use 20525 when the removal is deep or complicated.
What if the foreign object is only in subcutaneous tissue?
Consider 10120 for a simple removal from subcutaneous tissue or 10121 for a complicated removal. The tissue location, not just the object type, guides code selection.
Can the access incision be billed separately?
Do not separately report an incision that is simply the access needed to remove the foreign object. The service is the removal, with the operative note supporting its location and complexity.
Should modifier 50 be appended for removal on both sides?
No. CMS identifies bilateral adjustment as inappropriate for this code.
Are postoperative visits separately payable during the global period?
Related postoperative visits during the 10-day global period are included in the procedure payment.
Can an assistant surgeon or co-surgeon be reported?
Medicare does not pay an assistant at surgery for this code, and 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.
1,75220500,,Njx sinus tract therapeutic,A,,1.25,2.45,,1.10,,0.15,3.85,2.50,0,010,0.10,0.80,0.10,2,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
1,75320501,,Njx sinus tract diagnostic,A,,0.74,3.25,,0.12,,0.07,4.06,0.93,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
1,7542050F,,Wound char size etc docd,I,,0.00,0.00,,0.00,,0.00,0.00,0.00,9,XXX,0.00,0.00,0.00,9,9,9,9,9,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
1,75520520,,Rmvl fb musc/tdn simple,A,,1.85,4.76,,2.13,,0.27,6.88,4.25,0,010,0.10,0.80,0.10,2,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
1,75620525,,Rmvl fb musc/tdn deep/comp,A,,3.45,10.77,,2.87,,0.66,14.88,6.98,0,010,0.10,0.80,0.10,2,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
1,75720526,,Ther injection carp tunnel,A,,0.92,1.55,,0.39,,0.17,2.64,1.48,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,1,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
1,75820527,,Njx nzm palmar fascial cord,A,,0.98,1.65,,0.58,,0.19,2.82,1.75,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,1,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00