No office rate
Choose 41530 for radiofrequency tissue-volume reduction at the tongue base. Choose 41512 when the surgeon performs tongue suspension instead.
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CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
41530 Tongue base reduction Medicare reimbursement rates in Washington
Reports radiofrequency reduction of tongue-base tissue, typically to address retrolingual obstruction in a patient with obstructive sleep apnea. Compare 41530 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 41530 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
$959.02–$1101.53
2 of 2 localities have a supported rate.
Facility setting
$371.67–$417.11
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.
Otolaryngology surgery
About 41530: Radiofrequency tongue base reduction
Reports radiofrequency reduction of tongue-base tissue, typically to address retrolingual obstruction in a patient with obstructive sleep apnea.
An otolaryngologist delivers radiofrequency energy into one or more areas of the tongue base to reduce tissue volume. The procedure is used for selected patients with obstructive sleep apnea and obstruction behind the tongue, and is generally performed in an operating room or outpatient surgical setting. The code covers treatment of one or more areas during the procedure; it is not a tongue-suspension operation or a palate procedure.
Report the service when the operative record supports radiofrequency reduction at the tongue base, including the treated site and technique. The procedure has a 0-day global period, so same-day preoperative and postoperative care is included. 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. Assistant-at-surgery payment requires documented medical necessity; co-surgeons and team surgery are not permitted for this code.
CMS billing rules for 41530
- Global period
- Minor procedure with a 0-day global period: same-day preoperative and postoperative care is 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 RVU3.41 · 12%
- Practice expense (office) RVU23.64 · 86%
- Malpractice RVU0.48 · 2%
52
Medicare services in 2024 · #5329 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.
41530 compared with similar codes
Office rates for Washington, from the same CMS release.
No office rate
CPT 42145 describes palatopharyngoplasty at the palate and pharynx, not radiofrequency reduction of tongue-base tissue.
41599
No office rateUnlisted px tongue flr mouth
Use 41530 when the performed service matches the listed tongue-base radiofrequency procedure; reserve 41599 for a distinct tongue or floor-of-mouth procedure without a specific code.
Compare 41530 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
$959.02
Facility
$371.67
Seattle (King Cnty) →
Office / nonfacility
$1101.53
Facility
$417.11
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41530 billing questions
How does 41530 differ from tongue suspension?
41530 reduces tongue-base tissue with radiofrequency energy. CPT 41512 describes tongue suspension, which supports the tongue through a different surgical method.
Can multiple tongue-base treatment areas be reported as multiple units?
The descriptor includes one or more treated areas in the procedure. Document the areas treated, but do not report separate units solely for multiple areas in the same procedure.
What same-day care is included in the global period?
The 0-day global period includes same-day preoperative and postoperative care associated with the procedure.
Can 41530 be reported with palate surgery?
It may be reported with a separately performed palate operation as part of multilevel surgery when each service is documented. When procedures occur in the same session, the multiple-procedure payment reduction applies.
When is an assistant-at-surgery claim payable?
Assistant-at-surgery payment is allowed only when the record documents medical necessity. Co-surgeon and team-surgery payment are not permitted for this code.
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.
4,93441512,,Tongue suspension,A,,6.69,10.85,NA,10.85,,0.99,18.53,18.53,0,090,0.10,0.76,0.14,2,0,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
4,9354151F,,Pt not recvng antiv hep c,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
4,93641520,,Reconstruction tongue fold,A,,2.76,7.65,,3.74,,0.40,10.81,6.90,0,090,0.09,0.81,0.10,2,0,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
4,93741530,,Tongue base vol reduction,A,,3.41,23.64,,6.94,,0.48,27.53,10.83,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,0,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
4,9384153F,,Combo pegintf/rib rx,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
4,9394155F,,Hep a vac series prev recvd,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
4,9404157F,,Hep b vac series prev recvd,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