No office rate
Use 50541 for laparoscopic ablation of a renal cyst. This code describes surgical excision or opening of the renal cyst.
On this page
CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
50280 Renal cyst surgery Medicare reimbursement rates in Washington
Reports operative treatment of a cyst arising in the kidney when the surgeon removes cyst tissue or opens it to address the renal cyst. Compare 50280 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 50280 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
No supported rate
Facility setting
$852.68–$916.04
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.
Urology surgery
About 50280: Open renal cyst excision or unroofing
Reports operative treatment of a cyst arising in the kidney when the surgeon removes cyst tissue or opens it to address the renal cyst.
A urologist or other qualified surgeon uses this service to surgically treat a cyst arising within the kidney, by removing cyst tissue or opening the cyst. It is generally performed in a hospital operating room for a renal cyst selected for operative treatment, such as a symptomatic cyst. The procedure is distinct from removing a cyst beside the kidney or taking a tissue sample for diagnosis.
Report the code when the operative record supports treatment of a renal cyst and describes the cyst’s location and the work performed. CMS assigns a 90-day global period, including the day-before preoperative visit and related postoperative care during that period. When multiple procedures are performed in the same session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and other procedures are subject to the standard 50% multiple-procedure reduction. For bilateral surgery reported with modifier 50, CMS pays at 150%. Assistant-at-surgery services may be paid; co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation, and team surgery is not permitted.
CMS billing rules for 50280
- 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 may be paid.
- Co-surgeons
- Co-surgeons paid only with supporting documentation.
- Team surgery
- Team surgery not permitted.
Where the value comes from
- Work RVU16.66 · 65%
- Practice expense (office) RVU6.67 · 26%
- Malpractice RVU2.14 · 8%
65
Medicare services in 2024 · #5187 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.
50280 compared with similar codes
Office rates for Washington, from the same CMS release.
No office rate
50290 treats a cyst beside the kidney. This code is for a cyst arising within the kidney.
$512.63–$586.68
50200 is a percutaneous renal biopsy for tissue diagnosis, not operative treatment of a renal cyst.
No office rate
50240 removes part of the kidney. Use this code when the operation treats the cyst without performing a partial nephrectomy.
Compare 50280 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
Unavailable
Facility
$852.68
Seattle (King Cnty) →
Office / nonfacility
Unavailable
Facility
$916.04
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50280 billing questions
How is this different from laparoscopic renal cyst treatment?
This code represents surgical excision or opening of a renal cyst. For laparoscopic ablation of a renal cyst, consider 50541 instead.
When should 50290 be used instead?
50290 is for excision of a perinephric cyst, which is outside the kidney. Use 50280 when the treated cyst arises within the kidney.
Does the 90-day global include related postoperative care?
Yes. CMS includes the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care in this major-surgery global period.
How is bilateral treatment reported?
For bilateral treatment, report modifier 50; CMS pays the procedure at 150%.
Can an assistant or co-surgeon be paid?
Assistant-at-surgery services may be paid. Co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation, while team surgery is not permitted.
What operative details support reporting this code?
Document that the cyst arises within the kidney and describe its location and whether the surgeon removed cyst tissue or opened the cyst. This distinguishes treatment from a renal biopsy or surgery on a perinephric cyst.
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.
5,88950236,,Removal of kidney & ureter,A,,26.27,9.50,NA,9.50,,3.37,39.14,39.14,0,090,0.08,0.83,0.09,2,1,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
5,89050240,,Nephrectomy partial,A,,23.60,8.87,NA,8.87,,3.18,35.65,35.65,0,090,0.08,0.83,0.09,2,1,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
5,89150250,,Opn abltj 1/> rnl mas crysrg,A,,21.66,8.14,NA,8.14,,2.78,32.58,32.58,0,090,0.08,0.83,0.09,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
5,89250280,,Exc/unroofing cyst kidney,A,,16.66,6.67,NA,6.67,,2.14,25.47,25.47,0,090,0.08,0.83,0.09,2,1,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
5,89350290,,Excision perinephric cyst,A,,15.75,6.48,NA,6.48,,2.02,24.25,24.25,0,090,0.08,0.83,0.09,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
5,89450300,,Remove cadaver donor kidney,X,,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
5,89550320,,Remove kidney living donor,A,,21.87,16.68,NA,16.68,,5.85,44.40,44.40,0,090,0.08,0.83,0.09,2,1,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00