Billing code 51840: Bladder suspensionMedicare rate & RVUs in Washington
Reports abdominal suspension of the bladder neck or urethra, commonly for female stress urinary incontinence associated with loss of urethral support.
CMS doesn’t publish an office rate for 51840 in Washington.
Medicare allowed amount for participating (non-QP) physicians, before deductible, coinsurance and claim adjustments. Not a patient’s bill or a hospital charge.
On this page 9 sections
What 51840 covers
A urologist or urogynecologist performs this operation through an abdominal approach to support the bladder neck or urethra. Common techniques include Burch colposuspension and Marshall-Marchetti-Krantz repair, used for stress urinary incontinence related to inadequate urethral support. The service is generally performed in an operating room, rather than as an office procedure.
Choose this code when the operative report documents the abdominal suspension technique and the work is not described as complicated; a complicated or secondary repair is distinguished by code 51841. Document the indication, surgical approach, and structures supported. CMS assigns a 90-day global period, including the day-before preoperative visit and related postoperative care. When multiple procedures occur in the same session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and others at 50%. Modifier 50 is inappropriate. Assistant-at-surgery payment may be available; co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation, and team surgery is not permitted.
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.
Where 51840 pays more and less in Washington
| Payment locality | Office | Facility |
|---|---|---|
| Rest Of Washington | Unavailable | $624.54 |
| Seattle (King Cnty) | Unavailable | $675.69 |
How the 51840 rate is calculated
Each of 51840’s three RVUs is multiplied by a geographic index (GPCI) for the payment locality, added up, and multiplied by the conversion factor. Drag the indexes or enter a ZIP to see what moves the rate.
How the rate is built · 51840
RVUs × geographic indexes × conversion factor
Swap in your local Medicare rate.
Work 11.08Practice expense 5.92Malpractice 1.63
All indexes start at 1.000 (the national rate). Enter a ZIP or drag a slider.
Payment rules and modifiers for 51840
51840 has a 90-day global period: related visits in that window are included in the surgery payment.
CMS payment indicators · 51840
Bladder suspension
| Rule | CMS value | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Global period | 090 | Major surgery: the day before, the day of, and 90 days after are included. |
| Multiple procedures | 2 | Standard reduction: highest-valued procedure at 100%, others at 50%. |
| Bilateral (modifier 50) | 0 | The 150% bilateral adjustment doesn’t apply. |
| Assistant at surgery (80/81/82/AS) | 2 | Paid. |
| Co-surgeons (62) | 1 | Permitted with supporting documentation. |
| Team surgery (66) | 0 | Not permitted. |
| Professional/technical | 0 | Physician service: no professional/technical split. |
| Split (54/55/56) | 0.08/0.83/0.09 | Share of the payment for pre-op, the procedure itself, and post-op care. |
Global surgery period · 51840
Bladder suspension
90-day global period ends
Dec 30, 2026
Covers Sep 30, 2026 through Dec 30, 2026 (92 days, including the day before surgery).
Visit on Oct 31, 2026
Day 30 of the 90-day post-op period: related follow-up care is included in the surgical payment.
Pre-op dayGlobal period
What modifiers do to the payment
Modifier 51 · payment effect
With and without the modifier
51840 without 51 · national facility
$622.26
Bladder suspension
51840-51 · Second procedure: 50%
$311.13
When this isn’t the highest-valued procedure in the session, Medicare pays 50% of its fee schedule amount (the highest is paid at 100%).
51840 compared with similar codes
Compare codes
51840 vs 51841 vs 51845 vs 57288: national Medicare rates
Swap in your local Medicare rate.
How to choose
- 51841Bladder suspension
- 51841 is for a complicated abdominal suspension, such as a secondary repair. 51840 describes the standard abdominal suspension service.
- 51845Bladder neck repair
- Both involve abdominal support of the urethral or bladder-neck region, but 51845 describes a different urethral-suspension procedure. Follow the operative method documented.
- 57288Sling procedure
- 57288 reports a sling operation for stress incontinence. 51840 applies to abdominal suspension techniques such as Burch or Marshall-Marchetti-Krantz.
51840 billing questions
When should 51841 be used instead?
Use 51841 when the abdominal suspension is documented as complicated, such as a secondary repair. The operative report should support that distinction.
How does 51840 differ from a sling operation?
51840 describes abdominal bladder-neck or urethral suspension, such as a Burch or Marshall-Marchetti-Krantz procedure. A sling operation uses a sling to support the urethra and is reported with the code that matches its approach.
Can modifier 50 be reported?
No. CMS identifies bilateral adjustment as inappropriate for this code.
What documentation supports reporting 51840?
Document the stress-incontinence indication, abdominal approach, suspension technique, and structures supported. The operative details should also establish whether the repair was complicated or secondary.
How does the 90-day global period affect postoperative billing?
The day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care are included in the global period.
Can an assistant or co-surgeon be reported?
Assistant-at-surgery payment may be available. Co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation, while team-surgery payment 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 indexes and the conversion factor. Services without a published rate are labeled, never given a made-up amount. Amounts are Medicare allowed amounts before claim adjustments: not a patient’s bill or a commercial rate.
CMS RVU26D · effective Oct 1, 2026 through the day before Jan 1, 2027
Show the CMS file lines behind this rate
Fee sheets
Put 51840 and the rest of your codes on one sheet
Build a fee sheet from your own code list at your locality, put your payer contracts beside Medicare, and see what changed each quarter.
Build my fee sheetOr price your code list free →