No office rate
Use 26418 for finger extensor tendon repair without a free graft. Use 26420 when the repair uses a free graft.
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CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
26420 Tendon repair Medicare reimbursement rates in Wisconsin
Reports repair of a finger extensor tendon using a free tendon graft when the tendon cannot be adequately restored by direct repair alone. Compare 26420 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in Wisconsin.
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 26420 in Wisconsin?
Wisconsin has 1 payment locality in this comparison. Use the service location to choose the applicable amount. These are the supported base rates for the payment area shown below, using the same CMS release.
Office / nonfacility
No supported rate
Facility setting
$669.67
1 of 1 localities have a supported rate.
Payment area: Wisconsin
One mapped payment locality.
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.
Hand surgery
About 26420: Finger extensor tendon repair with graft
Reports repair of a finger extensor tendon using a free tendon graft when the tendon cannot be adequately restored by direct repair alone.
A hand surgeon uses this service to restore continuity of a finger extensor tendon with an interposed free tendon graft, such as for a tendon defect after injury or a chronic rupture. The graft bridges a gap that prevents adequate direct repair. The procedure is typically performed in an operating room; the operative report should identify the involved finger and tendon, the defect or reason a graft was needed, and the graft-based reconstruction performed.
Report the code for each tendon repaired with a free graft. A direct repair without a free graft is represented by a different code. Medicare assigns a 90-day global period, including the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care. When multiple procedures are performed in the same session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and the others are subject to the standard 50% multiple-procedure reduction. Modifier 50 is inappropriate for this code. An assistant at surgery may be paid; co-surgeons and team surgery are not permitted.
CMS billing rules for 26420
- 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 adjustment does not apply; the descriptor or anatomy makes modifier 50 inappropriate.
- Assistant at surgery
- Assistant at surgery may be paid.
- Co-surgeons
- Co-surgeons not permitted.
- Team surgery
- Team surgery not permitted.
Where the value comes from
- Work RVU6.77 · 31%
- Practice expense (office) RVU13.45 · 63%
- Malpractice RVU1.28 · 6%
193
Medicare services in 2024 · #4352 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.
26420 compared with similar codes
Office rates for Wisconsin, from the same CMS release.
No office rate
Both describe finger extensor tendon repair with a free graft; 26428 is for a secondary-repair circumstance, while 26420 covers primary or secondary repair.
No office rate
This is the graft-repair code for an extensor tendon at the hand level. Code 26420 is for a finger tendon.
Compare 26420 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.
1 of 1 payment localities
Wisconsin →
Office / nonfacility
Unavailable
Facility
$669.67
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How this local rate is calculated
Each RVU component is multiplied by its own geographic practice cost index (GPCI). The three adjusted components are added, then multiplied by the conversion factor. These are the inputs used for 26420 in Wisconsin.
PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv
2,590
- Code
- 26420
- Physician work
- 6.77
- Practice expense
- 13.45
- Malpractice
- 1.28
GPCI2026.csv
111
- Locality
- Wisconsin
- Physician work
- 1.000
- Practice expense
- 0.958
- Malpractice
- 0.308
| Component | RVU | Locality factor | Adjusted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Physician work | 6.77 | × 1.000 | 6.7700 |
| Practice expense | 13.45 | × 0.958 | 12.8851 |
| Malpractice | 1.28 | × 0.308 | 0.3942 |
| Total RVUs | 20.0493 | ||
| Conversion factor | × 33.4009 | ||
Facility rate, Wisconsin$669.67
Explore RVUs, geographic factors and the full formula
Facility
| Component | RVU | Local GPCI |
|---|---|---|
| Work | 6.77 | 1 |
| Practice expense | 13.45 | 0.958 |
| Malpractice | 1.28 | 0.308 |
(6.77 × 1 + 13.45 × 0.958 + 1.28 × 0.308) × $33.4009 = $669.67
The office and facility calculations use their respective practice-expense RVUs. The facility amount here is the physician fee, not a separate hospital or facility bill.
26420 billing questions
How does this differ from 26418?
This code is for finger extensor tendon repair using a free graft. Code 26418 describes repair without a free graft.
What documentation supports reporting the graft repair?
Document the finger and tendon treated, the tendon defect or other reason direct repair was inadequate, and the free-graft reconstruction performed.
Is the code reported per finger or per tendon?
The code is reported for each tendon repaired with a free graft. The operative note should make the number of repaired tendons clear.
Can modifier 50 be used when both hands are treated?
No. CMS identifies bilateral adjustment as inappropriate for this code. Report the services according to the procedures performed and applicable coding instructions.
What postoperative care is included?
The 90-day global period includes the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care.
Can an assistant surgeon be reported?
CMS permits payment for an assistant at surgery. Co-surgeons and team surgery 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.
2,58726415,,Excision hand/finger tendon,A,,8.30,14.89,NA,14.89,,1.76,24.95,24.95,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,0,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,58826416,,Graft hand or finger tendon,A,,9.32,15.56,NA,15.56,,1.98,26.86,26.86,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,58926418,,Repair finger tendon,A,,4.36,13.58,NA,13.58,,0.85,18.79,18.79,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,59026420,,Repair/graft finger tendon,A,,6.77,13.45,NA,13.45,,1.28,21.50,21.50,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,0,2,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,59126426,,Repair finger/hand tendon,A,,6.16,6.92,NA,6.92,,1.17,14.25,14.25,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,59226428,,Repair/graft finger tendon,A,,7.22,14.89,NA,14.89,,1.52,23.63,23.63,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,0,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,59326432,,Repair finger tendon,A,,4.06,11.40,NA,11.40,,0.79,16.25,16.25,0,090,0.10,0.69,0.21,2,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
10802402,WA,02,SEATTLE (KING CNTY),1.050,1.227,0.817
10902402,WA,99,REST OF WASHINGTON,1.013,1.053,0.761
11011402,WV,16,WEST VIRGINIA,1.000,0.869,1.431
11106302,WI,00,WISCONSIN,1.000,0.958,0.308
11203602,WY,21,WYOMING**,1.000,1.000,0.740
113"MAC Assignments as of November 22, 2023",,,,,,
114,,,,,,