Common office procedures

20610 - RVUs & Medicare payment (2026)

Aspiration or injection of major joint (knee, shoulder, hip).

Component	Non-facility	Facility
Work RVU	0.77	0.77
Practice expense RVU	1.16	0.29
Malpractice RVU	0.13	0.13
Total RVUs	2.06	1.19
National payment (CF $33.4009)	$68.81	$39.75
Qualifying APM payment (CF $33.5675)	$69.15	$39.95

How 20610 payment varies by locality

Medicare adjusts payment with geographic practice cost indices, so the same code pays differently across the 109 fee schedule localities. In 2026, non-facility payment for 20610 ranges from $61.24 in Arkansas (AR) to $86.75 in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara (CA); calculate 20610 for your locality.

San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara (CA) $86.75 San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara (CA) $86.14 San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley (CA) $84.79 San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley (CA) $84.64 Alaska (AK) $82.23 NYC Suburbs/Long Island (NY) $81.50 Napa (CA) $80.61 Vallejo (CA) $80.40 National average $68.81 … 97 more localities between … Iowa (IA) $62.89 Mississippi (MS) $62.29 Alabama (AL) $62.08 Arkansas (AR) $61.24

Non-facility payment for 20610 in the 2026 fee schedule ($33.4009 conversion factor), before sequestration. Gray bar = national average.

Global period: 000

Same-day global period: related visits on the day of the procedure are included in the payment.

Related codes - common office procedures

10060 · incision and drainage of abscess, simple
11102 · skin biopsy, tangential, first lesion
11104 · skin biopsy, punch, first lesion
11200 · removal of skin tags, up to 15
11730 · nail plate avulsion, partial or complete, first
11042 · debridement, subcutaneous tissue, first 20 sq cm
12001 · simple wound repair, scalp/trunk/extremities, 2.5 cm or less
17000 · destruction of premalignant lesion, first
17003 · destruction of premalignant lesions, 2-14, each
17110 · destruction of benign lesions, up to 14
20552 · trigger point injection, 1-2 muscles
69210 · removal of impacted earwax, unilateral

Frequently asked questions

How much does Medicare pay for 20610 in 2026?

The national non-facility payment is $68.81 and the facility payment is $39.75, using the standard $33.4009 conversion factor. Actual amounts vary by Medicare locality; use the RVU calculator for your area.

What is the work RVU for 20610?

The 2026 work RVU for 20610 is 0.77. Total RVUs are 2.06 in the non-facility setting and 1.19 in the facility setting.

Why are the facility and non-facility amounts different?

Only the practice expense component changes by setting. In an office (non-facility) the practice bears the overhead, so the PE RVU is higher; in a hospital or ASC the facility bills its own overhead separately.

Source: CMS Physician Fee Schedule relative value file (rvu26c.zip, retrieved 2026-07-11). Service description is an original plain-English summary, not CPT descriptor text. CPT® is a registered trademark of the American Medical Association. Amounts are estimates before sequestration and claim-level adjustments.