CPT 78499
Contractor-priced
78499 · PFS Q2 2026 · Historical
No national PFS rate in Q2 2026
Your Medicare Administrative Contractor prices this code case by case, usually after reviewing documentation.
Check for a published amount in your locality.
Not at a published national rate. CPT 78499 carries status C (carrier-priced) in the Q2 2026 release. Your Medicare Administrative Contractor prices this code case by case, usually after reviewing documentation. Treat the blank amount as unpriced, not as $0.
PFS status evidence
Inspect PFS status evidence
- Code
- 78499
- Release
- Q2 2026, revision 1
- Result
- Contractor-priced
Citations
-
Establishes the PFS status (C) and the resulting pathway for this code: contractor-priced.
Physician relative value file (PPRRVU)Q2 2026 · revision 1
Latest revision of this release
Release period: April 1 – June 30, 2026
This PFS record alone does not establish a $0 allowance or a coverage determination. Any amount from another schedule needs its own evidence.
Record details
PPRRVU2026_Apr_nonQPP.csv in rvu26b-updated-05-01-2026.zip (row 9,322)- hcpcs (col 1)
- 78499
- modifier (col 2)
- blank
- status_code (col 4)
- C
SHA-256: afc9cf9fe60742518cf6aaccd507edc035052ab9ab1be48644be39f38fceec48
Why is there no national PFS amount for 78499?
Its status indicator is C (carrier-priced). Your Medicare Administrative Contractor prices this code case by case, usually after reviewing documentation. Carrier-priced: no national payment amount.
Payment considerations Copy link
Review the applicable inputs and payment rules. Each link opens the supporting detail on this page.
Other payment indicators (8)
Facility/non-facility: Not determined, Bilateral adjustment: Does not apply, Multiple-procedure reduction: Does not apply, Assistant/co-surgeon treatment: Does not apply, Global surgery: Does not apply, NCCI same-day edits: Not determined, MUE behavior: Not determined, Other fee-schedule routing: Does not apply.
Reconciling a contractor-priced payment for 78499 Copy link
There is no national allowed amount for 78499, so every reconciliation of this line runs against the MAC fee schedule that was in force for the date of service rather than against a national baseline.
What to reconcile
- Compare the paid amount against the MAC fee schedule in force for the date of service; there is no national allowed amount here to reconcile against.
- Confirm which component the line carried before comparing anything: the same code prices three ways—globally, as a professional component with modifier 26, and as a technical component with modifier TC.
- Check for documentation on file before appealing an assistant-at-surgery denial: payment on the -80 or -AS line is restricted for this procedure unless medical necessity is established.
- Reprice the line against the release, locality, setting, modifier and participation status that applied to the date of service before treating any difference as an underpayment.
Nearby payment lines
National Q2 2026 amounts at GPCI 1.000. A blank means this schedule does not publish a payable PFS amount.
Sources: CMS Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Relative Value Files; CMS Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Relative Value Files (status indicator field); CMS Medicare Claims Processing Manual (Pub. 100-04); 42 USC 1395w-4(i)(2) (SSA §1848(i)(2))—Assistants-at-surgery.
Global period: what 78499's fee already covers Copy link
The global surgery concept does not apply to this code.
Billing policy Copy link
What 78499's billing-policy indicators mean. These show for every code, priced or not: a restriction like "bilateral not allowed" still matters on a carrier-priced code.
| Policy | Value | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Bilateral surgery | 0 | No bilateral adjustment. The 150% bilateral payment adjustment does not apply to this procedure. |
| Assistant at surgery | 0 | Restricted without documentation. Payment for an assistant at surgery is restricted for this procedure unless supporting documentation establishes medical necessity. |
| Co-surgeons | 0 | Not permitted. Medicare does not recognize co-surgeons (modifier 62) for this procedure. |
| Team surgery | 0 | Not permitted. Medicare does not recognize a surgical team (modifier 66) for this procedure. |
| Multiple procedures | 0 | No reduction. No payment reduction applies when this procedure is billed with other procedures on the same date—each is treated as unrelated. |
| Professional/technical split | 1 | Splits into professional and technical. This procedure splits into a professional component (modifier 26) and a technical component (modifier TC), each separately payable. |
Can you bill it with another code? Copy link
Enter a second CPT or HCPCS code billed on the same date of service. We'll check the current NCCI procedure-to-procedure edit between it and 78499.
Common payment questions Copy link
Why would a Medicare claim for 78499 be denied or paid less?
These come from CMS indicators on this page, not general billing advice.
- Its status indicator is C (carrier-priced)—Your Medicare Administrative Contractor prices this code case by case, usually after reviewing documentation. See status indicators
- 78499 splits into a professional component (modifier 26) and a technical component (modifier TC)—a claim for only one part needs that modifier to price correctly. See billing policy
- Bilateral surgery: no bilateral adjustment. See billing policy
- Assistant at surgery: restricted without documentation. See billing policy
- Co-surgeons: not permitted. See billing policy
- Team surgery: not permitted. See billing policy
Payer-specific coverage and documentation rules live outside these files, so a claim that clears every check here can still be denied on other grounds.
When does this rate change?
CMS publishes a fee schedule release every quarter (January, April, July, October), and each is versioned here. See what changed each release, or get an email when a new release moves rates.
Sources: CMS Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Relative Value Files.
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Source & method
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Contractor amounts come from the MAC-published schedules and effective dates identified above. The PFS file establishes contractor pricing. Releases are immutable: historical evidence remains tied to the specified release. Our methodology covers the depth: sourcing, parsing, versioning, and how we cross-check claims before they ship.
Use the (i) buttons next to each amount above for the exact row, columns, and math.
Cite this rate
This citation identifies the source release, so its evidence remains reproducible after a newer release lands.
CPT 78499 National PFS baseline: No national PFS rate (Q2 2026; participating; whole service; GPCI 1.000; sequestration excluded). Localis. https://localishealth.com/cpt/78499/2026/B