Glossary · Updated Jul 28, 2026
Team Surgery Indicator
The team surgery indicator tells you whether a surgical team — multiple surgeons of different specialties, billed with modifier 66 — can be paid for a procedure, and how.
Priced by report, not a percentage
Unlike co-surgeons, team surgery is never a fixed percentage of the fee schedule amount. Indicator 2 means a team is payable, but the Medicare Administrative Contractor prices it individually, "by report," based on the operative note. Indicator 1 means a team may be paid, but only with supporting documentation establishing medical necessity, and is likewise priced by report. Indicator 0 means Medicare does not recognize a surgical team for that procedure, and indicator 9 means the concept does not apply.
Team surgery indicator values
All four values, in one table:
| Value | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 0 | Team surgery not permitted |
| 1 | Payable with documentation of medical necessity, priced by report |
| 2 | Payable, priced by report |
| 9 | Concept does not apply |
Frequently asked
Why doesn't a code page show a dollar amount for modifier 66?
Team surgery is priced by individual report rather than a fixed percentage, so there is no single per-code figure to compute — the Medicare Administrative Contractor sets the amount from the operative documentation.
Sources
- CMS Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Relative Value Files
- CMS Physician Fee Schedule overview (cms.gov)
Written from primary CMS sources — see how we source, compute, and verify everything on this site.
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