Joint injection: how much does Medicare pay?

Nationally, the Q3 2026 Physician Fee Schedule pays $68.81 in an office (non-facility) setting and $39.75 in a facility setting for 20610. Your local amount differs — the national figure applies geographic index values of 1.000, and Medicare then pays 80% of the allowed amount after the deductible is met.

Procedure · Updated Aug 1, 2026

Joint injection: CPT code and Medicare rate

Injection into or aspiration of a major joint such as the knee, shoulder, or hip. 20605 covers intermediate joints like the wrist, elbow, or ankle.

Also called: knee injection, shoulder injection, joint aspiration, draining a joint.

Usually billed as

20610 Major Joint Injection or Aspiration

Office (non-facility): $68.81
Facility: $39.75

National amounts for the Q3 2026 release (July 1 – September 30, 2026), using geographic index values of 1.000. Your local rate differs — open the code page for the locality breakdown.

The injection procedure and the drug injected are billed separately — see cortisone shot for the medication side.

Related codes

Codes worth checking before you settle on 20610.

Code	What it covers	Office	Facility
20605	Intermediate Joint Injection or Aspiration	$57.12	$32.06
J3301	Triamcinolone Acetonide Injection (per 10 mg)	—	—

A dash means the code has no national amount in this release — it may be carrier-priced, bundled, or not separately payable. That is never the same as $0.

Common questions

Joint injection: which code is it?: 20610 — Major Joint Injection or Aspiration. Injection into or aspiration of a major joint such as the knee, shoulder, or hip. 20605 covers intermediate joints like the wrist, elbow, or ankle.
Joint injection: how much does Medicare pay?: Nationally, the Q3 2026 Physician Fee Schedule pays $68.81 in an office (non-facility) setting and $39.75 in a facility setting for 20610. Your local amount differs — the national figure applies geographic index values of 1.000, and Medicare then pays 80% of the allowed amount after the deductible is met.
Joint injection: what else affects the billing?: The injection procedure and the drug injected are billed separately — see cortisone shot for the medication side.

Need the rate where you practice?

Every code page carries the full locality breakdown, the RVU and GPCI inputs, and the release that answered.

Open the code page

Keep exploring

All procedures How Medicare pays Office vs. facility rates Check a medical bill

This page maps everyday language to the code a claim normally carries. It is general information about how Medicare prices a service, not coding advice for a specific claim — the correct code always depends on what was actually documented and performed.

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