20600 — Aspiration and/or injection of fluid from small joint

What the market charges

Across 20,646 negotiated rates, the middle 80% fall between $38 and $131, with a median of $63.

What Medicare pays

Medicare allowed an average of $47 for this code, across 314,381 services billed by 6,677 providers. At the median, the market charges 1.3 times what Medicare pays for this code.

Where this is billed, and what it costs there

The states billing 20600 most, by Medicare service volume, each compared against the national average of $47. Each links to the providers Mishe lists there.

  • Florida — 593 providers billed it, Medicare allowed $46 — 2% below the national average
  • California — 518 providers billed it, Medicare allowed $50 — 6% above the national average
  • New York — 411 providers billed it, Medicare allowed $55 — 17% above the national average
  • Texas — 387 providers billed it, Medicare allowed $47 — level with the national average
  • Pennsylvania — 341 providers billed it, Medicare allowed $49 — 4% above the national average
  • Arizona — 200 providers billed it, Medicare allowed $45 — 4% below the national average
  • North Carolina — 274 providers billed it, Medicare allowed $44 — 6% below the national average
  • Illinois — 247 providers billed it, Medicare allowed $49 — 4% above the national average

Claim-editing rules

These are National Correct Coding Initiative procedure-to-procedure edits — the rules a payer applies when deciding whether two codes billed together are both payable.

Codes this one absorbs

Billed together, 20600 is the payable code and these are not separately payable. 189 pairs in total.

  • 10030 — a modifier may allow both to be paid
  • 10060 — a modifier may allow both to be paid
  • 10061 — a modifier may allow both to be paid
  • 10140 — a modifier may allow both to be paid
  • 10160 — a modifier may allow both to be paid
  • 11010 — a modifier may allow both to be paid
  • 11719 — a modifier may allow both to be paid
  • 20500 — a modifier may allow both to be paid
  • 20526 — a modifier may allow both to be paid
  • 20527 — a modifier may allow both to be paid
  • 20550 — a modifier may allow both to be paid
  • 20551 — a modifier may allow both to be paid

Codes that absorb this one

Billed alongside any of these, 20600 is not separately payable. 430 pairs in total.

  • 11000 — a modifier may allow both to be paid
  • 20604 — a modifier may allow both to be paid
  • 21073 — a modifier may allow both to be paid
  • 21240 — a modifier may allow both to be paid
  • 21242 — a modifier may allow both to be paid
  • 21243 — a modifier may allow both to be paid
  • 22532 — a modifier may allow both to be paid
  • 22533 — a modifier may allow both to be paid
  • 22548 — a modifier may allow both to be paid
  • 22554 — a modifier may allow both to be paid
  • 22556 — a modifier may allow both to be paid
  • 22558 — a modifier may allow both to be paid

Deploy this for your team

Every figure on this page came from published payer and Medicare data, assembled by Mishe. The same pricing, claim-editing and care-pathway intelligence runs underneath the plans Mishe operates.

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