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31242 Nsl/sinus ndsc rf abltj pnn

What 31242 is

CMS fee schedule short descriptor: Nsl/sinus ndsc rf abltj pnn.

Full CPT long descriptions are licensed by the American Medical Association and are not published on this site; the short descriptor above is the one CMS prints in its own fee schedule file. See About CPT.

Medicare payment for 31242 (CY2026)

Work RVUPractice expense RVUMalpractice RVUTotalMedicare rate
Non-facility (office)2.6368.700.3971.72$2,395.51
Facility (hospital, ASC)2.631.020.394.04$134.94

National rates: total RVUs x the CY2026 conversion factor of 33.4009 (non-QP), before geographic adjustment. Actual Medicare payment is 80% of the rate shown after the deductible; the patient or secondary payer owes the 20% coinsurance.


Status: Active - payable under the Physician Fee Schedule. Global period: Global concept does not apply (endoscopic or minor procedure: global period is the day of the procedure).

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Medically Unlikely Edit (MUE)

Medicare caps 31242 at 1 unit per date of service for practitioner claims (MAI 2 - date of service edit (absolute): units above the MUE never pay), rationale: Code Descriptor / CPT Instruction. Units above the cap are denied unless the edit's adjudication rules allow an appeal with documentation.

Billed with 31242? These codes are bundled into it

31242 is a Column 1 code in 17 active NCCI PTP edits. When one of these Column 2 codes is reported on the same date of service, it is denied as bundled - unless the edit's modifier indicator is 1 and documentation supports a distinct service with an NCCI-associated modifier.

Column 2 codeShort descriptionModifier indicator
31231Nasal endoscopy dx0 - no modifier bypassCheck pair
35236Repair blvsl vn grf uxtr1 - modifier may bypassCheck pair
35241Rpr blvsl vn grf ntrthrc w/b1 - modifier may bypassCheck pair
35246Rpr blvsl vn grf ntrthrc w/o1 - modifier may bypassCheck pair
35251Rpr blvsl vn grf intra-abdl1 - modifier may bypassCheck pair
35256Repair blvsl vn grf lxtr1 - modifier may bypassCheck pair
35261Rpr blvsl grf oth/thn vn nck1 - modifier may bypassCheck pair
35266Rpr blvsl grf oth/th vn uxtr1 - modifier may bypassCheck pair
35271Rpr blvs gr ot/th vn ntrth w1 - modifier may bypassCheck pair
35276Rpr blvs gr ot/t vn ntrth wo1 - modifier may bypassCheck pair
35281Rpr blvsl gr ot/th vn ntr-ab1 - modifier may bypassCheck pair
35286Rpr blvsl grf oth/th vn lxtr1 - modifier may bypassCheck pair
36591Draw blood off venous device0 - no modifier bypassCheck pair
36592Collect blood from picc0 - no modifier bypassCheck pair
69990Microsurgery add-on0 - no modifier bypassCheck pair
92511Nasopharyngoscopy0 - no modifier bypassCheck pair
96523Irrig drug delivery device0 - no modifier bypassCheck pair

Data: CMS CY2026 Physician Fee Schedule RVU file (October release, RVU26D) and Medicare NCCI PTP practitioner edits v32.3 (2026 Q4). Verify against the official files before billing or contracting decisions.