CPT 00866: Anesthesia for Adrenal Gland Removal
CPT code 00866 designates anesthesia care for patients undergoing removal of one or both adrenal glands (adrenalectomy). This code is used to report perioperative anesthesia services associated with adrenal gland excision, an important component of complex endocrine and oncologic surgery. Accurate coding of anesthesia for adrenalectomy affects national reimbursements, resource planning, and quality measurement for perioperative care.
Key payers discussed in this analysis include Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna Health, UnitedHealthcare, and Medicare. Readers will find benchmarks for common billing and service contexts, an explanation of clinical indications tied to adrenalectomy, and an overview of how this anesthesia code interacts with related procedural services. The publication outlines common modifiers and related claim considerations, typical sites of service, and associated clinical taxonomies for providers and billing teams.
The report provides practical context for coding and billing teams, anesthesiology departments, and payers, emphasizing the clinical setting and service implications without making clinical recommendations. Data not available in the input is noted where applicable.
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Billing Code Overview
CPT code 00866 describes anesthesia services provided for removal of one or both adrenal glands (adrenalectomy). The service type is anesthesia for surgical adrenal gland removal, typically delivered in an inpatient or outpatient operating room setting depending on the surgical approach and patient condition. The code captures the anesthesiologist or anesthesia team’s perioperative management specific to adrenalectomy procedures.
National Reimbursement Benchmarks
Commercial rates for CPT 00866 cluster around BUCA’s average commercial rate of $76.30, with notable differences among individual payers. Blue Cross Blue Shield shows a relatively narrow interquartile spread ($86.00 - $47.90 = $38.10), while UnitedHealth Group’s IQR ($80.80 - $52.00 = $28.80) is the tightest among listed payers. Cigna and Aetna display wider dispersion: Cigna’s IQR is $119.90 - $67.80 = $52.10 and Aetna’s IQR is $122.10 - $45.00 = $77.10, indicating greater variability in commercial contract rates for those carriers.
Maximum-to-minimum differentials further highlight concentration: Aetna ranges from a low of $30.20 to a high of $330.60, and Cigna’s reported span reaches $151.40 at the top and $46.00 at the low end. UnitedHealth Group and Blue Cross Blue Shield sit closer to BUCA’s average, with mean rates of $67.30 and $66.60 respectively, while Cigna ($93.10) and Aetna ($97.40) have higher mean commercial rates.