Calculate the CMS global surgical period for a procedure date: 000, 010 and 090 day indicators, the exact start and end dates, total days, and when unrelated services become separately billable.
| Input | Result |
|---|---|
| Procedure Jan 15, 2026 · 090 indicator | global Jan 14 – Apr 15, 2026 · 92 days |
| Procedure Jan 15, 2026 · 010 indicator | global Jan 15 – Jan 25, 2026 · 11 days |
| Procedure Jan 15, 2026 · 000 indicator | day of procedure only · 1 day |
| Procedure Mar 2, 2026 · 090 indicator | global Mar 1 – May 31, 2026 · 92 days |
| Indicator | Typical procedures | What the package covers | Total days |
|---|---|---|---|
| 000 | Endoscopies, some minor procedures | Day of the procedure only. A same-day visit is generally not separately payable. | 1 |
| 010 | Other minor procedures | Day of the procedure plus the 10 days immediately following. | 11 |
| 090 | Major surgery | One preoperative day, the day of surgery, and the 90 days following. | 92 |
| ZZZ / YYY | Add-on codes / contractor-priced | ZZZ codes are always billed with another service; YYY global periods are set by the Medicare Administrative Contractor. | varies |
To find a specific CPT code's indicator, use the CMS Physician Fee Schedule Look-up Tool and enable all columns — the GLOBAL column carries the value. The counting rules above follow the Medicare Claims Processing Manual, Chapter 12.
| Modifier | Use |
|---|---|
| 24 | Unrelated E&M service by the same physician during the postoperative period |
| 25 | Significant, separately identifiable E&M on the day of a procedure |
| 57 | E&M that resulted in the decision for surgery |
| 58 | Staged or related procedure during the postoperative period |
| 78 | Unplanned return to the operating room for a related procedure |
| 79 | Unrelated procedure during the postoperative period |
Inside the package: preoperative visits after the decision to operate (for 090, the day before), intra-operative services, follow-up visits related to recovery, complications not requiring a return to the operating room, post-surgical pain management by the surgeon, and routine supplies. Documentation must always support the modifier used.
Medicare pays for surgery as a bundle: the procedure plus the related pre- and post-operative care from the same physician or same-specialty group over a fixed window. Related E&M services inside that window are not separately billable.
They are the global period values in the CMS Physician Fee Schedule. 000 covers the day of the procedure only; 010 covers the day plus 10 following days (11 total); 090 covers one day before, the day of, and 90 days after surgery (92 total).
Use the CMS Physician Fee Schedule Look-up Tool, choose Show All Columns, and read the GLOBAL column. Values are 000, 010, 090, plus ZZZ for add-on codes and YYY where the Medicare Administrative Contractor sets the period.
Preoperative visits after the decision to operate (the day before for major surgery), intra-operative services, all related follow-up visits, care for complications that do not require a return to the operating room, post-surgical pain management by the surgeon, and routine supplies.
24 for an unrelated E&M during the postoperative period, 25 for a significant separately identifiable E&M on the procedure day, 57 for the decision for surgery, 58 for a staged or related procedure, 78 for an unplanned return to the operating room, and 79 for an unrelated procedure during the postoperative period.