US · guidance
CMS Pub. 100-04, ch. 4, § 20.6.2
Use of Modifiers -50, -LT, and -RT
50: Bilateral Procedure
Modifier 50 is used to report bilateral procedures that are performed on both sides of the
body at the same operative session. Do not report modifiers RT and LT when modifier 50
applies. Do not submit two line items to report a bilateral procedure using modifier 50.
Report one line with modifier 50 using one unit of service.
Modifier 50 applies to any bilateral procedure performed on both sides at the same
operative session. The bilateral modifier 50 is restricted to operative sessions only.
Modifier 50 may not be used:
To report surgical procedures identified by their terminology as “bilateral,” or
To report surgical procedures identified by their terminology as “unilateral or bilateral”.
The unit entry to use when modifier 50 is reported is one unit.
History
(Rev. 11937; Issued: 03-31-23; Effective: 04-01-23; Implementation: 04-03-23)
Provenance
- Source
- cms.gov
- Retrieved
- 2026-08-25
- Edition
- iom-2026-08-25
- Content hash
0235711503a0d248554bb0b5195c154925eff7b317a1f424324a7f40fb9ef6b5
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