CPT 29871 · Arthroscopy · Medicare (Noridian JF MAC)
Knee Arthroscopy with Drainage of Infected Joint at Medicare (Noridian JF MAC).
How Medicare (Noridian JF MAC) approaches CPT 29871 (Knee Arthroscopy with Drainage of Infected Joint) for prior-authorization review: at last review on 2026-05-02, the policy covers this code with prior authorization required.
Free with practitioner sign-in — magic-link email auth, no credit card.
Criteria summary
High-level themes from the Medicare (Noridian JF MAC) policy of record for CPT 29871. Verbatim policy text and per-criterion analysis are available after sign-in.
- At least 6 weeks of conservative care typically required.
- Imaging concordance documentation required.
Source: Medicare (Noridian JF MAC) LCD / Local Coverage Article
See the full Medicare (Noridian JF MAC) criteria.
Sign in for verbatim conservative-care language, exact imaging-concordance rules, repeat-procedure thresholds, and the denial-risk score for any specific clinical scenario.
Sign in — free for practitioners →