CPT 29881 · Other Procedure · Medicare (NGS MAC)
Knee Arthroscopy — Meniscectomy (Medial OR Lateral) at Medicare (NGS MAC).
How Medicare (NGS MAC) approaches CPT 29881 (Knee Arthroscopy — Meniscectomy (Medial OR Lateral)) for prior-authorization review: at last review on 2026-05-03, the policy covers this code without prior authorization.
Free with practitioner sign-in — magic-link email auth, no credit card.
No active LCD (NGS)Criteria summary
High-level themes from the Medicare (NGS MAC) policy of record for CPT 29881. 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: CMS IOM 100-08 — Reasonable and Necessary; NGS no procedure-specific LCD
See the full Medicare (NGS 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 →