CPT 27334, in plain terms, covers Open removal of part of the knee joint lining, limited to the front or back of the joint. CPT 27334 is referenced in 5 tracked payer policy changes from UnitedHealthcare and Excellus BlueCross BlueShield. For billers and coders, staying current on payer-specific coverage criteria, reimbursement rules, and prior-authorization requirements for CPT 27334 is critical to clean claim submission. Each entry below links to the full policy analysis with effective dates and action steps.
Official descriptor: CPT 27334 on AAPC
UnitedHealthcare is removing a long list of CPT codes from the applicable-code list of its Outpatient Surgical Procedures site-of-service policy for Exchange plans, and it is also removing the link to the Manipulation Under Anesthesia policy. The change takes effect December 1, 2026. The source does not state a new billing requirement for the removed codes.
Effective December 1, 2026, UMR removes more than 500 CPT codes from its Outpatient Surgical Procedures - Site of Service medical policy for commercial plans, and it drops a reference link to the Manipulation Under Anesthesia policy. For those codes, UMR's site-of-service policy no longer applies, so the practice should update its internal UMR site-of-service and prior authorization lists before that date.
Effective December 1, 2026, UnitedHealthcare removes more than 500 CPT codes from its Outpatient Surgical Procedures - Site of Service medical policy for commercial plans, and it drops a reference link to the Manipulation Under Anesthesia policy. For those codes, the site-of-service policy no longer applies under this UnitedHealthcare commercial policy, so the practice should update its internal site-of-service and prior authorization lists before that date.
Excellus BlueCross BlueShield medical policy 7.01.123 covers knee joint procedures for Managed Medicaid (MMC), Health and Recovery Plan (HARP), Child Health Plus (CHP), and Essential Plan (EP) members, with a current effective date of January 1, 2027. The policy sets medical necessity criteria for knee arthroplasty, knee arthroscopy and associated procedures, ligament reconstruction and repair, meniscal procedures, patellofemoral realignment, restorative cartilage procedures, and manipulation under anesthesia, including physical therapy, pain management, imaging, and BMI requirements. The policy history lists a 09/17/26 new policy and a 10/22/26 off-cycle update that removed site of service criteria.
Excellus BlueCross BlueShield medical policy 7.01.123 sets the medical necessity criteria for knee joint procedures for Managed Medicaid (MMC), Health and Recovery Plan (HARP), Child Health Plus (CHP), and Essential Plan (EP) members. The current effective date is January 1, 2027. The policy covers total, revision and partial knee arthroplasty, patellofemoral arthroplasty, diagnostic and surgical knee arthroscopy, chondroplasty, debridement, ligament reconstruction and repair, meniscal procedures, patellar realignment, lysis of adhesions, manipulation under anesthesia, and restorative cartilage procedures, each with its own criteria. The policy history shows a 10/22/26 off-cycle update that removed site of service criteria.
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