Summary & Overview
CPT 01400: Anesthesia for Knee Arthroscopic or Open Procedures
CPT 01400 represents anesthesia services provided for open or surgical arthroscopic procedures on the knee joint. The code captures the anesthesia component of knee surgery and is relevant for anesthesiologists, nurse anesthetists, surgical teams, and health plan administrators involved in perioperative care and billing. Nationally, anesthesia coding for orthopedic procedures like knee arthroscopy impacts facility billing, provider payment flows, and bundled payment arrangements tied to surgical episodes.
Key payers addressed include Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna Health, and UnitedHealthcare. Readers will gain a concise overview of the code’s clinical scope, typical settings where the service is delivered, and the payer landscape for coverage consideration. The publication also connects 01400 to common procedural contexts in knee surgery and highlights associated clinical and billing touchpoints that influence reimbursement, such as site-of-service bundling under inpatient prospective payment systems.
This summary prepares readers to review benchmarks, payer policy nuances, and clinical context in subsequent sections. It clarifies the role of 01400 within the perioperative care pathway for knee arthroscopy and open knee procedures, and sets expectations for the remainder of the publication where modifiers, diagnostic associations, related CPT codes, and professional taxonomies are detailed.
CPT Code Overview
CPT 01400 describes anesthesia for open or surgical arthroscopic procedures on the knee joint; not otherwise specified. This code denotes the anesthesia service component provided during surgical intervention on the knee, encompassing general, regional, or monitored anesthesia care as clinically appropriate.
Service type: Anesthesia
Typical site of service: Hospital or surgical center (often bundled under Part A PPS).
Data not available in the input for any additional site-of-service variations.
Clinical & Coding Specifications
A 52-year-old patient presents with progressive knee pain, intermittent locking and giving way. Clinical evaluation and imaging indicate a meniscal tear and degenerative changes of the knee. The orthopedic surgeon schedules an open or surgical arthroscopic knee procedure to address the meniscal injury and perform debridement or chondroplasty. Anesthesia services are provided in a hospital or ambulatory surgical center setting under general anesthesia, regional block, or monitored anesthesia care depending on patient factors and surgeon preference. Preoperative evaluation includes review of comorbidities, airway assessment, and anesthesia plan. Intraoperative workflow includes induction, intraoperative monitoring, provision of anesthesia for the duration of the arthroscopic or open knee surgery, and emergence with transfer to post-anesthesia care unit (PACU). Postoperative documentation includes anesthesia record with medications, monitoring, airway management, and recovery status.
Modifiers:
-
QS: Monitored anesthesia care service; used when anesthesia services are documented as monitored anesthesia care rather than general or regional anesthesia. -
QX: CRNA service with medical direction by a physician; used to indicate a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist provided the anesthesia service under physician medical direction.
Associated provider taxonomies:
-
207L00000X— Anesthesiology: physicians specializing in anesthetic care, perioperative management, and medical direction of anesthesia teams. -
367H00000X— Anesthesiologist Assistant: non-physician provider who works under the medical direction of an anesthesiologist to deliver anesthesia services. -
367500000X— Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist: advanced practice nurses trained to provide anesthesia and perioperative care, may practice with or without physician supervision depending on state law.
Related diagnoses:
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M23.50— Chronic instability of knee, unspecified kneeClinical relevance: Chronic knee instability may necessitate arthroscopic or open surgical intervention to address meniscal or ligament pathology, requiring anesthesia services coded with
01400. -
M17.11— Unilateral primary osteoarthritis, right kneeClinical relevance: Osteoarthritis of the knee can lead to degenerative changes treated with arthroscopic debridement or corrective procedures where anesthesia is provided and reported with
01400. -
M17.12— Unilateral primary osteoarthritis, left kneeClinical relevance: Same as
M17.11but affecting the left knee; relevant to anesthesia for knee arthroscopy or open procedures. -
S83.241A— Other tear of medial meniscus, current injury, right knee, initial encounterClinical relevance: Acute medial meniscal tear commonly requires arthroscopic intervention; anesthesia services for the procedure are reported with
01400. -
S83.242A— Other tear of medial meniscus, current injury, left knee, initial encounterClinical relevance: Same as
S83.241Abut for the left knee; indicates an acute meniscal tear prompting surgical repair or debridement under anesthesia.
Related CPT codes:
| CPT Code | Description |
|---|---|
29877 | Arthroscopy, knee, surgical; debridement/shaving of articular cartilage (chondroplasty) |
29880 | Arthroscopy, knee, surgical; with meniscectomy (medial AND lateral, including any meniscal shaving) including debridement/shaving of articular cartilage (chondroplasty), same or separate compartment(s), when performed |
29881 | Arthroscopy, knee, surgical; with meniscectomy (medial OR lateral, including any meniscal shaving) including debridement/shaving of articular cartilage (chondroplasty), same or separate compartment(s), when performed |
64447 | Injection(s), anesthetic agent(s) and/or steroid; femoral nerve, including imaging guidance, when performed |
How each relates to 01400:
-
29877,29880,29881: These arthroscopic knee procedures are the common surgical procedures for which anesthesia code01400is reported.01400represents the anesthesia services provided during open or arthroscopic knee surgery; these CPT surgical codes describe the operative interventions that require anesthesia. -
64447: A femoral nerve injection with anesthetic or steroid (with imaging guidance when performed) may be used perioperatively for regional anesthesia or analgesia. This procedure may be performed in the same clinical episode and is related to anesthesia and pain management around the knee surgery.
Common pairings and alternatives:
-
01400is commonly reported for cases where29877,29880, or29881are performed and anesthesia is required. -
64447may be used in conjunction with01400when a femoral nerve block is placed for intraoperative or postoperative analgesia.
Note: Use only the provided codes; no additional codes were added.
National Reimbursement Benchmarks
National mean rates for 01400 show commercial payers generally above Medicare and BUCA (the aggregate commercial benchmark) in average allowed amounts. Aetna, Cigna, and BCBS report mean rates of $304.35, $248.21, and $228.27 respectively versus BUCA at $171.12; Medicare is represented as $0.00 in the input, indicating no numeric Medicare mean provided.
Dispersion measured as the difference between the 75th and 25th percentiles is widest for Aetna (450.00 - 45.00 = $405.00) and Cigna (348.00 - 89.00 = $259.00), indicating large variability in allowed amounts. UnitedHealth Group is the tightest (75.33 - 50.25 = $25.08), followed by BCBS (283.50 - 167.25 = $116.25). The table and chart below present the full percentile and mean breakdown.
State Benchmarks
State: AK1 / 50
Alaska Benchmarks
Alaska shows a wide spread in reimbursement rates for CPT code 01400 among commercial payers. Blue Cross Blue Shield has the highest mean rate at $267.02, while UnitedHealth Group is the lowest at $74.78. The rate spread, calculated as the difference between the 75th and 25th percentiles, is most pronounced for Blue Cross Blue Shield ($72.70), indicating significant variability in payments. In contrast, Aetna and UnitedHealth Group have minimal spreads ($30.00 and $3.00, respectively), suggesting more consistent rates.
Compared to national averages, Alaska's mean rates for Aetna and Blue Cross Blue Shield are higher, while Cigna and UnitedHealth Group are notably lower. The table and chart below present the full breakdown of payer-specific rates in Alaska, highlighting these differences and the range of reimbursement values across the state.
Key Insights for Alaska
- Blue Cross Blue Shield is the highest paying payer for CPT 01400 in Alaska, with a mean rate of $267.02.
- UnitedHealth Group offers the lowest mean rate at $74.78, significantly below both state and national averages.
- Cigna's mean rate in Alaska ($89.33) is much lower than its national mean ($248.21), indicating a substantial deviation.
Trek Health ingests and normalizes Transparency in Coverage data and payer policy updates to give provider organizations a clear view of how commercial reimbursement behaves across markets, payers, and services. Our platform transforms raw payer disclosures into structured intelligence that supports contract evaluation, payer negotiations, and service line strategy. By combining market benchmarks with ongoing policy visibility, Trek helps teams identify variability, risk, and opportunity in commercial reimbursement. The result is faster insight, stronger negotiating positions, and more informed financial decisions.