CPT code 01844: Shunt anesthesia, creation or revision2026 Medicare rate & RVUs in Massachusetts
Anesthesia for creating or revising an upper-extremity vascular shunt, commonly an arteriovenous access used for hemodialysis.
CMS doesn’t publish an office rate for 01844 in Massachusetts.
Medicare allowed amount for participating (non-QP) physicians, before deductible, coinsurance and claim adjustments. Not a patient’s bill or a hospital charge.
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On this page 9 sections
What 01844 covers
This service covers anesthesia for surgery that creates or revises a vascular shunt, most often an arteriovenous fistula or graft used for hemodialysis access. An anesthesia practitioner provides and reports the service for the access operation, commonly in a hospital or ambulatory surgical setting. The operation may establish a new connection or address a problem with an existing shunt.
Choose 01844 for the shunt operation itself, rather than a separate artery, vein, or embolization procedure in the forearm, wrist, or hand. The operative report should identify shunt creation or revision and the access site; the anesthesia record should support the service and its start and end times. This code has 6 base units; Medicare payment is (base units + time units) × the locality’s anesthesia conversion factor. Time is counted in minutes from anesthesia preparation until personal attendance ends and the patient can safely enter postoperative care, converted to 15-minute units to one decimal place.
This summary was written with AI assistance from CMS physician fee schedule data and checked against the CMS billing rules shown here. Rates on this page come directly from CMS files.
Where 01844 pays more and less in Massachusetts
| Payment locality | Office | Facility |
|---|---|---|
| Metropolitan Boston, MA | Unavailable | Unavailable |
| Rest of Massachusetts | Unavailable | Unavailable |
How the 01844 rate is calculated
Each of 01844’s three RVUs is multiplied by a geographic index (GPCI) for the payment locality, added up, and multiplied by the conversion factor. Drag the indexes or enter a ZIP to see what moves the rate.
How the rate is built · 01844
RVUs × geographic indexes × conversion factor
Work0.00
0.00 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI
Practice expense0.00
0.00 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI
Malpractice0.00
0.00 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI
Adjusted RVUs
0.0000
Conversion factor
$33.4009
Medicare rate
$0.00
Every GPCI starts at 1.000, the national rate. Enter a ZIP or drag a slider.
Payment rules and modifiers for 01844
01844 has no global surgery period, no multiple-procedure, bilateral or assistant-at-surgery adjustment, and no professional/technical split. What changes the payment is where the service happens: the place of service on the claim decides whether Medicare pays the office or the facility rate.
Place of service · 01844
Which rate does Medicare pay?
The POS code on the claim line (CMS-1500 box 24B).
POS 11 · non-facility rate · national
—
01844 isn’t priced in this setting.
01844 compared with similar codes
Compare codes · National
4 codes, side by side
How to choose
- 01840Arterial procedure anesthesiaForearm, wrist, or hand
- Choose 01844 for creation or revision of a vascular shunt. Choose 01840 for an arterial procedure in the forearm, wrist, or hand that is not shunt surgery.
- 01842Embolectomy anesthesiaForearm, wrist, or hand arteries
- 01842 describes anesthesia for an embolization procedure involving an artery of the forearm, wrist, or hand; 01844 is for vascular shunt creation or revision.
- 01850Vein procedure anesthesiaForearm, wrist, or hand
- 01850 covers other vein procedures in the forearm, wrist, or hand. Use 01844 when the operation creates or revises a vascular shunt.
01844 billing questions
When should I choose 01844 instead of 01840?
Use 01844 when the operation creates or revises a vascular shunt, such as an arteriovenous dialysis access. Code 01840 is for other arterial procedures in the forearm, wrist, or hand.
Is the surgeon’s shunt procedure reported separately?
Yes. The surgeon reports the operative shunt creation or revision under the applicable surgical CPT code; 01844 represents the anesthesia service.
How are units calculated for 01844?
The code has 6 base units. Medicare adds time units, calculated from anesthesia minutes in 15-minute units to one decimal place, then applies the locality’s anesthesia conversion factor.
What should the records show?
The operative report should establish that the procedure created or revised a vascular shunt and identify the access site. The anesthesia record should support the practitioner’s service and the documented anesthesia start and end times.
Can 01844 be used for a standalone artery or vein procedure?
No. The operation must involve creation or revision of a vascular shunt; a separate arterial or venous procedure belongs under the anesthesia code describing that procedure type.
Where these rates come from
FeeBase calculates base physician payments from CMS work, practice-expense and malpractice RVUs, adjusted by each locality’s geographic indexes and the conversion factor. Services without a published rate are labeled, never given a made-up amount. Amounts are Medicare allowed amounts before claim adjustments: not a patient’s bill or a commercial rate.
CMS RVU26D · effective Oct 1, 2026 through the day before Jan 1, 2027
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