CPT code 33228: Pacemaker generator exchange, dual-lead system2026 Medicare rate & RVUs in Vermont

In Vermont, Medicare pays $293.26 for 33228 in a facility. There’s no office rate.

Check a contract rate as a % of Medicare · 33228 nationwide

Medicare allowed amount for participating (non-QP) physicians, before deductible, coinsurance and claim adjustments. Not a patient’s bill or a hospital charge.

What 33228 covers

The physician removes a depleted or malfunctioning pulse generator from an existing permanent pacemaker system and connects a replacement while retaining the dual-lead configuration. A cardiologist or electrophysiologist typically performs the procedure in a cardiac catheterization or electrophysiology lab when the generator reaches battery end of service or needs replacement for another documented reason.

Select this code based on the existing system’s dual-lead configuration and an actual generator exchange, not on the number of leads newly implanted. The operative report should identify the existing system, generator removal and replacement, and lead configuration; generator removal is included in the exchange. CMS assigns a 90-day major-surgery global period, including the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care. In a same-session multiple-procedure claim, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and other procedures at 50%. Medicare does not pay an assistant at surgery; co-surgeons and team surgery are not permitted.

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.

How Vermont compares for 33228

Across 109 of 109 payment localities, the facility rate for 33228 runs from $281.48 in Arkansas to $391.99 in Alaska. Vermont pays $293.26. The RVUs are the same everywhere; the geographic indexes change the dollars.

Every other payment area

33228 rates by state

Office rate range in each state. Select a state to see its payment localities.

See 33228 in every payment locality

How the 33228 rate is calculated

Each of 33228’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.

Payment rules and modifiers for 33228

33228 has a 90-day global period: related visits in that window are included in the surgery payment.

What modifiers do to the payment

When to use modifier 51

Codes related to 33228

Related codes aren’t interchangeable: bill the code that matches the service performed.

How 33228 has changed in Vermont

Price 33228 for an earlier date of service

Where the Vermont rate applies

Vermont is a Medicare payment area, not a city. Our Census mapping connects it to 180 cities and communities in Vermont. Some span more than one payment area; confirm with the service ZIP.

• Albany
• Alburgh
• Algiers
• Arlington
• Ascutney
• Bakersfield
• Barnet
• Barre

Browse all communities in Vermont

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

Open CMS sourceHow we calculate rates