CPT code 33231: Defibrillator generator, multiple existing leads2026 Medicare rate & RVUs in Vermont

In Vermont, Medicare pays $330.12 for 33231 in a facility. There’s no office rate.

Check a contract rate as a % of Medicare · 33231 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 33231 covers

An electrophysiologist or other qualified cardiac surgeon places the defibrillator pulse generator and connects it to multiple leads already implanted in the heart. The procedure commonly takes place in a hospital electrophysiology lab or operating room. The work involves accessing the generator pocket, connecting the existing leads to the new generator, and assessing device function. This code represents generator work rather than placement of a new transvenous lead system.

Select this code when the operative report supports a defibrillator generator procedure with multiple existing leads; document the device type, lead configuration, and work performed. The 90-day global period includes the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care. When multiple procedures are performed in the same session, Medicare pays the highest-valued procedure in full and reduces the others to 50%. Medicare does not pay an assistant at surgery for this service; co-surgeon and team-surgery reporting 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 33231

Across 109 of 109 payment localities, the facility rate for 33231 runs from $317.21 in Nebraska to $443.03 in Alaska. Vermont pays $330.12. The RVUs are the same everywhere; the geographic indexes change the dollars.

Every other payment area

33231 rates by state

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

See 33231 in every payment locality

How the 33231 rate is calculated

Each of 33231’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 33231

33231 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 33231

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

How 33231 has changed in Vermont

Price 33231 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