CPT code 33237: Pacing lead removal, thoracotomy approach2026 Medicare rate & RVUs in New Mexico

In New Mexico, Medicare pays $829.37 for 33237 in a facility. There’s no office rate.

Check a contract rate as a % of Medicare · 33237 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 33237 covers

This service involves opening the chest to expose and remove a permanent epicardial pacing electrode attached to the heart’s outer surface. It is performed by a cardiac surgeon when the electrode cannot be removed through a transvenous extraction approach or when the lead’s location or clinical circumstances call for direct surgical access. The procedure is generally performed in a hospital operating room, often as part of a broader cardiac-device operation.

Report 33237 for the thoracotomy-based electrode-removal service, rather than a code for transvenous pacemaker-lead removal or generator removal alone. The operative report should identify the epicardial electrode removed and document the thoracotomy approach. CMS assigns a 90-day global period, including the day-before preoperative visit and related postoperative care. When multiple procedures are performed in the same session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and other procedures are subject to the standard multiple-procedure reduction. Assistant-at-surgery payment requires documentation of medical necessity; co-surgeons are permitted, while team surgery is 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 New Mexico compares for 33237

Across 109 of 109 payment localities, the facility rate for 33237 runs from $739.80 in Arkansas to $1,025.04 in Alaska. New Mexico pays $829.37. The RVUs are the same everywhere; the geographic indexes change the dollars.

Every other payment area

33237 rates by state

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

See 33237 in every payment locality

How the 33237 rate is calculated

Each of 33237’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 33237

33237 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 33237

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

How 33237 has changed in New Mexico

Price 33237 for an earlier date of service

Where the New Mexico rate applies

New Mexico is a Medicare payment area, not a city. Our Census mapping connects it to 528 cities and communities in New Mexico. Some span more than one payment area; confirm with the service ZIP.

• Abeytas
• Abiquiu
• Acomita Lake
• Adelino
• Agua Fria
• Alamillo
• Alamo
• Alamogordo

Browse all communities in New Mexico

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