CPT code 33953: ECMO cannulation, open, age six and older2026 Medicare rate & RVUs in Connecticut

In Connecticut, Medicare pays $459.08 for 33953 in a facility. There’s no office rate.

Check a contract rate as a % of Medicare · 33953 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 33953 covers

This service covers open surgical insertion of peripheral cannulae to establish extracorporeal membrane oxygenation or extracorporeal life support. It is used when a patient age six or older needs extracorporeal cardiopulmonary support and the cannulae are placed through an open approach, such as surgical exposure of peripheral vessels. Cardiothoracic or vascular surgeons typically perform the procedure in a hospital setting during urgent support for severe cardiac or respiratory failure.

Select this code based on the patient’s age, peripheral cannula location, and open technique; percutaneous insertion and central cannulation are coded separately. The operative report should document the open approach, cannula placement, and the patient’s age. The service has a 0-day global period, so same-day preoperative and postoperative care is included. When multiple procedures occur in the same session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and other procedures are subject to the standard multiple procedure reduction. Modifier 50 is inappropriate for this descriptor and anatomy. Assistant-at-surgery payment requires documented medical necessity; 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 Connecticut compares for 33953

Across 109 of 109 payment localities, the facility rate for 33953 runs from $381.45 in Wisconsin to $553.99 in Alaska. Connecticut pays $459.08. The RVUs are the same everywhere; the geographic indexes change the dollars.

Every other payment area

33953 rates by state

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

See 33953 in every payment locality

How the 33953 rate is calculated

Each of 33953’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 33953

The CMS indicators that decide how 33953 is paid alongside other services.

What modifiers do to the payment

When to use modifier 51

Codes related to 33953

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

How 33953 has changed in Connecticut

Price 33953 for an earlier date of service

Where the Connecticut rate applies

Connecticut is a Medicare payment area, not a city. Our Census mapping connects it to 215 cities and communities in Connecticut. Some span more than one payment area; confirm with the service ZIP.

• Ansonia
• Ball Pond
• Baltic
• Bantam
• Bethel
• Bethlehem Village
• Bigelow Corners
• Blue Hills

Browse all communities in Connecticut

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