CPT code 33973: Balloon device, insertion2026 Medicare rate & RVUs

Medicare pays $458.59 for 33973 nationally in a facility.

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

What 33973 covers

An intra-aortic balloon assist device provides temporary circulatory support by counterpulsation. Placement may be needed for a patient with cardiogenic shock or inadequate cardiac output, including in an acute cardiac-care or post-cardiac-surgery setting. A cardiologist or cardiac surgeon typically performs the procedure in a hospital catheterization laboratory or operating room. The operative or procedure note should identify the balloon device, the insertion service performed, and the clinical reason for support.

Report this insertion code when the documented service matches its CPT definition; distinguish it from other balloon-device insertion codes by the specific procedure and approach documented. The service has a 0-day global period, so same-day preoperative and postoperative care is included. When multiple procedures are performed in the same session, Medicare pays the highest-valued procedure in full and reduces the others to 50%. Modifier 50 is inappropriate for this service. Assistant-at-surgery payment may be available; co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation, and 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.

Where 33973 pays more and less

The same RVUs, adjusted for each area’s costs. Open a locality for its calculation, history and nearby areas.

109 of 109 payment localities

33973 rates by state

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

How the 33973 rate is calculated

Each of 33973’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 33973

The CMS indicators that decide how 33973 is paid alongside other services.

What modifiers do to the payment

When to use modifier 51

33973 compared with similar codes

How to choose

33967Balloon pump insertionPercutaneous approach

33967 identifies percutaneous insertion of an intra-aortic balloon assist device. Use the code whose CPT definition matches the documented insertion service.

33970Aortic assist deviceOpen transthoracic insertion

33970 is another aortic circulation-assist insertion code. Distinguish it from 33973 by matching the documented procedure to the applicable CPT definition.

33974Balloon removalIntra-aortic balloon

33974 reports removal of an intra-aortic balloon device; 33973 concerns insertion.

Codes related to 33973

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

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