CPT code 33988: Left heart vent, insertion2026 Medicare rate & RVUs in Montana

In Montana, Medicare pays $710.54 for 33988 in a facility. There’s no office rate.

Check a contract rate as a % of Medicare · 33988 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 33988 covers

A left heart vent temporarily drains blood from the left side of the heart to help prevent chamber distention during cardiac surgery. A cardiothoracic surgeon typically places it in the operating room as part of an open cardiac procedure, often while the patient is supported by cardiopulmonary bypass. The operative report should identify the placement and the vent’s role in the procedure.

Report 33988 for the insertion service, not for removal of the vent; distinguish the work from the principal cardiac operation in the documentation. CMS assigns a 0-day global period, so same-day preoperative and postoperative care is included. When multiple procedures are performed in the same session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and the others at 50%. Modifier 50 is inappropriate for this code. Assistant-at-surgery, co-surgeon, and team-surgery payment each require supporting documentation; assistant payment specifically requires medical necessity.

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 Montana compares for 33988

Across 109 of 109 payment localities, the facility rate for 33988 runs from $625.67 in Wisconsin to $909.62 in Alaska. Montana pays $710.54. The RVUs are the same everywhere; the geographic indexes change the dollars.

Every other payment area

33988 rates by state

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

See 33988 in every payment locality

How the 33988 rate is calculated

Each of 33988’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 33988

The CMS indicators that decide how 33988 is paid alongside other services.

What modifiers do to the payment

When to use modifier 51

Codes related to 33988

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

How 33988 has changed in Montana

Price 33988 for an earlier date of service

Where the Montana rate applies

Montana is a Medicare payment area, not a city. Our Census mapping connects it to 497 cities and communities in Montana. Some span more than one payment area; confirm with the service ZIP.

• Absarokee
• Acton
• Alberton
• Alder
• Alzada
• Amsterdam
• Anaconda-Deer Lodge County
• Antelope

Browse all communities in Montana

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