CPT code 43881: Gastric electrodes, open antral procedure2026 Medicare rate & RVUs in California

CMS doesn’t publish an office rate for 43881 in California.

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

What 43881 covers

This service places or replaces electrode leads in the stomach’s antrum through an open surgical approach. The leads deliver electrical stimulation as part of a gastric neurostimulation system used to treat gastroparesis. A surgeon typically reports the procedure for a patient receiving gastric electrical stimulation; the code describes work on the electrodes, not the pulse generator.

Medicare assigns status C, meaning there is no national physician fee schedule payment and the Medicare Administrative Contractor sets payment for each claim. The contractor also sets the global period. When multiple procedures are performed in the same session, Medicare’s standard multiple procedure reduction applies: the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and others at 50%. Report the service for the open electrode procedure.

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 43881 pays more and less in California

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

29 of 29 payment localities

How the 43881 rate is calculated

Each of 43881’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 43881

The CMS indicators that decide how 43881 is paid alongside other services.

What modifiers do to the payment

When to use modifier 51

43881 compared with similar codes

How to choose

43882Electrode revision/removalOpen approach

Use 43881 for open electrode placement or replacement. Use 43882 for open revision or removal of the electrodes.

43647Gastric stimulator leadsLaparoscopic approach

Both involve antral gastric neurostimulator electrodes, but 43647 is for a laparoscopic approach rather than an open approach.

64590Neurostimulator generatorPulse generator or receiver

64590 describes work on the gastric neurostimulator pulse generator or receiver; 43881 describes placement or replacement of the stomach electrodes.

Codes related to 43881

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