CPT code 66984: Cataract surgery, standard, without ECP or drainage device2026 Medicare rate & RVUs in New York
Report 66984 for standard extracapsular cataract removal with intraocular lens implantation when complex techniques, endoscopic cyclophotocoagulation, and qualifying drainage-device insertion are absent.
CMS doesn’t publish an office rate for 66984 in New York.
Medicare allowed amount for participating (non-QP) physicians, before deductible, coinsurance and claim adjustments. Not a patient’s bill or a hospital charge.
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What 66984 covers
Ophthalmologists typically perform this operation in ambulatory surgery centers or hospital outpatient departments. The surgeon removes the cloudy lens while retaining the capsule needed to support an intraocular lens, usually using phacoemulsification, and implants the lens in the same session. Capsulorrhexis, irrigation and aspiration, viscoelastic use, and wound construction are part of the operation. The operative report should identify the eye treated, lens implantation, and any devices or techniques used.
Report 66984 when the case does not require the devices or techniques that define complex cataract surgery under 66982. Identify a unilateral eye with RT or LT; use modifier 79 for surgery on the other eye during the first eye’s global period. The 90-day global includes the day-before preoperative visit and related postoperative care. Surgical care and transferred postoperative care can be split with modifiers 54 and 55. Same-session bilateral surgery with modifier 50 is paid at 150%. For other same-session procedures, CMS pays the highest-valued procedure in full and reduces others to 50%. Assistant surgery is statutorily unpaid; 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.
Where 66984 pays more and less in New York
The same RVUs, adjusted for each area’s costs. Open a locality for its calculation, history and nearby areas.
| Payment locality | Office | Facility |
|---|---|---|
| Manhattan, NY | Unavailable | $521.72 |
| NYC suburbs and Long Island, NY | Unavailable | $532.15 |
| Poughkeepsie and northern NYC suburbs, NY | Unavailable | $496.65 |
| Queens, NY | Unavailable | $523.23 |
| Rest of New York | Unavailable | $446.99 |
How the 66984 rate is calculated
Each of 66984’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.
How the rate is built · 66984
RVUs × geographic indexes × conversion factor
Work7.17
7.17 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI
Practice expense6.14
6.14 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI
Malpractice0.54
0.54 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI
Adjusted RVUs
13.8500
Conversion factor
$33.4009
Medicare rate
$462.60
Every GPCI starts at 1.000, the national rate. Enter a ZIP or drag a slider.
Payment rules and modifiers for 66984
66984 has a 90-day global period: related visits in that window are included in the surgery payment.
CMS payment indicators · 66984
Cataract surgery, standard, without ECP or drainage device
| Rule | CMS value | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Global period | 090 | Major surgery: the day before, the day of, and 90 days after are included. |
| Multiple procedures | 2 | Standard reduction: highest-valued procedure at 100%, others at 50%. |
| Bilateral (modifier 50) | 1 | Bilateral with modifier 50 pays 150% of the fee schedule amount. |
| Assistant at surgery (80/81/82/AS) | 1 | Not paid (statutory restriction). |
| Co-surgeons (62) | 0 | Not permitted. |
| Team surgery (66) | 0 | Not permitted. |
| Professional/technical | 0 | Physician service: no professional/technical split. |
| Split (54/55/56) | 0.10/0.70/0.20 | Share of the payment for pre-op, the procedure itself, and post-op care. |
Global surgery period · 66984
Cataract surgery, standard, without ECP or drainage device
90-day global period ends
Dec 30, 2026
Covers Sep 30, 2026 through Dec 30, 2026 (92 days, including the day before surgery).
Visit on Oct 31, 2026
Day 30 of the 90-day post-op period: related follow-up care is included in the surgical payment.
Pre-op dayGlobal period
What modifiers do to the payment
Modifier 50 · payment effect
With and without the modifier
66984 without 50 · national facility
$462.60
Cataract surgery, standard, without ECP or drainage device
66984-50 · Bilateral: 150%
$693.90
Both sides on one line with modifier 50 are paid at 150% of the fee schedule amount (subject to multiple-procedure rules with other procedures).
66984 compared with similar codes
Compare codes · National
5 codes, side by side
How to choose
- 66982Cataract surgeryComplex, without ECP
- 66982 requires documented qualifying complex techniques or devices, such as iris expansion, capsular support, or primary posterior capsulorrhexis. Choose 66984 when the surgery does not meet the complex-code criteria.
- 66991Cataract surgeryWith endoscopic cyclophotocoagulation
- 66991 combines standard cataract surgery with insertion of a qualifying internal-approach aqueous drainage device without an external reservoir. Use 66984 when that combined procedure is not performed.
- 66988Cataract surgeryWith ECP, noncomplex
- 66988 combines standard cataract surgery with endoscopic cyclophotocoagulation. Use 66984 when endoscopic cyclophotocoagulation is not performed.
- 66983Cataract extractionIntracapsular with lens implant
- 66983 uses an intracapsular technique that removes the lens with its capsule. The extracapsular approach reported with 66984 retains the capsule needed to support the implanted lens.
66984 billing questions
When should 66982 be reported instead of 66984?
Use 66982 when the operative report documents qualifying complex techniques or devices, such as an iris expansion device, capsular tension ring, sutured IOL support, or primary posterior capsulorrhexis. A dense cataract or small pupil alone does not establish that those techniques were used.
How is the second eye billed when surgery is done a few weeks after the first?
Report the second eye’s surgery with the appropriate eye modifier and modifier 79 because it is unrelated to the first eye’s postoperative care. The second eye has its own global period.
How is postoperative care shared with an optometrist?
The surgeon reports 66984 with modifier 54 for surgical care, and the comanaging optometrist reports 66984 with modifier 55 for transferred postoperative care. Both providers should document the transfer and its effective date.
Can a trabecular bypass device or ECP be billed separately with 66984?
For a qualifying internal-approach aqueous drainage device without an external reservoir, use combined code 66991 instead of adding the device insertion to 66984. For cataract surgery combined with endoscopic cyclophotocoagulation, use 66988 instead of 66984.
Can an assistant surgeon be billed for this case?
CMS does not pay an assistant at surgery for 66984 because of a statutory restriction. Co-surgeons and team surgery are not permitted.
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
Show the CMS file lines behind this rate
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