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Billing code 33548: Ventricular restorationMedicare rate & RVUs

Reports surgical reconstruction of a scarred or aneurysmal left ventricle to restore ventricular shape, commonly after myocardial infarction.

CMS RVU26DEffective Oct 1, 2026109 payment localities79 Medicare services in 2024

Medicare pays $2,775.61 for 33548 nationally in a facility.

Medicare rate · 33548

Ventricular restoration

Swap in your local Medicare rate.

Work RVUs
52.79
Total RVUs
83.10
Global days
090

National rate · 2026

$2,775.61

Facility setting, before claim adjustments.

See every locality for 33548 → · Billed by an NP, PA or therapist? →

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

On this page 10 sections
  1. Medicare rate
  2. What 33548 covers
  3. By payment locality
  4. Rate map
  5. How it’s calculated
  6. Payment rules
  7. Similar codes
  8. Related codes
  9. Billing questions
  10. Sources

What 33548 covers

A cardiac surgeon performs this operation to reshape a damaged left ventricle, commonly when scar tissue or an aneurysmal area after a myocardial infarction has altered ventricular geometry. The surgeon may exclude or resect the affected area and reconstruct the ventricle, often with a patch. It is generally performed in a hospital operating room as open-heart surgery, sometimes alongside coronary artery bypass grafting when coronary disease also requires treatment.

Report the service when the operative report supports ventricular reconstruction, not simply removal of an aneurysm or repair of another postinfarction defect. Documentation should identify the ventricular pathology and describe the restoration technique. The code has a 90-day global period, including the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care. For procedures in the same session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and others at 50%. Modifier 50 is not appropriate for this single-heart procedure. Assistant-at-surgery payment may be made; co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation, and team-surgery payment 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 33548 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

33548 office and facility rates by payment locality
Payment localityOfficeFacility
AlabamaUnavailable$2,518.20
Alaska*Unavailable$3,505.35
ArizonaUnavailable$2,696.37
ArkansasUnavailable$2,487.18
AtlantaUnavailable$2,875.45
AustinUnavailable$2,765.01
BakersfieldUnavailable$2,700.05
Baltimore/Surr. CntysUnavailable$2,947.19
BeaumontUnavailable$2,692.55
BrazoriaUnavailable$2,691.25

33548 rates by state

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

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Local rates. Clear comparisons.

Hover or focus a tile to see its rate range. Select it to open the state’s fee schedule.

View every state and territory as a table
33548 office rate range by state
State / territoryOffice rate rangeLocalities
AKNo published base rate1
ALNo published base rate1
ARNo published base rate1
AZNo published base rate1
CANo published base rate29
CONo published base rate1
CTNo published base rate1
DCNo published base rate1
DENo published base rate1
FLNo published base rate3
GANo published base rate2
GUNo published base rate1
HINo published base rate1
IANo published base rate1
IDNo published base rate1
ILNo published base rate4
INNo published base rate1
KSNo published base rate1
KYNo published base rate1
LANo published base rate2
MANo published base rate2
MDNo published base rate3
MENo published base rate2
MINo published base rate2
MNNo published base rate1
MONo published base rate3
MSNo published base rate1
MTNo published base rate1
NCNo published base rate1
NDNo published base rate1
NENo published base rate1
NHNo published base rate1
NJNo published base rate2
NMNo published base rate1
NVNo published base rate1
NYNo published base rate5
OHNo published base rate1
OKNo published base rate1
ORNo published base rate2
PANo published base rate2
PRNo published base rate1
RINo published base rate1
SCNo published base rate1
SDNo published base rate1
TNNo published base rate1
TXNo published base rate8
UTNo published base rate1
VANo published base rate2
VINo published base rate1
VTNo published base rate1
WANo published base rate2
WINo published base rate1
WVNo published base rate1
WYNo published base rate1

How the 33548 rate is calculated

Each of 33548’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 · 33548

RVUs × geographic indexes × conversion factor

Swap in your local Medicare rate.

Work 52.79Practice expense 17.63Malpractice 12.68

83.1000 adjusted RVUs×$33.4009 conversion factor=$2,775.61

All indexes start at 1.000 (the national rate). Enter a ZIP or drag a slider.

Payment rules and modifiers for 33548

33548 has a 90-day global period: related visits in that window are included in the surgery payment.

CMS payment indicators · 33548

Ventricular restoration

RuleCMS valueWhat it means
Global period090Major surgery: the day before, the day of, and 90 days after are included.
Multiple procedures2Standard reduction: highest-valued procedure at 100%, others at 50%.
Bilateral (modifier 50)0The 150% bilateral adjustment doesn’t apply.
Assistant at surgery (80/81/82/AS)2Paid.
Co-surgeons (62)1Permitted with supporting documentation.
Team surgery (66)0Not permitted.
Professional/technical0Physician service: no professional/technical split.
Split (54/55/56)0.09/0.84/0.07Share of the payment for pre-op, the procedure itself, and post-op care.

Global surgery period · 33548

Ventricular restoration

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.

  • 24 Unrelated E/M visit by the same physician
  • 79 Unrelated procedure (starts its own global period)
  • 58 Staged, more extensive, or therapy procedure that was planned
  • 78 Unplanned return to the operating room for a related complication
SurgeryVisit
Sep 23, 2026Jan 10, 2027

Pre-op dayGlobal period

What modifiers do to the payment

Modifier 51 · payment effect

With and without the modifier

33548 without 51 · national facility

$2,775.61

Ventricular restoration

33548-51 · Second procedure: 50%

$1,387.81

When this isn’t the highest-valued procedure in the session, Medicare pays 50% of its fee schedule amount (the highest is paid at 100%).

When to use modifier 51

33548 compared with similar codes

Compare codes

33548 vs 33542 vs 33545 vs 33533: national Medicare rates

Swap in your local Medicare rate.

  • 33548
    Ventricular restoration · 52.79 wRVU
    —
  • 33542
    Heart lesion removal · 47 wRVU
    —
  • 33545
    Heart repair · 55.63 wRVU
    —
  • 33533
    Arterial CABG · 32.91 wRVU
    —

How to choose

33542Heart lesion removal
Choose 33548 when the operation reconstructs the left ventricle to restore its shape. Code 33542 describes aneurysm excision rather than ventricular restoration.
33545Heart repair
Code 33545 is for repair of a postinfarction ventricular septal defect. Code 33548 addresses reconstruction of the damaged ventricular chamber, not septal-defect repair.
33533Arterial CABG
Code 33533 reports arterial coronary bypass grafting, not ventricular reconstruction. It may be reported separately when both procedures are performed and documented.

Codes related to 33548

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

Codes related to 33548
CodeHow it relatesNational office range
Used instead
33542Heart lesion removalUsed for ventricular aneurysm excision when the operation is not ventricular restoration.No office rate
Often billed with
33533Arterial CABGArterial coronary bypass may be performed in the same session when indicated.No office rate
33510Coronary bypassSingle-vein coronary bypass may accompany ventricular restoration when clinically indicated.No office rate

33548 billing questions

How is this different from code 33542?

Code 33548 describes reconstruction to restore left ventricular shape after damage. Code 33542 describes excision of a ventricular aneurysm without the defining restoration procedure.

Can this be reported with a CABG code?

Yes, when the surgeon also performs coronary bypass grafting during the same session and the operative documentation supports both services. The standard multiple-procedure reduction applies to procedures performed in the same session.

How many units should be reported?

Report the ventricular restoration service once for the operation; do not use modifier 50 to represent treatment of both sides.

What documentation supports reporting this code?

The operative report should describe the left ventricular damage and the steps used to reconstruct or reshape the ventricle, such as exclusion or resection of scarred tissue and reconstruction.

Can an assistant or co-surgeon be reported?

Assistant-at-surgery payment may be made. Co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation; team-surgery payment is 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
RVUs for 33548PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv, line 4,005 (RVU26D)

Open CMS sourceHow we calculate rates

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