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Billing code 33620: Pulmonary artery bandingMedicare rate & RVUs

Reports surgical placement of bands on both pulmonary arteries to restrict pulmonary blood flow, commonly as palliation for congenital heart disease with excessive flow.

CMS RVU26DEffective Oct 1, 2026109 payment localities69 Medicare services in 2024

Medicare pays $1,537.44 for 33620 nationally in a facility.

Medicare rate · 33620

Pulmonary artery banding

Work RVUs
29.25
Total RVUs
46.03
Global days
090

National rate · 2026

$1,537.44

Facility setting, before claim adjustments.

See every locality for 33620 →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 9 sections
  1. Medicare rate
  2. What 33620 covers
  3. By payment locality
  4. Rate map
  5. How it’s calculated
  6. Payment rules
  7. Similar codes
  8. Billing questions
  9. Sources

What 33620 covers

A congenital cardiac surgeon places constricting bands around the right and left pulmonary arteries to limit blood flow to the lungs. The operation is generally used as a palliative or staged intervention for infants with congenital heart disease and pulmonary overcirculation, including situations where a more complete repair is deferred. It is performed in an operating room, typically in a hospital setting.

Report this code when the operative record supports placement of bands on both pulmonary arteries; a unilateral banding procedure is not described by this code. Documentation should identify the treated vessels, the band placement, and the congenital condition prompting flow restriction. The service has a 90-day global period, which includes the day-before preoperative visit and related postoperative care. For multiple procedures in the same session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and other procedures are subject to the standard reduction. Modifier 50 is inappropriate because bilateral anatomy is built into the service. Assistant-at-surgery payment may be available; co-surgeons require 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 33620 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

33620 office and facility rates by payment locality
Payment localityOfficeFacility
AlabamaUnavailable$1,391.22
Alaska*Unavailable$1,935.66
ArizonaUnavailable$1,492.21
ArkansasUnavailable$1,373.62
AtlantaUnavailable$1,594.94
AustinUnavailable$1,529.51
BakersfieldUnavailable$1,489.77
Baltimore/Surr. CntysUnavailable$1,634.41
BeaumontUnavailable$1,491.68
BrazoriaUnavailable$1,488.20

33620 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
33620 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 33620 rate is calculated

Each of 33620’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 · 33620

RVUs × geographic indexes × conversion factor

Work29.25

29.25 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI

Practice expense9.40

9.40 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI

Malpractice7.38

7.38 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI

Adjusted RVUs

46.0300

Conversion factor

$33.4009

Medicare rate

$1,537.44

Every GPCI starts at 1.000, the national rate. Enter a ZIP or drag a slider.

Payment rules and modifiers for 33620

33620 has a 90-day global period: related visits in that window are included in the surgery payment.

CMS payment indicators · 33620

Pulmonary artery banding

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 · 33620

Pulmonary artery banding

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.

  • 24Unrelated E/M visit by the same physician
  • 79Unrelated procedure (starts its own global period)
  • 58Staged, more extensive, or therapy procedure that was planned
  • 78Unplanned 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

33620 without 51 · national facility

$1,537.44

Pulmonary artery banding

33620-51 · Second procedure: 50%

$768.72

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

33620 compared with similar codes

Compare codes · National

4 codes, side by side

  • 33620

    Pulmonary artery banding29.25 wRVU

    Not priced

  • 33621

    Cardiac stent15.78 wRVU

    Not priced

  • 33688

    VSD closure33.88 wRVU

    Not priced

  • 33617

    Single-ventricle repair38.11 wRVU

    Not priced

How to choose

33621Cardiac stent
This code describes catheter-based pulmonary artery stent placement. Code 33620 is for surgically placing bands around both pulmonary arteries to restrict flow.
33688VSD closure
Code 33688 describes closure of one ventricular septal defect with removal of a pulmonary artery band. Code 33620 describes initial bilateral band placement.
33617Single-ventricle repair
Code 33617 describes repair of a single-ventricle anomaly; code 33620 describes bilateral pulmonary artery banding as a flow-restricting operation.

33620 billing questions

When should this code be selected instead of a pulmonary artery stent code?

Use this code for surgical band placement around both pulmonary arteries to restrict flow. A pulmonary artery stent code describes catheter-based stent placement, not external banding.

Should modifier 50 be appended?

No. The service describes bilateral band placement, and CMS identifies bilateral adjustment as inappropriate for this code.

How does the 90-day global period affect postoperative billing?

The day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care are included in the global period.

Can an assistant surgeon be reported?

Assistant-at-surgery payment may be made for this service. Co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation.

How are other procedures in the same operative session paid?

Under the standard multiple procedure reduction, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and the other procedures are paid at 50%.

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 33620PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv, line 4,018 (RVU26D)

Open CMS sourceHow we calculate rates

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