FeeBase
Log inGet started
Menu

Billing code 33786: Truncus repairMedicare rate & RVUs

Definitive truncus arteriosus repair separates pulmonary blood flow from the common arterial trunk and establishes a route from the right ventricle to the lungs.

CMS RVU26DEffective Oct 1, 2026109 payment localities

Medicare pays $2,108.93 for 33786 nationally in a facility.

Medicare rate · 33786

Truncus repair

Swap in your local Medicare rate.

Work RVUs
40.82
Total RVUs
63.14
Global days
090

National rate · 2026

$2,108.93

Facility setting, before claim adjustments.

See every locality for 33786 → · 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 33786 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 33786 covers

This code represents open repair of truncus arteriosus, a congenital defect in which the pulmonary arteries arise from a common arterial trunk. The operation separates the pulmonary arteries from that trunk, directs left ventricular flow through the trunk to the systemic circulation, and establishes right-ventricle-to-pulmonary-artery continuity, commonly with a conduit. A congenital cardiac surgeon typically performs the repair in a hospital operating room, often in infancy or childhood.

Select the code from the definitive operation documented, not from the diagnosis alone. The operative report should identify the arterial anatomy and describe the separation and reconstruction performed. The service has a 90-day global period that includes the day-before preoperative visit and related postoperative care. When multiple procedures occur in the same session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and other procedures are subject to the standard 50% reduction. Report the single repair without modifier 50. Assistant-at-surgery payment may be made; co-surgeon payment requires 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 33786 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

33786 office and facility rates by payment locality
Payment localityOfficeFacility
AlabamaUnavailable$1,909.54
Alaska*Unavailable$2,662.44
ArizonaUnavailable$2,046.98
ArkansasUnavailable$1,885.59
AtlantaUnavailable$2,188.53
AustinUnavailable$2,095.78
BakersfieldUnavailable$2,039.03
Baltimore/Surr. CntysUnavailable$2,241.54
BeaumontUnavailable$2,048.37
BrazoriaUnavailable$2,040.61

33786 rates by state

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

MEWIVTNHMTNDMNMINYMARIWAIDWYSDIAILINOHPANJCTORNVUTCONEMOKYWVVAMDDECAAZNMKSOKARTNNCSCDCTXLAMSALGAFLAKHI

Explore a state

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
33786 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 33786 rate is calculated

Each of 33786’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 · 33786

RVUs × geographic indexes × conversion factor

Swap in your local Medicare rate.

Work 40.82Practice expense 12.03Malpractice 10.29

63.1400 adjusted RVUs×$33.4009 conversion factor=$2,108.93

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

Payment rules and modifiers for 33786

33786 has a 90-day global period: related visits in that window are included in the surgery payment.

CMS payment indicators · 33786

Truncus repair

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 · 33786

Truncus repair

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

33786 without 51 · national facility

$2,108.93

Truncus repair

33786-51 · Second procedure: 50%

$1,054.47

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

33786 compared with similar codes

Compare codes

33786 vs 33788 vs 33770 vs 33771 vs 33782: national Medicare rates

Swap in your local Medicare rate.

  • 33786
    Truncus repair · 40.82 wRVU
    —
  • 33788
    Pulmonary artery revision · 26.73 wRVU
    —
  • 33770
    TGA repair · 38.09 wRVU
    —
  • 33771
    TGA repair · 39.61 wRVU
    —
  • 33782
    Nikaidoh repair · 58.58 wRVU
    —

How to choose

33788Pulmonary artery revision
33788 is for pulmonary artery revision. Use 33786 for definitive repair of truncus arteriosus, not simply because the operation involves pulmonary arteries.
33770TGA repair
33770 is a repair for transposition of the great arteries without surgical enlargement of a ventricular septal defect. It is not the truncus arteriosus repair described by 33786.
33771TGA repair
33771 is a transposition repair involving surgical enlargement of a ventricular septal defect. The underlying anatomy and repair differ from truncus arteriosus repair.
33782Nikaidoh repair
33782 describes a Nikaidoh procedure for transposition-related anatomy, not repair of a common arterial trunk.

33786 billing questions

How is this distinguished from pulmonary artery revision?

This code describes definitive repair of truncus arteriosus. Code 33788 describes revision of the pulmonary artery, rather than initial repair of the common arterial trunk.

Is closure of the ventricular septal defect separately reported?

The septal closure may be part of the complete truncus repair, which routes left ventricular blood to the systemic artery. Review the operative work and applicable coding edits before considering a separate code.

Should modifier 50 be appended?

No. The operation repairs a single common arterial trunk; report it without modifier 50.

How are other same-session procedures paid?

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

What supports assistant or co-surgeon reporting?

An assistant at surgery may be paid. Co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation; team surgery 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 33786PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv, line 4,072 (RVU26D)

Open CMS sourceHow we calculate rates

Did this answer your question about what 33786 pays?

Tell us what you were actually trying to work out. We’ll answer you directly, or build the page that does.

Fee sheets

Put 33786 and the rest of your codes on one sheet

Build a fee sheet from your own code list at your locality, put your payer contracts beside Medicare, and see what changed each quarter.

Build my fee sheetOr price your code list free →