Billing code 44680: Intestinal revisionMedicare rate & RVUs

Medicare pays $1,009.38 for 44680 nationally in a facility.

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

What 44680 covers

A surgeon uses this service to revise previously altered intestinal anatomy, including a blind-loop configuration after earlier intestinal surgery. The work may involve changing an intestinal connection or bypass to address the problem created by the prior anatomy. It is generally performed in an operating room, often in a hospital or other facility setting. The operative report should identify the prior reconstruction, the clinical problem prompting revision, the bowel segments and connections addressed, and the corrective work performed.

Select this code for the revision itself, not simply because bowel is resected or an anastomosis is created during another operation. Distinguish it from a focused stricturoplasty or closure of an enterostomy by the documented operative objective. The service has a 90-day global period, including the day-before preoperative visit and related postoperative care for 90 days. When multiple procedures are performed in the same session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and other procedures are subject to the standard 50% multiple-procedure reduction. Modifier 50 is inappropriate. Assistant-at-surgery payment may be available; 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 44680 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

44680 rates by state

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

How the 44680 rate is calculated

Each of 44680’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 44680

44680 has a 90-day global period: related visits in that window are included in the surgery payment.

What modifiers do to the payment

When to use modifier 51

44680 compared with similar codes

How to choose

44120Small-bowel resection

44120 describes small-intestine resection with anastomosis. Choose 44680 when the operative purpose is revision of prior intestinal anatomy, not simply removal and reconnection of bowel.

44615Intestinal stricturoplasty

44615 is for intestinal stricturoplasty. A focal narrowing treated by widening the segment points to that procedure; 44680 concerns revision of intestinal anatomy.

44620Stoma closure

44620 is for enterostomy closure. Use an enterostomy-closure code when closing the stoma is the documented objective, rather than revising altered intestinal anatomy.

Codes related to 44680

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