FeeBase
Log inGet started
Menu

Billing code 47400: Liver duct incisionMedicare rate & RVUs

Reports an operative incision into an intrahepatic bile duct to explore, drain, or remove a calculus during hepatobiliary surgery.

CMS RVU26DEffective Oct 1, 2026109 payment localities20 Medicare services in 2024

Medicare pays $1,993.37 for 47400 nationally in a facility.

Medicare rate · 47400

Liver duct incision

Work RVUs
35.45
Total RVUs
59.68
Global days
090

National rate · 2026

$1,993.37

Facility setting, before claim adjustments.

See every locality for 47400 →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 47400 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 47400 covers

This code represents an operative incision into a bile duct within the liver, typically to investigate or treat an intrahepatic duct problem such as a calculus or obstruction. A general or hepatobiliary surgeon performs the procedure in an operating room, commonly during open abdominal surgery. The operative report should identify the duct entered and describe the purpose and work performed, such as exploration, drainage, or calculus removal.

Choose this code when the incision is in an intrahepatic duct, rather than the extrahepatic bile duct or gallbladder. The 90-day global period includes the day-before preoperative visit and related postoperative care during that period. When multiple procedures occur in one session, Medicare pays the highest-valued procedure in full and applies a 50% reduction to the others. Assistant-at-surgery payment may be made; co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation, and team surgery is not permitted. Modifier 50 is inappropriate for this service.

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 47400 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

47400 office and facility rates by payment locality
Payment localityOfficeFacility
AlabamaUnavailable$1,794.26
Alaska*Unavailable$2,475.08
ArizonaUnavailable$1,932.46
ArkansasUnavailable$1,770.21
AtlantaUnavailable$2,068.51
AustinUnavailable$1,988.15
BakersfieldUnavailable$1,939.19
Baltimore/Surr. CntysUnavailable$2,123.37
BeaumontUnavailable$1,926.55
BrazoriaUnavailable$1,928.67

47400 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
47400 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 47400 rate is calculated

Each of 47400’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 · 47400

RVUs × geographic indexes × conversion factor

Work35.45

35.45 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI

Practice expense14.74

14.74 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI

Malpractice9.49

9.49 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI

Adjusted RVUs

59.6800

Conversion factor

$33.4009

Medicare rate

$1,993.37

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

Payment rules and modifiers for 47400

47400 has a 90-day global period: related visits in that window are included in the surgery payment.

CMS payment indicators · 47400

Liver duct incision

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)0.09/0.81/0.10Share of the payment for pre-op, the procedure itself, and post-op care.

Global surgery period · 47400

Liver duct incision

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

47400 without 51 · national facility

$1,993.37

Liver duct incision

47400-51 · Second procedure: 50%

$996.69

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

47400 compared with similar codes

Compare codes · National

4 codes, side by side

  • 47400

    Liver duct incision35.45 wRVU

    Not priced

  • 47420

    Bile duct surgery21.48 wRVU

    Not priced

  • 47425

    Bile duct surgery21.75 wRVU

    Not priced

  • 47460

    Biliary sphincterotomy20.01 wRVU

    Not priced

How to choose

47420Bile duct surgery
Choose 47400 for an incision into a duct within the liver. Code 47420 concerns an extrahepatic bile duct.
47425Bile duct surgery
Code 47425 addresses an extrahepatic bile duct procedure; 47400 is selected when the operative incision is intrahepatic.
47460Biliary sphincterotomy
Code 47460 is directed at the biliary sphincter. Use 47400 when the surgeon incises an intrahepatic duct instead.

Codes related to 47400

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

Codes related to 47400
CodeHow it relatesNational office range
Used instead
47420Bile duct surgeryAddresses an extrahepatic bile duct incision rather than an intrahepatic duct incision.No office rate
47425Bile duct surgeryApplies to an extrahepatic bile duct incision; distinguish it by operative anatomy and purpose.No office rate
47460Biliary sphincterotomyTreats the biliary sphincter rather than entering an intrahepatic duct.No office rate
47480Gallbladder incisionConcerns incision of the gallbladder, not an intrahepatic bile duct.No office rate
47490Gallbladder drainageConcerns gallbladder incision or drainage rather than an intrahepatic duct procedure.No office rate

47400 billing questions

How does 47400 differ from 47420 or 47425?

Use 47400 when the operative incision is into an intrahepatic duct. Codes 47420 and 47425 concern an extrahepatic bile duct; the operative purpose and work distinguish those codes from one another.

When is 47400 preferable to a gallbladder incision code?

The target anatomy controls: 47400 concerns a duct within the liver, while 47480 and 47490 concern an incision involving the gallbladder.

Can modifier 50 be appended?

No. CMS identifies bilateral adjustment as inappropriate for this code because of its descriptor or anatomy.

How does Medicare handle 47400 with another procedure in the same session?

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

What documentation supports reporting 47400?

The operative report should specify that the surgeon entered an intrahepatic duct and describe the operative objective and work, such as exploration, drainage, or calculus removal.

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 47400PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv, line 5,677 (RVU26D)

Open CMS sourceHow we calculate rates

Did this answer your question about what 47400 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 47400 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 →