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CPT code 47556: Biliary endoscopy2026 Medicare rate & RVUs

Percutaneous biliary endoscopy with lesion destruction is reported when an endoscope introduced through the skin is used to destroy a lesion in the biliary tree.

CMS RVU26DEffective Oct 1, 2026109 payment localities22 Medicare services in 2024

Medicare pays $340.69 for 47556 nationally in a facility.

Medicare rate · 47556

Biliary endoscopy

Office or facility?

Work RVUs
8.34
Total RVUs
10.20
Global days
000

National rate · 2026

$340.69

Facility setting, before claim adjustments.

See every locality for 47556 →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.

Your location

Medicare pays by the payment locality where the service is performed.

On this page 10 sections
  1. Medicare rate
  2. What 47556 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 47556 covers

An interventional radiologist or other qualified physician advances an endoscope through percutaneous access into the biliary tree to visualize and destroy a lesion. A typical use is cholangioscopic fragmentation of a bile duct calculus with a destructive technique such as lithotripsy. The service is generally performed in a hospital or other facility with imaging support; it is distinct from simply retrieving a calculus with a basket or other extraction device.

Report this code when documentation supports endoscopic visualization and destruction, rather than diagnostic inspection alone, biopsy, duct dilation, or removal without destruction. Record the target lesion, approach, endoscopic findings, and destruction method. CMS assigns a 0-day global period, so same-day preoperative and postoperative care is included. When related endoscopies are performed together, endoscopy family pricing applies. Modifier 50 is inappropriate. CMS does not pay for an assistant at surgery, and co-surgeons and team surgery are 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 47556 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

47556 office and facility rates by payment locality
Payment localityOfficeFacility
AlabamaUnavailable$321.67
AlaskaUnavailable$465.30
ArizonaUnavailable$334.65
ArkansasUnavailable$319.41
Atlanta, GAUnavailable$349.25
Austin, TXUnavailable$338.59
Bakersfield, CAUnavailable$334.22
Baltimore area, MDUnavailable$355.65
Beaumont, TXUnavailable$335.79
Brazoria, TXUnavailable$334.68

47556 rates by state

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

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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
47556 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 47556 rate is calculated

Each of 47556’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 · 47556

RVUs × geographic indexes × conversion factor

Office or facility?

Work8.34

8.34 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI

Practice expense0.77

0.77 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI

Malpractice1.09

1.09 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI

Adjusted RVUs

10.2000

Conversion factor

$33.4009

Medicare rate

$340.69

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

Payment rules and modifiers for 47556

The CMS indicators that decide how 47556 is paid alongside other services.

CMS payment indicators · 47556

Biliary endoscopy

RuleCMS valueWhat it means
Global period000Same-day global: pre- and post-op care on the day of the procedure is included.
Multiple procedures3Endoscopy family rules apply.
Bilateral (modifier 50)0The 150% bilateral adjustment doesn’t apply.
Assistant at surgery (80/81/82/AS)1Not paid (statutory restriction).
Co-surgeons (62)0Not permitted.
Team surgery (66)0Not permitted.
Professional/technical0Physician service: no professional/technical split.

What modifiers do to the payment

Modifier 51 · payment effect

With and without the modifier

47556 without 51 · national facility

$340.69

Biliary endoscopy

47556-51 · Second procedure: 50%

$170.35

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

47556 compared with similar codes

Compare codes · National

5 codes, side by side

Office or facility?

  • 47556

    Biliary endoscopy8.34 wRVU

    Not priced

  • 47555

    Biliary endoscopy7.36 wRVU

    Not priced

  • 47554

    Biliary endoscopy8.82 wRVU

    Not priced

  • 47553

    Biliary endoscopy6.18 wRVU

    Not priced

  • 47552

    Biliary endoscopy5.88 wRVU

    Not priced

How to choose

47555Biliary endoscopy
47555 describes endoscopic removal of biliary calculi. Use 47556 when the documented service includes destruction of a lesion, such as lithotripsy.
47554Biliary endoscopy
47554 applies to endoscopic dilation of a biliary duct; 47556 applies to destruction of a lesion.
47553Biliary endoscopy
47553 is for endoscopic biopsy of the biliary tree. It does not describe destruction of the target lesion.
47552Biliary endoscopy
47552 covers diagnostic endoscopy with specimen collection by brushing or washing. Choose 47556 for documented therapeutic lesion destruction.

Codes related to 47556

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

Codes related to 47556
CodeHow it relatesNational office range
Same family
47552Biliary endoscopyDiagnostic percutaneous biliary endoscopy with specimen collection by brushing or washing.No office rate
47553Biliary endoscopyPercutaneous biliary endoscopy with biopsy rather than lesion destruction.No office rate
47554Biliary endoscopyPercutaneous biliary endoscopy with duct dilation.No office rate
47555Biliary endoscopyPercutaneous biliary endoscopy with calculi removal.No office rate

47556 billing questions

How does this differ from 47555?

Use 47556 when endoscopic lesion destruction is performed, such as lithotripsy. Code 47555 describes endoscopic removal of calculi without that destruction service.

When should 47554 be considered instead?

47554 is for endoscopic dilation of a biliary duct. Choose 47556 when the documented service is destruction of a lesion rather than duct dilation.

What documentation supports reporting 47556?

Document percutaneous endoscopic access, the target lesion and findings, and the method used to destroy it. The record should distinguish destruction from inspection, biopsy, dilation, or retrieval alone.

Can modifier 50 be appended?

No. CMS identifies bilateral adjustment as inappropriate for this code because the descriptor or anatomy does not support bilateral reporting.

How are related endoscopies paid when performed together?

CMS applies endoscopy family pricing when related endoscopies are performed together. Same-day preoperative and postoperative care is included in the 0-day global period.

Can an assistant or co-surgeon be reported?

CMS does not pay for an assistant at surgery for this code. Co-surgeons and team surgery are 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 47556PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv, line 5,702 (RVU26D)

Open CMS sourceHow we calculate rates

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