Billing code 47564: Laparoscopic cholecystectomyMedicare rate & RVUs

Medicare pays $1,061.48 for 47564 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 47564 covers

A surgeon uses a laparoscope to remove the gallbladder and also explores the common bile duct during the operation. Exploration may be performed when duct stones are suspected or identified, such as in a patient with biliary obstruction or choledocholithiasis. This procedure is generally performed in a hospital operating room by a general surgeon or another surgeon qualified to perform biliary surgery.

Select this code when the operative report supports both laparoscopic gallbladder removal and common duct exploration; gallbladder removal alone or removal with cholangiography alone points to a different code. Document the findings and the exploration performed, including any duct-stone management. Medicare assigns 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% reduction. Modifier 50 is inappropriate. An assistant at surgery may be paid; 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 47564 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

47564 rates by state

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

How the 47564 rate is calculated

Each of 47564’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 47564

47564 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

47564 compared with similar codes

How to choose

47562Laparoscopic cholecystectomy

Use 47562 for laparoscopic gallbladder removal without common duct exploration. Exploration documented during the operation distinguishes 47564.

47563Laparoscopic cholecystectomy

47563 identifies laparoscopic gallbladder removal with cholangiography. For 47564, the defining service is exploration of the common duct, not imaging alone.

47610Gallbladder surgery

Both codes include gallbladder removal and common duct exploration; 47610 is the open approach, while 47564 is laparoscopic.

Codes related to 47564

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