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Billing code 47612: Gallbladder surgeryMedicare rate & RVUs

Open gallbladder removal with common bile duct exploration and a biliary-enteric connection, reported when all three operative elements are performed.

CMS RVU26DEffective Oct 1, 2026109 payment localities33 Medicare services in 2024

Medicare pays $1,191.41 for 47612 nationally in a facility.

Medicare rate · 47612

Gallbladder surgery

Swap in your local Medicare rate.

Work RVUs
20.68
Total RVUs
35.67
Global days
090

National rate · 2026

$1,191.41

Facility setting, before claim adjustments.

See every locality for 47612 → · 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 47612 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 47612 covers

47612 represents an open operation combining gallbladder removal, exploration of the common bile duct, and creation of a connection between the bile duct and intestine (choledochoenterostomy). General or hepatobiliary surgeons perform it in an operating room when the operation includes both duct exploration and biliary-enteric reconstruction. The reconstruction distinguishes this service from gallbladder removal or duct exploration alone.

Report one unit for the completed operation. The operative report should establish the open approach, gallbladder removal, common duct exploration, and the biliary-enteric reconstruction performed; the included cholecystectomy is not separately reported as another procedure. CMS assigns a 90-day global period, including the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care. When other procedures occur in the same session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and other procedures are subject to the standard 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 47612 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

47612 office and facility rates by payment locality
Payment localityOfficeFacility
AlabamaUnavailable$1,071.75
Alaska*Unavailable$1,474.38
ArizonaUnavailable$1,155.02
ArkansasUnavailable$1,057.28
AtlantaUnavailable$1,235.66
AustinUnavailable$1,190.06
BakersfieldUnavailable$1,162.65
Baltimore/Surr. CntysUnavailable$1,269.30
BeaumontUnavailable$1,149.86
BrazoriaUnavailable$1,153.46

47612 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
47612 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 47612 rate is calculated

Each of 47612’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 · 47612

RVUs × geographic indexes × conversion factor

Swap in your local Medicare rate.

Work 20.68Practice expense 9.46Malpractice 5.53

35.6700 adjusted RVUs×$33.4009 conversion factor=$1,191.41

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

Payment rules and modifiers for 47612

47612 has a 90-day global period: related visits in that window are included in the surgery payment.

CMS payment indicators · 47612

Gallbladder surgery

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 · 47612

Gallbladder surgery

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

47612 without 51 · national facility

$1,191.41

Gallbladder surgery

47612-51 · Second procedure: 50%

$595.71

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

47612 compared with similar codes

Compare codes

47612 vs 47610 vs 47620 vs 47562: national Medicare rates

Swap in your local Medicare rate.

  • 47612
    Gallbladder surgery · 20.68 wRVU
    —
  • 47610
    Gallbladder surgery · 20.4 wRVU
    —
  • 47620
    Gallbladder surgery · 22.49 wRVU
    —
  • 47562
    Laparoscopic cholecystectomy · 10.21 wRVU
    —

How to choose

47610Gallbladder surgery
Choose 47610 when the operation includes cholecystectomy and common duct exploration but not a biliary-enteric anastomosis. The added reconstruction distinguishes 47612.
47620Gallbladder surgery
47620 describes duct exploration with a transduodenal sphincter procedure. 47612 instead includes a biliary-enteric connection.
47562Laparoscopic cholecystectomy
47562 is laparoscopic gallbladder removal without the duct exploration and biliary-enteric reconstruction described by 47612.

Codes related to 47612

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

Codes related to 47612
CodeHow it relatesNational office range
Same family
47600Gallbladder removalCholecystectomy without the duct exploration and biliary-enteric reconstruction included in 47612.No office rate
47605CholecystectomyCholecystectomy with cholangiography, rather than the duct reconstruction defining 47612.No office rate
47610Gallbladder surgeryCholecystectomy with common duct exploration but without the biliary-enteric reconstruction.No office rate
47620Gallbladder surgeryCholecystectomy and duct exploration with a transduodenal sphincter procedure.No office rate

47612 billing questions

How does 47612 differ from 47610?

47612 includes a biliary-enteric reconstruction after common duct exploration. 47610 describes duct exploration with cholecystectomy but without that reconstruction.

Should the gallbladder removal be reported separately?

No. Gallbladder removal is part of the operation represented by 47612; do not report it again as a separate cholecystectomy.

What documentation supports reporting 47612?

The operative report should document the open approach, cholecystectomy, common bile duct exploration, and the biliary-enteric connection created.

Can modifier 50 be used?

No. CMS identifies bilateral adjustment as inappropriate for this code.

How are assistant and co-surgeon services handled?

Assistant-at-surgery payment may be made. Co-surgeons require supporting documentation, and 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 47612PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv, line 5,711 (RVU26D)

Open CMS sourceHow we calculate rates

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