FeeBase
Log inGet started
Menu

Billing code 47900: Bile duct repairMedicare rate & RVUs

Reports operative closure or ligation of an injured bile duct, such as an injury encountered during cholecystectomy or another abdominal operation.

CMS RVU26DEffective Oct 1, 2026109 payment localities86 Medicare services in 2024

Medicare pays $1,297.96 for 47900 nationally in a facility.

Medicare rate · 47900

Bile duct repair

Swap in your local Medicare rate.

Work RVUs
21.88
Total RVUs
38.86
Global days
090

National rate · 2026

$1,297.96

Facility setting, before claim adjustments.

See every locality for 47900 → · 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 47900 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 47900 covers

47900 represents operative closure of an injured bile duct, with ligation when that is part of the surgeon’s treatment. It describes repair of an injury rather than planned removal of a diseased duct or creation of a new biliary-enteric route. General, hepatobiliary, or transplant surgeons may perform the repair during an abdominal operation. An injury encountered during cholecystectomy is a typical context; the operative record should establish that an actual duct injury was repaired, not merely that routine dissection occurred.

Select the code based on the work performed. Document the injured duct and site, the nature of the injury, and the closure or ligation performed; explain any different reconstructive approach when used. This major-surgery code has a 90-day global period, including the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care. For multiple procedures in one session, CMS pays the highest-valued procedure in full and other procedures at 50%. 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 code’s anatomy and descriptor.

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 47900 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

47900 office and facility rates by payment locality
Payment localityOfficeFacility
AlabamaUnavailable$1,166.69
Alaska*Unavailable$1,599.80
ArizonaUnavailable$1,258.30
ArkansasUnavailable$1,150.78
AtlantaUnavailable$1,345.37
AustinUnavailable$1,298.71
BakersfieldUnavailable$1,271.13
Baltimore/Surr. CntysUnavailable$1,383.10
BeaumontUnavailable$1,250.63
BrazoriaUnavailable$1,257.47

47900 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
47900 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 47900 rate is calculated

Each of 47900’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 · 47900

RVUs × geographic indexes × conversion factor

Swap in your local Medicare rate.

Work 21.88Practice expense 11.13Malpractice 5.85

38.8600 adjusted RVUs×$33.4009 conversion factor=$1,297.96

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

Payment rules and modifiers for 47900

47900 has a 90-day global period: related visits in that window are included in the surgery payment.

CMS payment indicators · 47900

Bile duct repair

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 · 47900

Bile duct repair

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

47900 without 51 · national facility

$1,297.96

Bile duct repair

47900-51 · Second procedure: 50%

$648.98

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

47900 compared with similar codes

Compare codes

47900 vs 47701 vs 47562 vs 47999: national Medicare rates

Swap in your local Medicare rate.

  • 47900
    Bile duct repair · 21.88 wRVU
    —
  • 47701
    Bile duct revision · 28.01 wRVU
    —
  • 47562
    Laparoscopic cholecystectomy · 10.21 wRVU
    —
  • 47999
    · 0 wRVU
    —

How to choose

47701Bile duct revision
Choose 47701 when the operation removes extrahepatic bile duct and reconstructs the biliary pathway. Choose 47900 for repair of an injury by closure or ligation.
47562Laparoscopic cholecystectomy
47562 describes laparoscopic gallbladder removal. It does not describe repair of a bile duct injury that occurs during that operation.
47999Unlisted px biliary tract
47999 is for a biliary tract procedure without a specific code. Use 47900 when the documented service is repair of a bile duct injury by closure or ligation.

Codes related to 47900

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

Codes related to 47900
CodeHow it relatesNational office range
Often billed with
47562Laparoscopic cholecystectomyMay be reported in the same session when a bile duct injury is repaired during laparoscopic cholecystectomy.No office rate
Used instead
47701Bile duct revisionRepresents duct excision with reconstruction rather than direct injury closure or ligation.No office rate
47999Unlisted px biliary tractUnlisted biliary tract code for a procedure not represented by a specific code such as 47900.No office rate

47900 billing questions

Can 47900 be reported with a cholecystectomy?

It may be reported in the same session when an actual bile duct injury is repaired. The operative note should describe the injury and the repair, not only routine duct dissection.

How is 47900 different from bile duct excision with reconstruction?

Use 47900 for repair of an injury by closure or ligation. A procedure involving excision of extrahepatic bile duct with reconstruction is represented by 47701.

Should modifier 50 be added for a bile duct injury?

No. CMS identifies bilateral adjustment as inappropriate for this code’s anatomy and descriptor.

What documentation supports reporting 47900?

Record the duct and injury site, the injury’s nature, and the repair or ligation performed. If the surgeon performs a different reconstruction or excision, document that work clearly.

What postoperative period is included?

The code has a 90-day global period. It includes the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care.

Can an assistant surgeon be reported?

CMS permits assistant-at-surgery payment for this code. Co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation.

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 47900PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv, line 5,728 (RVU26D)

Open CMS sourceHow we calculate rates

Did this answer your question about what 47900 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 47900 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 →