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Billing code 66172: Glaucoma surgeryMedicare rate & RVUs

Reports glaucoma filtering surgery performed in an eye with scarring from prior ocular surgery or trauma that affects the operative setting.

CMS RVU26DEffective Oct 1, 2026109 payment localities2.6K Medicare services in 2024

Medicare pays $1,029.08 for 66172 nationally in a facility.

Medicare rate · 66172

Glaucoma surgery

Swap in your local Medicare rate.

Work RVUs
14.47
Total RVUs
30.81
Global days
090

National rate · 2026

$1,029.08

Facility setting, before claim adjustments.

See every locality for 66172 → · 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 66172 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 66172 covers

An ophthalmic surgeon performs a filtering operation to lower intraocular pressure by creating a pathway for aqueous humor to leave the eye and collect beneath the conjunctiva. This code applies when scarring from earlier ocular surgery or trauma affects the operative setting. The procedure is commonly performed in an operating room for a patient with glaucoma who needs pressure-lowering surgery.

Document the glaucoma indication, the prior surgery or trauma, and the resulting scarring that supports choosing this code over 66170. The service has a 90-day global period: the day-before preoperative visit and related postoperative care during that period are included. For bilateral surgery, modifier 50 is paid at 150%. When multiple procedures are performed in one session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and others at 50%. 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 66172 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

66172 office and facility rates by payment locality
Payment localityOfficeFacility
AlabamaUnavailable$948.89
Alaska*Unavailable$1,286.30
ArizonaUnavailable$1,007.78
ArkansasUnavailable$938.80
AtlantaUnavailable$1,046.43
AustinUnavailable$1,055.04
BakersfieldUnavailable$1,071.79
Baltimore/Surr. CntysUnavailable$1,083.01
BeaumontUnavailable$980.70
BrazoriaUnavailable$1,019.86

66172 rates by state

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

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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
66172 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 66172 rate is calculated

Each of 66172’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 · 66172

RVUs × geographic indexes × conversion factor

Swap in your local Medicare rate.

Work 14.47Practice expense 15.18Malpractice 1.16

30.8100 adjusted RVUs×$33.4009 conversion factor=$1,029.08

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

Payment rules and modifiers for 66172

66172 has a 90-day global period: related visits in that window are included in the surgery payment.

CMS payment indicators · 66172

Glaucoma 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)1Bilateral with modifier 50 pays 150% of the fee schedule amount.
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)0.10/0.70/0.20Share of the payment for pre-op, the procedure itself, and post-op care.

Global surgery period · 66172

Glaucoma 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 50 · payment effect

With and without the modifier

66172 without 50 · national facility

$1,029.08

Glaucoma surgery

66172-50 · Bilateral: 150%

$1,543.62

Both sides on one line with modifier 50 are paid at 150% of the fee schedule amount (subject to multiple-procedure rules with other procedures).

When to use modifier 50

66172 compared with similar codes

Compare codes

66172 vs 66170 vs 66174 vs 66175 vs 66180: national Medicare rates

Swap in your local Medicare rate.

  • 66172
    Glaucoma surgery · 14.47 wRVU
    —
  • 66170
    Trabeculectomy · 13.59 wRVU
    —
  • 66174
    Canaloplasty · 7.43 wRVU
    —
  • 66175
    Canal dilation · 9.11 wRVU
    —
  • 66180
    Glaucoma shunt · 14.63 wRVU
    —

How to choose

66170Trabeculectomy
Both describe trabeculectomy-family glaucoma surgery. Choose 66172 when prior ocular surgery or trauma has caused scarring that affects the operative setting; 66170 is for the setting without that scarring.
66174Canaloplasty
66174 describes transluminal dilation of the aqueous outflow canal without a stent. It is a different glaucoma procedure, not trabeculectomy in a scarred eye.
66175Canal dilation
66175 describes transluminal dilation of the aqueous outflow canal with a stent. Choose it for that canal-based approach rather than a filtering operation.
66180Glaucoma shunt
66180 is aqueous shunt surgery with a graft. It uses a shunt approach rather than the filtering operation reported with 66172.

Codes related to 66172

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

Codes related to 66172
CodeHow it relatesNational office range
Same family
66170TrabeculectomyRelated trabeculectomy code for the operative setting without scarring from prior surgery or trauma.No office rate
Used instead
66174CanaloplastyGlaucoma outflow surgery using canal dilation without a stent rather than a filtering operation.No office rate
66175Canal dilationGlaucoma outflow surgery using canal dilation with a stent rather than a filtering operation.No office rate
66180Glaucoma shuntAqueous shunt surgery with a graft is a different surgical approach to glaucoma drainage.No office rate
66183Drainage deviceAnterior drainage-device insertion is a different approach to lowering intraocular pressure.No office rate

66172 billing questions

How does this differ from 66170?

Use 66172 when scarring from prior ocular surgery or trauma affects the operative setting. Code 66170 is the related trabeculectomy code for the setting without that scarring.

Are routine postoperative visits billed separately?

Related postoperative care during the 90-day global period is included in this surgical service.

How is bilateral surgery reported?

Report modifier 50 for bilateral surgery; CMS pays the bilateral procedure at 150%.

What documentation supports this code?

Document the glaucoma indication and the ocular scarring, including whether it resulted from prior surgery or trauma and how it affects the operative setting.

Can an assistant or co-surgeon be paid?

An assistant at surgery may be paid. Co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation.

What happens when another procedure is performed in the same session?

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

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 66172PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv, line 7,367 (RVU26D)

Open CMS sourceHow we calculate rates

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