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Billing code 66984: Cataract surgeryMedicare rate & RVUs

Report 66984 for standard extracapsular cataract removal with intraocular lens implantation when complex techniques, endoscopic cyclophotocoagulation, and qualifying drainage-device insertion are absent.

CMS RVU26DEffective Oct 1, 2026109 payment localities8.3M Medicare services in 2024

Medicare pays $462.60 for 66984 nationally in a facility.

Medicare rate · 66984

Cataract surgery

Work RVUs
7.17
Total RVUs
13.85
Global days
090

National rate · 2026

$462.60

Facility setting, before claim adjustments.

See every locality for 66984 →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 66984 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 66984 covers

Ophthalmologists typically perform this operation in ambulatory surgery centers or hospital outpatient departments. The surgeon removes the cloudy lens while retaining the capsule needed to support an intraocular lens, usually using phacoemulsification, and implants the lens in the same session. Capsulorrhexis, irrigation and aspiration, viscoelastic use, and wound construction are part of the operation. The operative report should identify the eye treated, lens implantation, and any devices or techniques used.

Report 66984 when the case does not require the devices or techniques that define complex cataract surgery under 66982. Identify a unilateral eye with RT or LT; use modifier 79 for surgery on the other eye during the first eye’s global period. The 90-day global includes the day-before preoperative visit and related postoperative care. Surgical care and transferred postoperative care can be split with modifiers 54 and 55. Same-session bilateral surgery with modifier 50 is paid at 150%. For other same-session procedures, CMS pays the highest-valued procedure in full and reduces others to 50%. Assistant surgery is statutorily unpaid; 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 66984 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

66984 office and facility rates by payment locality
Payment localityOfficeFacility
AlabamaUnavailable$429.14
Alaska*Unavailable$587.58
ArizonaUnavailable$453.65
ArkansasUnavailable$424.94
AtlantaUnavailable$470.23
AustinUnavailable$472.92
BakersfieldUnavailable$479.79
Baltimore/Surr. CntysUnavailable$485.68
BeaumontUnavailable$442.86
BrazoriaUnavailable$458.70

66984 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
66984 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 66984 rate is calculated

Each of 66984’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 · 66984

RVUs × geographic indexes × conversion factor

Work7.17

7.17 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI

Practice expense6.14

6.14 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI

Malpractice0.54

0.54 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI

Adjusted RVUs

13.8500

Conversion factor

$33.4009

Medicare rate

$462.60

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

Payment rules and modifiers for 66984

66984 has a 90-day global period: related visits in that window are included in the surgery payment.

CMS payment indicators · 66984

Cataract 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)1Not paid (statutory restriction).
Co-surgeons (62)0Not permitted.
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 · 66984

Cataract 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.

  • 24Unrelated E/M visit by the same physician
  • 79Unrelated procedure (starts its own global period)
  • 58Staged, more extensive, or therapy procedure that was planned
  • 78Unplanned 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

66984 without 50 · national facility

$462.60

Cataract surgery

66984-50 · Bilateral: 150%

$693.90

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

66984 compared with similar codes

Compare codes · National

5 codes, side by side

  • 66984

    Cataract surgery7.17 wRVU

    Not priced

  • 66982

    Cataract surgery9.99 wRVU

    Not priced

  • 66991

    Cataract surgery9 wRVU

    Not priced

  • 66988

    Not on the physician fee schedule0 wRVU

    Not priced

  • 66983

    Not on the physician fee schedule0 wRVU

    Not priced

How to choose

66982Cataract surgery
66982 requires documented qualifying complex techniques or devices, such as iris expansion, capsular support, or primary posterior capsulorrhexis. Choose 66984 when the surgery does not meet the complex-code criteria.
66991Cataract surgery
66991 combines standard cataract surgery with insertion of a qualifying internal-approach aqueous drainage device without an external reservoir. Use 66984 when that combined procedure is not performed.
66988Xcapsl ctrc rmvl w/ecp
66988 combines standard cataract surgery with endoscopic cyclophotocoagulation. Use 66984 when endoscopic cyclophotocoagulation is not performed.
66983Cataract surg w/iol 1 stage
66983 uses an intracapsular technique that removes the lens with its capsule. The extracapsular approach reported with 66984 retains the capsule needed to support the implanted lens.

Codes related to 66984

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

Codes related to 66984
CodeHow it relatesNational office range
Same family
66982Cataract surgeryComplex cataract removal with IOL requiring qualifying devices or techniques.No office rate
Used instead
66988Xcapsl ctrc rmvl w/ecpStandard cataract removal with IOL combined with endoscopic cyclophotocoagulation.No office rate
66991Cataract surgeryStandard cataract removal with IOL combined with qualifying internal-approach aqueous drainage device insertion.No office rate
66987Xcapsl ctrc rmvl cplx w/ecpComplex cataract removal with IOL combined with endoscopic cyclophotocoagulation.No office rate
66989Cataract surgeryComplex cataract removal with IOL combined with qualifying internal-approach aqueous drainage device insertion.No office rate
66983Cataract surg w/iol 1 stageIntracapsular cataract removal with IOL placement rather than extracapsular removal.No office rate

66984 billing questions

When should 66982 be reported instead of 66984?

Use 66982 when the operative report documents qualifying complex techniques or devices, such as an iris expansion device, capsular tension ring, sutured IOL support, or primary posterior capsulorrhexis. A dense cataract or small pupil alone does not establish that those techniques were used.

How is the second eye billed when surgery is done a few weeks after the first?

Report the second eye’s surgery with the appropriate eye modifier and modifier 79 because it is unrelated to the first eye’s postoperative care. The second eye has its own global period.

How is postoperative care shared with an optometrist?

The surgeon reports 66984 with modifier 54 for surgical care, and the comanaging optometrist reports 66984 with modifier 55 for transferred postoperative care. Both providers should document the transfer and its effective date.

Can a trabecular bypass device or ECP be billed separately with 66984?

For a qualifying internal-approach aqueous drainage device without an external reservoir, use combined code 66991 instead of adding the device insertion to 66984. For cataract surgery combined with endoscopic cyclophotocoagulation, use 66988 instead of 66984.

Can an assistant surgeon be billed for this case?

CMS does not pay an assistant at surgery for 66984 because of a statutory restriction. 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 66984PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv, line 7,407 (RVU26D)

Open CMS sourceHow we calculate rates

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