Billing code 93279: Pacemaker programmingMedicare rate & RVUs

Medicare pays $66.80 for 93279 nationally in the office. Local office rates run $60.01–$88.43.

Medicare allowed amount for participating (non-QP) physicians, before deductible, coinsurance and claim adjustments. Not a patient’s bill or a hospital charge.

What 93279 covers

This service covers an in-person evaluation in which a clinician uses a programmer to test a single-lead or leadless pacemaker and iteratively adjust settings to assess function and select appropriate permanent settings. It is commonly performed by a cardiologist, electrophysiologist, or other qualified clinician in a device clinic, office, or facility. A routine check that only interrogates the device, without programming changes, is a different service.

Select this code for the single-lead or leadless system configuration; dual- and multiple-lead systems have separate programming codes. The record should identify the device configuration, testing performed, settings reviewed or changed, the response to adjustments, and the evaluation findings. This diagnostic service may be billed globally without a modifier, or as a professional component with modifier 26 and a technical component with modifier TC. The cardiovascular diagnostic multiple-procedure reduction applies to the technical component.

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 93279 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

93279 rates by state

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

How the 93279 rate is calculated

Each of 93279’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 93279

The CMS indicators that decide how 93279 is paid alongside other services.

What modifiers do to the payment

When to use modifier 26

93279 compared with similar codes

How to choose

93280Pacemaker programming check

93280 is for programming evaluation of a dual-lead pacemaker system; 93279 is for a single-lead or leadless system.

93281Pacemaker evaluation

93281 applies to a multiple-lead pacemaker system. Choose 93279 for a single-lead or leadless system.

93288Pacemaker interrogation

93288 reports in-person pacemaker interrogation without programming adjustments. Use 93279 when iterative programming is performed.

93286Pacemaker management

93286 describes a pacemaker evaluation in the periprocedural setting. 93279 describes an in-person programming evaluation outside that specific context.

Codes related to 93279

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