No office rate
Choose 33977 for extracorporeal support of one ventricle and 33978 for extracorporeal support of both ventricles.
On this page
CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
33977 VAD removal Medicare reimbursement rates in Alaska
Reports operative removal of an extracorporeal ventricular assist device supporting one ventricle, such as when temporary mechanical support is no longer needed. Compare 33977 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in Alaska.
Amounts below use the non-QP conversion factor for participating physicians. These are base physician payments before claim-level adjustments, not patient costs or total hospital charges.
What does Medicare pay for 33977 in Alaska?
Alaska has 1 payment locality in this comparison. Use the service location to choose the applicable amount. These are the supported base rates for the payment area shown below, using the same CMS release.
Office / nonfacility
No supported rate
Facility setting
$1313.28
1 of 1 localities have a supported rate.
Payment area: Alaska*
One mapped payment locality.
These are locality ranges, not averages or address-specific quotes. A facility-setting amount covers the physician service; it does not include a hospital’s separate bill. Choose a locality below to inspect its calculation, compare other payment areas, or price a percentage of Medicare.
Cardiothoracic surgery
About 33977: Single-ventricle extracorporeal VAD removal
Reports operative removal of an extracorporeal ventricular assist device supporting one ventricle, such as when temporary mechanical support is no longer needed.
This code covers surgery to remove an extracorporeal ventricular assist device that has been supporting a single ventricle. A cardiac or cardiothoracic surgeon typically performs the removal in a hospital operating room after the patient’s need for temporary mechanical circulatory support has ended. The code distinguishes this device and support configuration from an intracorporeal VAD and from extracorporeal support for both ventricles.
Select the code when the operative record identifies an extracorporeal device, support of one ventricle, and its removal. Documentation should establish the device type and the removal performed; the code is not selected by the length of support. Under the CMS multiple-procedure rule, when this service is performed with other procedures in the same session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and the others are subject to the standard 50% reduction.
CMS billing rules for 33977
- Multiple procedures
- Standard multiple procedure reduction: the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and others at 50% when performed in the same session.
Where the value comes from
- Work RVU20.34 · 66%
- Practice expense (office) RVU5.71 · 18%
- Malpractice RVU4.95 · 16%
266
Medicare services in 2024 · #4087 by national volume
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.
33977 compared with similar codes
Office rates for Alaska, from the same CMS release.
No office rate
33980 describes removal of an intracorporeal VAD; 33977 is for an extracorporeal device supporting one ventricle.
No office rate
33975 is for placing an extracorporeal VAD to support one ventricle. 33977 describes removal of that type of support.
Compare 33977 by payment locality
Find the payment area for your service address, then open its rate page for calculation inputs, release history and the percentage-of-Medicare tool. A city may cross payment-area boundaries; the ZIP lookup above helps resolve the location.
1 of 1 payment localities
Alaska* →
Office / nonfacility
Unavailable
Facility
$1313.28
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How this local rate is calculated
Each RVU component is multiplied by its own geographic practice cost index (GPCI). The three adjusted components are added, then multiplied by the conversion factor. These are the inputs used for 33977 in Alaska*.
PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv
4,161
- Code
- 33977
- Physician work
- 20.34
- Practice expense
- 5.71
- Malpractice
- 4.95
GPCI2026.csv
5
- Locality
- Alaska*
- Physician work
- 1.500
- Practice expense
- 1.065
- Malpractice
- 0.551
| Component | RVU | Locality factor | Adjusted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Physician work | 20.34 | × 1.500 | 30.5100 |
| Practice expense | 5.71 | × 1.065 | 6.0812 |
| Malpractice | 4.95 | × 0.551 | 2.7275 |
| Total RVUs | 39.3186 | ||
| Conversion factor | × 33.4009 | ||
Facility rate, Alaska*$1313.28
Explore RVUs, geographic factors and the full formula
Facility
| Component | RVU | Local GPCI |
|---|---|---|
| Work | 20.34 | 1.5 |
| Practice expense | 5.71 | 1.065 |
| Malpractice | 4.95 | 0.551 |
(20.34 × 1.5 + 5.71 × 1.065 + 4.95 × 0.551) × $33.4009 = $1313.28
The office and facility calculations use their respective practice-expense RVUs. The facility amount here is the physician fee, not a separate hospital or facility bill.
33977 billing questions
How does 33977 differ from 33978?
33977 is for removal of an extracorporeal VAD supporting one ventricle. 33978 is the corresponding removal code for biventricular support.
When is 33980 more appropriate?
Use 33980 for removal of an intracorporeal VAD. Code 33977 describes an extracorporeal device supporting a single ventricle.
What should the operative note document?
Document that the device was extracorporeal, that it supported one ventricle, and that the service included its operative removal.
Is 33977 selected by operative time?
No. The code is selected by the device configuration and removal performed, not by elapsed time.
How is 33977 paid when other procedures are performed in the same session?
The highest-valued procedure is paid in full; the other procedures are subject to the standard multiple-procedure reduction to 50%.
Where these rates come from
FeeBase calculates base physician payments from CMS work, practice-expense, and malpractice RVUs, adjusted by each locality’s geographic indices and the applicable conversion factor. Unavailable or separately priced services are labeled rather than assigned a made-up amount.
Source: RVU26D. Effective 2026-10-01 through the day before 2027-01-01.
4,15833974,,Remove intra-aortic balloon,A,,14.65,7.95,NA,7.95,,3.50,26.10,26.10,0,090,0.09,0.84,0.07,2,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
4,15933975,,Implant ventricular device,A,,24.38,4.87,NA,4.87,,6.02,35.27,35.27,0,XXX,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,0,2,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
4,16033976,,Implant ventricular device,A,,29.98,6.15,NA,6.15,,7.20,43.33,43.33,0,XXX,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,2,2,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
4,16133977,,Remove ventricular device,A,,20.34,5.71,NA,5.71,,4.95,31.00,31.00,0,XXX,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,0,2,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
4,16233978,,Remove ventricular device,A,,24.38,6.81,NA,6.81,,5.84,37.03,37.03,0,XXX,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,2,2,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
4,16333979,,Insert intracorporeal device,A,,36.56,7.38,NA,7.38,,9.01,52.95,52.95,0,XXX,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,0,2,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
4,16433980,,Remove intracorporeal device,A,,32.66,8.26,NA,8.26,,8.07,48.99,48.99,0,XXX,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,0,2,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
2,,,,,,
3Medicare Administrative Contractor (MAC),State,Locality Number,Locality Name,2026 PW GPCI (with 1.0 Floor)***,2026 PE GPCI,2026 MP GPCI
410112,AL,00,ALABAMA,1.000,0.875,0.566
502102,AK,01,ALASKA*,1.500,1.065,0.551
603102,AZ,00,ARIZONA,1.000,0.969,0.856
707102,AR,13,ARKANSAS,1.000,0.859,0.515
801112,CA,54,BAKERSFIELD,1.019,1.096,0.609