Billing code 33620: Pulmonary artery bandingMedicare rate & RVUs in Delaware
Reports surgical placement of bands on both pulmonary arteries to restrict pulmonary blood flow, commonly as palliation for congenital heart disease with excessive flow.
CMS doesn’t publish an office rate for 33620 in Delaware.
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 8 sections
What 33620 covers
A congenital cardiac surgeon places constricting bands around the right and left pulmonary arteries to limit blood flow to the lungs. The operation is generally used as a palliative or staged intervention for infants with congenital heart disease and pulmonary overcirculation, including situations where a more complete repair is deferred. It is performed in an operating room, typically in a hospital setting.
Report this code when the operative record supports placement of bands on both pulmonary arteries; a unilateral banding procedure is not described by this code. Documentation should identify the treated vessels, the band placement, and the congenital condition prompting flow restriction. The service has a 90-day global period, which includes the day-before preoperative visit and related postoperative care. For multiple procedures in the same session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and other procedures are subject to the standard reduction. Modifier 50 is inappropriate because bilateral anatomy is built into the service. Assistant-at-surgery payment may be available; co-surgeons require 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.
33620 in Delaware
| Payment locality | Office | Facility |
|---|---|---|
| Delaware | Unavailable | $1,513.66 |
How the 33620 rate is calculated
Each of 33620’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 · 33620
RVUs × geographic indexes × conversion factor
Swap in your local Medicare rate.
Work 29.25Practice expense 9.40Malpractice 7.38
All indexes start at 1.000 (the national rate). Enter a ZIP or drag a slider.
Payment rules and modifiers for 33620
33620 has a 90-day global period: related visits in that window are included in the surgery payment.
CMS payment indicators · 33620
Pulmonary artery banding
| Rule | CMS value | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Global period | 090 | Major surgery: the day before, the day of, and 90 days after are included. |
| Multiple procedures | 2 | Standard reduction: highest-valued procedure at 100%, others at 50%. |
| Bilateral (modifier 50) | 0 | The 150% bilateral adjustment doesn’t apply. |
| Assistant at surgery (80/81/82/AS) | 2 | Paid. |
| Co-surgeons (62) | 1 | Permitted with supporting documentation. |
| Team surgery (66) | 0 | Not permitted. |
| Professional/technical | 0 | Physician service: no professional/technical split. |
| Split (54/55/56) | 0.09/0.84/0.07 | Share of the payment for pre-op, the procedure itself, and post-op care. |
Global surgery period · 33620
Pulmonary artery banding
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.
Pre-op dayGlobal period
What modifiers do to the payment
Modifier 51 · payment effect
With and without the modifier
33620 without 51 · national facility
$1,537.44
Pulmonary artery banding
33620-51 · Second procedure: 50%
$768.72
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%).
33620 compared with similar codes
Compare codes
33620 vs 33621 vs 33688 vs 33617: national Medicare rates
Swap in your local Medicare rate.
How to choose
- 33621Cardiac stent
- This code describes catheter-based pulmonary artery stent placement. Code 33620 is for surgically placing bands around both pulmonary arteries to restrict flow.
- 33688VSD closure
- Code 33688 describes closure of one ventricular septal defect with removal of a pulmonary artery band. Code 33620 describes initial bilateral band placement.
- 33617Single-ventricle repair
- Code 33617 describes repair of a single-ventricle anomaly; code 33620 describes bilateral pulmonary artery banding as a flow-restricting operation.
33620 billing questions
When should this code be selected instead of a pulmonary artery stent code?
Use this code for surgical band placement around both pulmonary arteries to restrict flow. A pulmonary artery stent code describes catheter-based stent placement, not external banding.
Should modifier 50 be appended?
No. The service describes bilateral band placement, and CMS identifies bilateral adjustment as inappropriate for this code.
How does the 90-day global period affect postoperative billing?
The day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care are included in the global period.
Can an assistant surgeon be reported?
Assistant-at-surgery payment may be made for this service. Co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation.
How are other procedures in the same operative session paid?
Under the standard multiple procedure reduction, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and the other procedures are paid at 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 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
Fee sheets
Put 33620 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 →