Billing code 33948: ECMO managementMedicare rate & RVUs in Florida
Report this service for a physician’s ongoing daily management of venovenous ECMO supporting a patient with severe respiratory failure.
CMS doesn’t publish an office rate for 33948 in Florida.
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 9 sections
What 33948 covers
This service covers a physician’s ongoing management of venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation or extracorporeal life support. Venovenous support drains blood from and returns it to the venous circulation, typically to provide oxygenation and carbon dioxide removal in severe respiratory failure. Intensivists, cardiothoracic surgeons, and other physicians directing ECMO care may perform this work in an intensive care setting. Management may include assessing the patient’s response, reviewing circuit function and relevant clinical data, and directing changes to support settings or treatment.
Report 33948 for a date on which the physician provides daily management while venovenous support is ongoing; it is not the code for starting support or placing cannulas. Documentation should identify the venovenous configuration and date, and describe the physician’s management work, such as assessment of the patient and circuit and decisions about continued support or adjustments. The service is distinct in purpose from the initial setup and cannulation procedures.
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 33948 pays more and less in Florida
The same RVUs, adjusted for each area’s costs. Open a locality for its calculation, history and nearby areas.
| Payment locality | Office | Facility |
|---|---|---|
| Fort Lauderdale | Unavailable | $239.44 |
| Miami | Unavailable | $259.95 |
| Rest Of Florida | Unavailable | $229.13 |
How the 33948 rate is calculated
Each of 33948’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 · 33948
RVUs × geographic indexes × conversion factor
Work4.61
4.61 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI
Practice expense1.08
1.08 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI
Malpractice0.81
0.81 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI
Adjusted RVUs
6.5000
Conversion factor
$33.4009
Medicare rate
$217.11
Every GPCI starts at 1.000, the national rate. Enter a ZIP or drag a slider.
Payment rules and modifiers for 33948
33948 has no global surgery period, no multiple-procedure, bilateral or assistant-at-surgery adjustment, and no professional/technical split. What changes the payment is where the service happens: the place of service on the claim decides whether Medicare pays the office or the facility rate.
Place of service · 33948
Which rate does Medicare pay?
The POS code on the claim line (CMS-1500 box 24B).
POS 11 · non-facility rate · national
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33948 isn’t priced in this setting.
33948 compared with similar codes
Compare codes · National
4 codes, side by side
How to choose
- 33946ECMO initiation
- 33946 describes initiating venovenous support; 33948 describes subsequent daily physician management while that support continues.
- 33949ECMO management
- Both codes describe daily ECMO/ECLS management, but 33948 is for venovenous support and 33949 is for arterial support.
- 33947ECMO initiation
- 33947 describes initiation of arterial support. It is not the daily management code for venovenous ECMO.
33948 billing questions
How does 33948 differ from 33946?
33946 describes initiation of venovenous ECMO/ECLS. Use 33948 for the physician’s ongoing daily management after support has been initiated.
When should 33949 be used instead?
33949 is for daily management of arterial ECMO/ECLS. Select 33948 when the support configuration is venovenous.
Does 33948 include cannula placement?
No. The daily management service concerns ongoing physician oversight; cannula insertion is described by separate cannulation codes when that procedure is performed.
How often is 33948 reported?
It represents daily management, so documentation should support the physician’s work for the date reported rather than counting individual circuit adjustments as separate services.
What documentation supports 33948?
Document the venovenous configuration, date of management, patient and circuit assessment, and the physician’s decisions or direction regarding ongoing ECMO support.
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
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