No office rate
Both address varices, but 43244 is for band ligation and 43243 is for injection treatment.
On this page
CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
43244 Variceal ligation Medicare reimbursement rates in Florida
Reports therapeutic upper endoscopy in which an endoscopist places bands on esophageal or gastric varices to treat or prevent variceal bleeding. Compare 43244 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in Florida.
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 43244 in Florida?
Florida has 3 payment localities in this comparison. Use the service location to choose the applicable amount. These are the supported base rates for the 3 payment areas shown below, using the same CMS release.
Office / nonfacility
No supported rate
Facility setting
$220.85–$241.75
3 of 3 localities have a supported rate.
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.
Where 43244 pays more and less in Florida
Gastrointestinal endoscopy
About 43244: Upper endoscopy with variceal band ligation
Reports therapeutic upper endoscopy in which an endoscopist places bands on esophageal or gastric varices to treat or prevent variceal bleeding.
During upper endoscopy, the gastroenterologist or other qualified endoscopist identifies varices and deploys bands to close them. The service is used for varices associated with portal hypertension, including varices treated because they are bleeding or to reduce bleeding risk. The treated sites may be in the esophagus, stomach, or both; documentation should identify the varices and describe the ligation performed.
Report this code for endoscopic band treatment, rather than injection therapy reported with 43243. The 0-day global period includes same-day preoperative and postoperative care. When related endoscopies are performed together, endoscopy family pricing applies. Modifier 50 is inappropriate for this service. Medicare does not pay an assistant at surgery, and co-surgeons and team surgery are not permitted for this code.
CMS billing rules for 43244
- Global period
- Minor procedure with a 0-day global period: same-day preoperative and postoperative care is included.
- Multiple procedures
- Endoscopy family pricing applies when related endoscopies are performed together.
- Bilateral procedures
- Bilateral adjustment does not apply; the descriptor or anatomy makes modifier 50 inappropriate.
- Assistant at surgery
- Statutory restriction: assistant at surgery is not paid.
- Co-surgeons
- Co-surgeons not permitted.
- Team surgery
- Team surgery not permitted.
Where the value comes from
- Work RVU4.29 · 67%
- Practice expense (office) RVU1.69 · 26%
- Malpractice RVU0.47 · 7%
17.2K
Medicare services in 2024 · #1202 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.
43244 compared with similar codes
Office rates for Florida, from the same CMS release.
$670.97–$731.94
43244 identifies band ligation of varices; 43255 describes endoscopic control of bleeding by other methods.
$315.84–$345.02
43235 is a diagnostic upper endoscopy with brushing or washing when performed. Choose 43244 when the endoscopist performs variceal band ligation.
Compare 43244 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.
3 of 3 payment localities
Fort Lauderdale →
Office / nonfacility
Unavailable
Facility
$228.85
Miami →
Office / nonfacility
Unavailable
Facility
$241.75
Rest Of Florida →
Office / nonfacility
Unavailable
Facility
$220.85
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43244 billing questions
How does this differ from 43243?
Use 43244 when varices are treated with endoscopic bands. Code 43243 describes injection treatment of varices.
Can 43244 be reported per band placed?
Report the endoscopic ligation service, not a separate unit for each band. Document the treated sites and the ligation performed.
When is 43255 a better fit?
Code 43255 is for endoscopic control of bleeding by methods other than variceal band ligation. Use 43244 when the documented treatment is banding varices.
Should modifier 50 be appended when varices are treated in both the esophagus and stomach?
No. Modifier 50 is inappropriate for this code; the service can involve esophageal varices, gastric varices, or both.
What same-day care is included?
The 0-day global period includes same-day preoperative and postoperative care. Related endoscopies performed together are subject to endoscopy family pricing.
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.
5,16943241,,Egd tube/cath insertion,A,,2.43,1.07,NA,1.07,,0.30,3.80,3.80,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,3,0,1,0,0,9,43235,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
5,17043242,,Egd us fine needle bx/aspir,A,,4.61,1.78,NA,1.78,,0.49,6.88,6.88,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,3,0,1,0,0,9,43235,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
5,17143243,,Egd injection varices,A,,4.16,1.57,NA,1.57,,0.53,6.26,6.26,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,3,0,1,0,0,9,43235,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
5,17243244,,Egd varices ligation,A,,4.29,1.69,NA,1.69,,0.47,6.45,6.45,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,3,0,1,0,0,9,43235,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
5,17343245,,Egd dilate stricture,A,,3.00,16.19,,1.28,,0.42,19.61,4.70,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,3,0,1,0,0,9,43235,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
5,17443246,,Egd place gastrostomy tube,A,,3.47,1.34,NA,1.34,,0.53,5.34,5.34,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,3,0,0,2,0,9,43235,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
5,17543247,,Egd remove foreign body,A,,3.03,9.35,,1.30,,0.38,12.76,4.71,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,3,0,1,0,0,9,43235,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00