No office rate
Choose this code for pressure tamponade of esophageal varices. Choose 43244 when an endoscope is used to place bands on esophageal or gastric varices.
On this page
CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
43460 Variceal tamponade Medicare reimbursement rates in Georgia
Reports pressure-based treatment of esophageal varices, typically using balloon tamponade to control acute bleeding while definitive care is arranged. Compare 43460 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in Georgia.
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 43460 in Georgia?
Georgia has 2 payment localities in this comparison. Use the service location to choose the applicable amount. These are the supported base rates for the 2 payment areas shown below, using the same CMS release.
Office / nonfacility
No supported rate
Facility setting
$185.00–$191.71
2 of 2 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.
Esophageal procedure
About 43460: Esophageal variceal balloon tamponade
Reports pressure-based treatment of esophageal varices, typically using balloon tamponade to control acute bleeding while definitive care is arranged.
This service uses pressure, commonly from an inflated balloon on a tamponade tube, to compress esophageal varices and control acute hemorrhage. It is typically performed by a physician in a hospital setting for a patient with active variceal bleeding, often as an urgent measure while further treatment is arranged.
Report the service when the physician performs pressure treatment, and document the bleeding indication, device, and treatment performed. The 0-day global period includes same-day preoperative and postoperative care. When other procedures are performed in the same session, Medicare pays the highest-valued procedure in full and applies the multiple-procedure reduction to the others. Medicare does not pay an assistant at surgery for this service; co-surgeons and team surgery are not permitted.
CMS billing rules for 43460
- Global period
- Minor procedure with a 0-day global period: same-day preoperative and postoperative care is included.
- Multiple procedures
- Standard multiple procedure reduction: the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and others at 50% when performed in the same session.
- 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 RVU3.70 · 66%
- Practice expense (office) RVU1.50 · 27%
- Malpractice RVU0.42 · 7%
51
Medicare services in 2024 · #5346 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.
43460 compared with similar codes
Office rates for Georgia, from the same CMS release.
$631.07–$700.99
This code describes pressure treatment of esophageal varices. Code 43255 describes endoscopic control of bleeding by a method such as coagulation or clipping.
No office rate
Both concern esophageal varices, but 43400 describes ligation; 43460 describes pressure treatment, typically with balloon tamponade.
Compare 43460 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.
2 of 2 payment localities
Atlanta →
Office / nonfacility
Unavailable
Facility
$191.71
Rest Of Georgia →
Office / nonfacility
Unavailable
Facility
$185.00
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43460 billing questions
How is this different from endoscopic variceal banding?
This code describes pressure tamponade, generally using an inflated balloon to compress bleeding varices. Endoscopic banding uses an endoscope to place bands on varices.
What documentation supports reporting this service?
Document the acute bleeding indication, the pressure-tamponade device used, and the treatment performed to compress the esophageal varices.
Are same-day preoperative and postoperative services included?
Yes. The 0-day global period includes same-day preoperative and postoperative care.
How is payment handled when another procedure is performed in the same session?
The highest-valued procedure is paid in full, and the other procedure or procedures are subject to the standard multiple-procedure reduction.
Can an assistant surgeon or co-surgeon be reported?
Medicare does not pay an assistant at surgery for this service. Co-surgeons and team surgery are not permitted.
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.
5,24943425,,Repair esophagus opening,A,,24.41,10.62,NA,10.62,,6.16,41.19,41.19,0,090,0.09,0.81,0.10,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
5,25043450,,Dilate esophagus 1/mult pass,A,,1.25,4.95,,0.79,,0.15,6.35,2.19,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
5,25143453,,Dilate esophagus,A,,1.37,23.35,,0.77,,0.18,24.90,2.32,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
5,25243460,,Pressure treatment esophagus,A,,3.70,1.50,NA,1.50,,0.42,5.62,5.62,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
5,25343496,,Free jejunum flap microvasc,C,,0.00,0.00,,0.00,,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,090,0.09,0.81,0.10,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
5,25443497,,Transorl lwr esophgl myotomy,A,,12.96,6.75,NA,6.75,,1.80,21.51,21.51,0,090,0.09,0.81,0.10,3,0,1,0,0,9,43235,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
5,25543499,,Unlisted procedure esophagus,C,,0.00,0.00,,0.00,,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,YYY,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,0,1,1,1,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00