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CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01

33973 Balloon device Medicare reimbursement rates in Idaho

Reports insertion of an intra-aortic balloon assist device for temporary circulatory support, with code selection guided by the documented insertion service. Compare 33973 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in Idaho.

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 33973 in Idaho?

Idaho 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

$413.43

1 of 1 localities have a supported rate.

Payment area: Idaho

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.

Find 33973 in your payment locality →

Cardiac assistance

About 33973: Intra-aortic balloon device insertion

Reports insertion of an intra-aortic balloon assist device for temporary circulatory support, with code selection guided by the documented insertion service.

An intra-aortic balloon assist device provides temporary circulatory support by counterpulsation. Placement may be needed for a patient with cardiogenic shock or inadequate cardiac output, including in an acute cardiac-care or post-cardiac-surgery setting. A cardiologist or cardiac surgeon typically performs the procedure in a hospital catheterization laboratory or operating room. The operative or procedure note should identify the balloon device, the insertion service performed, and the clinical reason for support.

Report this insertion code when the documented service matches its CPT definition; distinguish it from other balloon-device insertion codes by the specific procedure and approach documented. The service has a 0-day global period, so same-day preoperative and postoperative care is included. When multiple procedures are performed in the same session, Medicare pays the highest-valued procedure in full and reduces the others to 50%. Modifier 50 is inappropriate for this service. Assistant-at-surgery payment may be available; co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation, and team surgery is not permitted.

CMS billing rules for 33973

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
Assistant at surgery may be paid.
Co-surgeons
Co-surgeons paid only with supporting documentation.
Team surgery
Team surgery not permitted.

Where the value comes from

  • Work RVU9.51 · 69%
  • Practice expense (office) RVU1.95 · 14%
  • Malpractice RVU2.27 · 17%

39

Medicare services in 2024 · #5518 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.

33973 compared with similar codes

Office rates for Idaho, from the same CMS release.

33967

Balloon pump insertion

Percutaneous approach

No office rate

33967 identifies percutaneous insertion of an intra-aortic balloon assist device. Use the code whose CPT definition matches the documented insertion service.

33970

Aortic assist device

Open transthoracic insertion

No office rate

33970 is another aortic circulation-assist insertion code. Distinguish it from 33973 by matching the documented procedure to the applicable CPT definition.

33974

Balloon removal

Intra-aortic balloon

No office rate

33974 reports removal of an intra-aortic balloon device; 33973 concerns insertion.

Compare 33973 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

Office and facility base rates · shared scale starting at $0
  • Idaho →

    Office / nonfacility

    Unavailable

    Facility

    $413.43

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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 33973 in Idaho.

PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv

4,157

Code
33973
Physician work
9.51
Practice expense
1.95
Malpractice
2.27

GPCI2026.csv

47

Locality
Idaho
Physician work
1.000
Practice expense
0.920
Malpractice
0.473
Facility calculation for 33973 in Idaho
ComponentRVULocality factorAdjusted
Physician work9.51× 1.0009.5100
Practice expense1.95× 0.9201.7940
Malpractice2.27× 0.4731.0737
Total RVUs12.3777
Conversion factor× 33.4009

Facility rate, Idaho$413.43

Values as parsed from CMS release RVU26D, effective 2026-10-01. The amount is rounded to the nearest cent only at the end.
Explore RVUs, geographic factors and the full formula

Facility

Facility calculation inputs
ComponentRVULocal GPCI
Work9.511
Practice expense1.950.92
Malpractice2.270.473

(9.51 × 1 + 1.95 × 0.92 + 2.27 × 0.473) × $33.4009 = $413.43

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.

33973 billing questions

How should this code be distinguished from 33967?

Both involve intra-aortic balloon support, but 33967 identifies percutaneous insertion. Select the code that matches the specific insertion service documented and the applicable CPT definition.

Can removal be reported with this insertion code?

Removal is represented by a separate code, such as 33974. Report removal only when it is performed and documented as a distinct service.

Is modifier 50 appropriate?

No. The CMS bilateral adjustment does not apply, and the service's descriptor or anatomy makes modifier 50 inappropriate.

How does Medicare handle other procedures performed in the same session?

Under the standard multiple procedure reduction, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and the other procedures are paid at 50% when performed in the same session.

What should the procedure note support?

Document the clinical need for temporary circulatory support, the balloon device inserted, and the insertion service and approach performed so the selected code is supported.

Can an assistant or co-surgeon be reported?

Assistant-at-surgery payment may be made. Co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation; team surgery is 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.

RVUs for 33973PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv, line 4,157 (RVU26D)
Geographic factors for IdahoGPCI2026.csv, line 47 (RVU26D)