No office rate
Choose 33858 for ascending-aortic graft replacement performed for aortic dissection; choose 33859 for a non-dissection condition such as an ascending aneurysm.
On this page
CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
33859 Aortic graft Medicare reimbursement rates in Illinois
Open graft replacement of the ascending aorta for aneurysmal or other non-dissection disease, when the operation does not meet a more specific root-replacement description. Compare 33859 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in Illinois.
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 33859 in Illinois?
Illinois has 4 payment localities in this comparison. Use the service location to choose the applicable amount. These are the supported base rates for the 4 payment areas shown below, using the same CMS release.
Office / nonfacility
No supported rate
Facility setting
$2428.76–$2744.08
4 of 4 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 33859 pays more and less in Illinois
Cardiothoracic surgery
About 33859: Ascending aortic graft for non-dissection disease
Open graft replacement of the ascending aorta for aneurysmal or other non-dissection disease, when the operation does not meet a more specific root-replacement description.
A cardiothoracic surgeon uses this code for open graft replacement of the ascending aorta when the underlying condition is not an aortic dissection. A typical case is repair of an ascending aortic aneurysm. These operations are generally performed in an operating room, often with cardiopulmonary bypass. The operative report should establish the treated aortic segment, the non-dissection diagnosis, and the graft replacement performed.
Report this code for the non-dissection ascending-aortic procedure, distinguishing it from dissection repair and from procedures with a more specific aortic-root description. The major-surgery global period includes the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care. For multiple procedures in the same session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and the others at 50%. Modifier 50 is not appropriate for this aortic service. An assistant at surgery may be paid; co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation, and team surgery is not permitted.
CMS billing rules for 33859
- Global period
- Major surgery with a 90-day global period: the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care are 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 RVU44.00 · 65%
- Practice expense (office) RVU12.86 · 19%
- Malpractice RVU10.86 · 16%
4.8K
Medicare services in 2024 · #1888 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.
33859 compared with similar codes
Office rates for Illinois, from the same CMS release.
No office rate
Code 33863 describes ascending-aortic grafting that includes aortic-root replacement and coronary reimplantation, rather than the non-dissection ascending-aortic service described by 33859.
No office rate
Code 33864 is for ascending-aortic grafting with aortic-valve suspension. Review the operative details to distinguish that work from the service reported with 33859.
No office rate
Code 33866 identifies an operation that includes the aortic hemiarch; 33859 is selected when the documented work does not meet that hemiarch description.
Compare 33859 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.
4 of 4 payment localities
Chicago →
Office / nonfacility
Unavailable
Facility
$2744.08
East St. Louis →
Office / nonfacility
Unavailable
Facility
$2595.36
Rest Of Illinois →
Office / nonfacility
Unavailable
Facility
$2428.76
Suburban Chicago →
Office / nonfacility
Unavailable
Facility
$2563.82
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33859 billing questions
How does this differ from 33858?
Code 33859 is for ascending-aortic graft replacement for disease other than dissection. Code 33858 is the corresponding choice when the indication is aortic dissection.
When should a root-replacement code be considered instead?
Use a root-specific code when the operation includes the aortic-root work described by that code, rather than graft replacement limited to the ascending aorta. The operative report should identify the extent of resection and reconstruction.
Are related postoperative visits included?
The global period includes the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care.
Can an assistant or co-surgeon be reported?
An assistant at surgery may be paid. Co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation; team surgery is not permitted.
Should modifier 50 be appended for bilateral work?
No. Modifier 50 is not appropriate for this ascending-aortic service.
How are other procedures in the same session paid?
The highest-valued procedure is paid in full, with other procedures in the same session 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 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.
4,08833852,,Rpr hypopl a-arch wo byp,A,,23.80,10.04,NA,10.04,,6.00,39.84,39.84,0,090,0.09,0.84,0.07,2,0,2,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
4,08933853,,Rpr hypopl a-arch w/byp,A,,31.70,12.10,NA,12.10,,7.99,51.79,51.79,0,090,0.09,0.84,0.07,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
4,09033858,,As-aort grf f/aortic dsj,A,,61.82,16.69,NA,16.69,,15.31,93.82,93.82,0,090,0.09,0.84,0.07,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
4,09133859,,As-aort grf f/ds oth/thn dsj,A,,44.00,12.86,NA,12.86,,10.86,67.72,67.72,0,090,0.09,0.84,0.07,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
4,09233863,,Ascending aortic graft,A,,57.32,15.54,NA,15.54,,14.14,87.00,87.00,0,090,0.09,0.84,0.07,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
4,09333864,,Ascending aortic graft,A,,58.58,15.81,NA,15.81,,14.42,88.81,88.81,0,090,0.09,0.84,0.07,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
4,09433866,,Aortic hemiarch graft,A,,17.31,3.47,NA,3.47,,4.27,25.05,25.05,0,ZZZ,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,0,0,0,1,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00