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CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01

43226 Esophageal dilation Medicare reimbursement rates in Indiana

Reports flexible transoral esophagoscopy with guidewire placement and dilation over the wire to treat an esophageal narrowing. Compare 43226 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in Indiana.

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 43226 in Indiana?

Indiana 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

$384.88

1 of 1 localities have a supported rate.

Payment area: Indiana

One mapped payment locality.

Facility setting

$108.69

1 of 1 localities have a supported rate.

Payment area: Indiana

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 43226 in your payment locality →

Gastroenterology

About 43226: Guidewire-assisted esophageal dilation

Reports flexible transoral esophagoscopy with guidewire placement and dilation over the wire to treat an esophageal narrowing.

A gastroenterologist or other qualified endoscopist uses a flexible scope passed through the mouth to examine the esophagus, place a guidewire, and dilate a narrowed segment over the wire. Common indications include an esophageal stricture causing difficulty swallowing. The service may be performed in an endoscopy center or hospital, and sometimes in an office setting.

Select this code when the dilation is performed over a guidewire; balloon dilation and retrograde approaches have distinct codes. Document the narrowing, the guidewire-assisted technique, and the dilation performed. The 0-day global period includes routine same-day preoperative and postoperative care. When related endoscopies are performed together, CMS endoscopy-family pricing applies. Modifier 50 is inappropriate for this service. Medicare does not pay an assistant at surgery, and co-surgeon and team-surgery reporting are not permitted.

CMS billing rules for 43226

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 RVU2.18 · 18%
  • Practice expense (office) RVU9.89 · 80%
  • Malpractice RVU0.36 · 3%

1.4K

Medicare services in 2024 · #2716 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.

43226 compared with similar codes

Office rates for Indiana, from the same CMS release.

43220

Esophageal dilation

Balloon under 30 mm

$888.93

43226 involves dilation over a guidewire. Choose 43220 for balloon dilation under 30 mm.

43214

Esophageal dilation

Balloon 30 mm or larger

No office rate

43226 describes guidewire-assisted dilation; 43214 is the esophageal balloon-dilation code for a diameter of 30 mm or larger.

43233

Esophageal dilation

Balloon 30 mm or larger

No office rate

43233 reports upper endoscopy with balloon dilation at 30 mm or larger. 43226 is the guidewire-dilation service performed through flexible esophagoscopy.

Compare 43226 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

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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 43226 in Indiana.

PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv

5,156

Code
43226
Physician work
2.18
Practice expense
9.89
Malpractice
0.36

GPCI2026.csv

52

Locality
Indiana
Physician work
1.000
Practice expense
0.927
Malpractice
0.486
Office / nonfacility calculation for 43226 in Indiana
ComponentRVULocality factorAdjusted
Physician work2.18× 1.0002.1800
Practice expense9.89× 0.9279.1680
Malpractice0.36× 0.4860.1750
Total RVUs11.5230
Conversion factor× 33.4009

Office / nonfacility rate, Indiana$384.88

Explore RVUs, geographic factors and the full formula

Office / nonfacility

Office / nonfacility calculation inputs
ComponentRVULocal GPCI
Work2.181
Practice expense9.890.927
Malpractice0.360.486

(2.18 × 1 + 9.89 × 0.927 + 0.36 × 0.486) × $33.4009 = $384.88

Facility

Facility calculation inputs
ComponentRVULocal GPCI
Work2.181
Practice expense0.970.927
Malpractice0.360.486

(2.18 × 1 + 0.97 × 0.927 + 0.36 × 0.486) × $33.4009 = $108.69

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.

43226 billing questions

When should this code be chosen over balloon-dilation codes?

Use 43226 when the esophagus is dilated over a guidewire. Balloon dilation is reported with a code specific to the balloon method and size.

Can the diagnostic esophagoscopy be billed separately?

The scope examination used to perform the dilation is part of the reported service; do not separately report a diagnostic examination for that same work.

What documentation supports 43226?

Document the esophageal narrowing, the flexible transoral approach, guidewire placement, and dilation over the wire.

Does modifier 50 apply if the narrowing involves both sides?

No. CMS identifies bilateral adjustment as inappropriate for this code; report the service performed without modifier 50.

Can an assistant 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.

RVUs for 43226PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv, line 5,156 (RVU26D)
Geographic factors for IndianaGPCI2026.csv, line 52 (RVU26D)