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CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01

33261 Heart ablation Medicare reimbursement rates in Kansas

Reports extensive open surgical ablation of a ventricular arrhythmogenic focus, including mapping and isolation, when the operative work exceeds a limited ablation. Compare 33261 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in Kansas.

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 33261 in Kansas?

Kansas 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

$1386.77

1 of 1 localities have a supported rate.

Payment area: Kansas

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 33261 in your payment locality →

Cardiac surgery

About 33261: Extensive ventricular arrhythmia ablation

Reports extensive open surgical ablation of a ventricular arrhythmogenic focus, including mapping and isolation, when the operative work exceeds a limited ablation.

This code covers extensive surgical treatment of a ventricular arrhythmogenic focus, with mapping and isolation of the tissue responsible for the dysrhythmia. Cardiac surgeons perform it in an operating room, typically for a patient undergoing open heart surgery or treatment of a difficult ventricular arrhythmia. The operative report should identify the ventricular focus and describe the mapping and ablation work that supports an extensive rather than limited procedure.

Select this code based on the extent of ventricular ablation documented, not simply the diagnosis or the presence of another cardiac operation. CMS assigns a 90-day global period, including the day-before preoperative visit and related postoperative care. When multiple procedures are performed in the same session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and other procedures are subject to the standard multiple-procedure reduction. Modifier 50 is inappropriate for this code. An assistant at surgery may be paid; co-surgeons require supporting documentation, and team surgery is not permitted.

CMS billing rules for 33261

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 RVU28.20 · 61%
  • Practice expense (office) RVU10.97 · 24%
  • Malpractice RVU6.75 · 15%

16

Medicare services in 2024 · #6035 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.

33261 compared with similar codes

Office rates for Kansas, from the same CMS release.

93654

VT ablation

Comprehensive EP evaluation

No office rate

93654 describes catheter-based ventricular arrhythmia ablation. Code 33261 is for extensive surgical ablation of a ventricular focus.

33256

Atrial ablation

Extensive, with bypass

No office rate

33256 addresses extensive ablation and reconstruction of atrial tissue with cardiopulmonary bypass. Code 33261 concerns an extensive ventricular arrhythmogenic focus.

Compare 33261 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
  • Kansas →

    Office / nonfacility

    Unavailable

    Facility

    $1386.77

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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 33261 in Kansas.

PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv

3,884

Code
33261
Physician work
28.20
Practice expense
10.97
Malpractice
6.75

GPCI2026.csv

54

Locality
Kansas
Physician work
1.000
Practice expense
0.904
Malpractice
0.504
Facility calculation for 33261 in Kansas
ComponentRVULocality factorAdjusted
Physician work28.20× 1.00028.2000
Practice expense10.97× 0.9049.9169
Malpractice6.75× 0.5043.4020
Total RVUs41.5189
Conversion factor× 33.4009

Facility rate, Kansas$1386.77

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
Work28.21
Practice expense10.970.904
Malpractice6.750.504

(28.2 × 1 + 10.97 × 0.904 + 6.75 × 0.504) × $33.4009 = $1386.77

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.

33261 billing questions

How does this differ from 33260?

Both codes describe ventricular focus ablation. Use 33261 when the operative documentation supports extensive ablation; 33260 is the limited ventricular procedure.

Does this code describe catheter ablation?

No. This code describes surgical ablation of a ventricular focus. Catheter-based ventricular arrhythmia ablation is represented by 93654.

Can modifier 50 be used for ablation on both sides?

No. CMS identifies bilateral adjustment as inappropriate for this code; modifier 50 is not appropriate.

May an assistant or co-surgeon be reported?

CMS indicates that an assistant at surgery may be paid. Co-surgeons are paid only when supporting documentation is provided; team surgery is not permitted.

What documentation supports the extensive code?

The operative report should identify the ventricular arrhythmogenic focus and describe the mapping, isolation, and extent of ablation that distinguish the work from a limited ventricular procedure.

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 33261PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv, line 3,884 (RVU26D)
Geographic factors for KansasGPCI2026.csv, line 54 (RVU26D)