No office rate
Use 35701 for a surgically exposed neck artery. Use 35703 when the artery explored is in the lower extremity.
On this page
CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
35703 Artery exploration Medicare reimbursement rates in Kentucky
Report this service when a surgeon explores a surgically exposed lower extremity artery and completes the exploration without performing surgical repair. Compare 35703 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in Kentucky.
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 35703 in Kentucky?
Kentucky 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
$366.24
1 of 1 localities have a supported rate.
Payment area: Kentucky
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.
Vascular surgery
About 35703: Lower extremity artery exploration without repair
Report this service when a surgeon explores a surgically exposed lower extremity artery and completes the exploration without performing surgical repair.
A vascular surgeon typically reports this service after exposing an artery in the leg or foot to investigate a suspected problem, such as an injury or an unexpected finding during surgery. The surgeon examines the exposed artery but does not repair it. The service is distinct from an operation in which the artery is repaired after exploration; the documented work must support exploration of a lower extremity artery, not a neck or upper extremity artery.
The operative report should identify the artery, the reason for exploration, the findings, and that no repair was performed. This major surgery code has a 90-day global period, including the day-before preoperative visit and related postoperative care during that period. 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 50% reduction. Bilateral reporting with modifier 50 is paid at 150%. An assistant at surgery may be paid; co-surgeons require supporting documentation, and team surgery is not permitted.
CMS billing rules for 35703
- 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 procedure with modifier 50 is paid at 150%.
- 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 RVU7.31 · 64%
- Practice expense (office) RVU2.30 · 20%
- Malpractice RVU1.76 · 15%
610
Medicare services in 2024 · #3377 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.
35703 compared with similar codes
Office rates for Kentucky, from the same CMS release.
No office rate
Use 35702 for a surgically exposed upper extremity artery; 35703 is for a lower extremity artery.
No office rate
35703 describes exploration that ends without repair. 35226 describes direct repair of a lower extremity blood vessel.
Compare 35703 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
Kentucky →
Office / nonfacility
Unavailable
Facility
$366.24
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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 35703 in Kentucky.
PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv
4,411
- Code
- 35703
- Physician work
- 7.31
- Practice expense
- 2.30
- Malpractice
- 1.76
GPCI2026.csv
55
- Locality
- Kentucky
- Physician work
- 1.000
- Practice expense
- 0.889
- Malpractice
- 0.915
| Component | RVU | Locality factor | Adjusted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Physician work | 7.31 | × 1.000 | 7.3100 |
| Practice expense | 2.30 | × 0.889 | 2.0447 |
| Malpractice | 1.76 | × 0.915 | 1.6104 |
| Total RVUs | 10.9651 | ||
| Conversion factor | × 33.4009 | ||
Facility rate, Kentucky$366.24
Explore RVUs, geographic factors and the full formula
Facility
| Component | RVU | Local GPCI |
|---|---|---|
| Work | 7.31 | 1 |
| Practice expense | 2.3 | 0.889 |
| Malpractice | 1.76 | 0.915 |
(7.31 × 1 + 2.3 × 0.889 + 1.76 × 0.915) × $33.4009 = $366.24
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.
35703 billing questions
How is this code distinguished from 35701 and 35702?
35703 applies to exploration of a surgically exposed lower extremity artery. Codes 35701 and 35702 describe the corresponding exploration for a neck artery and an upper extremity artery, respectively.
Can this code be reported when the artery is repaired?
No. This code describes exploration that concludes without surgical repair. If the surgeon repairs the artery, select the code that describes the repair performed.
What documentation supports reporting 35703?
Document the lower extremity artery explored, the indication and findings, and that no repair was performed. The operative note should support that the artery was surgically exposed and examined.
How does the 90-day global period affect postoperative care?
The global period includes the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care. Those services are part of the global surgical period.
How is bilateral exploration reported?
Report modifier 50 when the procedure is performed bilaterally; CMS pays the bilateral procedure at 150%. The operative documentation should support exploration on both sides.
May an assistant or co-surgeon be reported?
An assistant at surgery may be paid. Co-surgeons are paid only with supporting documentation, and 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.
4,40835700,,Reoperation bypass graft,A,,3.00,0.31,NA,0.31,,0.78,4.09,4.09,0,ZZZ,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
4,40935701,,Expl n/flwd surg neck art,A,,7.31,2.87,NA,2.87,,1.30,11.48,11.48,0,090,0.09,0.84,0.07,2,1,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
4,41035702,,Expl n/flwd surg uxtr art,A,,6.94,2.55,NA,2.55,,1.65,11.14,11.14,0,090,0.09,0.84,0.07,2,1,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
4,41135703,,Expl n/flwd surg lxtr art,A,,7.31,2.30,NA,2.30,,1.76,11.37,11.37,0,090,0.09,0.84,0.07,2,1,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
4,4123570F,,Rprt bone scint xref w xray,I,,0.00,0.00,,0.00,,0.00,0.00,0.00,9,XXX,0.00,0.00,0.00,9,9,9,9,9,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
4,4133572F,,Pt consid poss risk fx,I,,0.00,0.00,,0.00,,0.00,0.00,0.00,9,XXX,0.00,0.00,0.00,9,9,9,9,9,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
4,4143573F,,Pt not consid poss risk fx,I,,0.00,0.00,,0.00,,0.00,0.00,0.00,9,XXX,0.00,0.00,0.00,9,9,9,9,9,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
5208102,IN,00,INDIANA,1.000,0.927,0.486
5305102,IA,00,IOWA,1.000,0.915,0.397
5405202,KS,00,KANSAS,1.000,0.904,0.504
5515102,KY,00,KENTUCKY,1.000,0.889,0.915
5607202,LA,01,NEW ORLEANS,1.000,0.941,1.136
5707202,LA,99,REST OF LOUISIANA,1.000,0.885,0.958
5814112,ME,03,SOUTHERN MAINE,1.000,0.991,0.631