No office rate
37600 is for ligation of the external carotid artery. Use 37609 when the operative target is a temporal artery.
On this page
CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
37609 Temporal artery biopsy Medicare reimbursement rates in Maine
Reports surgical exposure and ligation or biopsy of a temporal artery, commonly to obtain tissue when giant cell arteritis is suspected. Compare 37609 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in Maine.
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 37609 in Maine?
Maine has 2 payment localities in this comparison. Use the service location to choose the applicable amount. These are the supported base rates for the 2 payment areas shown below, using the same CMS release.
Office / nonfacility
$291.85–$305.87
2 of 2 localities have a supported rate.
Facility setting
$174.47–$179.43
2 of 2 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.
Vascular surgery
About 37609: Temporal artery biopsy or ligation
Reports surgical exposure and ligation or biopsy of a temporal artery, commonly to obtain tissue when giant cell arteritis is suspected.
A surgeon exposes a temporal artery through a small incision and ligates it; when tissue diagnosis is needed, a segment is removed and sent for histopathologic examination. The procedure is commonly performed for suspected giant cell arteritis, including when clinical concern such as new headache or visual symptoms prompts biopsy. It may take place in an office procedure room or a facility operating room.
Report 37609 for the temporal artery procedure, supported by the operative note identifying the artery, side, and whether tissue was obtained. The 10-day global period includes related postoperative visits 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. For bilateral work, modifier 50 is paid at 150%. Medicare does not pay an assistant at surgery for this code; co-surgeons and team surgery are not permitted.
CMS billing rules for 37609
- Global period
- Minor procedure with a 10-day global period: related postoperative visits for 10 days 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
- 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 RVU2.97 · 31%
- Practice expense (office) RVU5.83 · 62%
- Malpractice RVU0.65 · 7%
8.1K
Medicare services in 2024 · #1584 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.
37609 compared with similar codes
Office rates for Maine, from the same CMS release.
No office rate
37605 addresses ligation of the internal or common carotid artery. It does not describe a temporal artery biopsy or ligation.
Compare 37609 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.
2 of 2 payment localities
Rest Of Maine →
Office / nonfacility
$291.85
Facility
$174.47
Southern Maine →
Office / nonfacility
$305.87
Facility
$179.43
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37609 billing questions
When is 37609 appropriate for suspected giant cell arteritis?
Use it when the surgeon performs temporal artery ligation or obtains a temporal artery specimen for diagnostic examination. The operative note should identify the artery and side.
Is the pathology examination included in 37609?
The surgical procedure is reported with 37609; the tissue examination may be separately reported by the pathology service. CPT 88305 is commonly used for microscopic examination of a biopsy specimen.
How is bilateral temporal artery work reported?
CMS recognizes bilateral reporting with modifier 50 and pays the procedure at 150%. Document the side treated and the work performed.
Are postoperative visits separately payable during the global period?
Related postoperative visits during the 10-day global period are included in 37609.
Can an assistant surgeon or co-surgeon be reported?
Medicare does not pay an assistant at surgery for 37609. Co-surgeons and team surgery are not permitted.
What happens when another procedure is performed in the same session?
Under the standard multiple procedure reduction, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and the other procedure or procedures are 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.
4,67337605,,Ligation int/com carotid art,A,,13.92,2.74,NA,2.74,,3.56,20.22,20.22,0,090,0.09,0.84,0.07,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
4,67437606,,Lig int/com carotid art occl,A,,8.59,10.54,NA,10.54,,3.61,22.74,22.74,0,090,0.09,0.84,0.07,2,0,2,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
4,67537607,,Lig/banding angioacs av fstl,A,,6.09,2.79,NA,2.79,,1.48,10.36,10.36,0,090,0.09,0.84,0.07,2,0,1,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
4,67637609,,Ligation/bx temporal artery,A,,2.97,5.83,,2.01,,0.65,9.45,5.63,0,010,0.10,0.80,0.10,2,1,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
4,6773760F,,Pt w/dysphag/wt loss/nutr,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
4,67837615,,Ligation major artery neck,A,,7.61,4.81,NA,4.81,,1.43,13.85,13.85,0,090,0.09,0.84,0.07,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
4,67937616,,Ligation major artery chest,A,,18.50,9.00,NA,9.00,,4.56,32.06,32.06,0,090,0.09,0.84,0.07,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00