Billing code 43752: Gastric tube placementMedicare rate & RVUs in Massachusetts
Reports placement of a tube through the nose or mouth into the stomach, with aspiration, for purposes such as decompression, lavage, or feeding.
CMS doesn’t publish an office rate for 43752 in Massachusetts.
Medicare allowed amount for participating (non-QP) physicians, before deductible, coinsurance and claim adjustments. Not a patient’s bill or a hospital charge.
On this page 9 sections
What 43752 covers
A clinician passes a tube through the nose or mouth into the stomach and may aspirate gastric contents. Common situations include relieving gastric distention by decompression, performing lavage, or establishing temporary access for feeding. The service is most often performed in a hospital or emergency department, though it can occur in an office setting. The key distinction is placement of a nasal or oral gastric tube, rather than sampling through a tube for a specified diagnostic test or repositioning an existing gastrostomy tube.
Report the service when the tube is placed and the documented purpose and route support gastric intubation. The 0-day global period includes same-day preoperative and postoperative care. Modifier 50 is inappropriate for this service. Medicare does not pay an assistant at surgery, and co-surgeons and team surgery are not permitted. Documentation should identify the route, placement, clinical purpose, and any aspiration performed.
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.
Where 43752 pays more and less in Massachusetts
| Payment locality | Office | Facility |
|---|---|---|
| Metropolitan Boston | Unavailable | $36.13 |
| Rest Of Massachusetts | Unavailable | $34.48 |
How the 43752 rate is calculated
Each of 43752’s three RVUs is multiplied by a geographic index (GPCI) for the payment locality, added up, and multiplied by the conversion factor. Drag the indexes or enter a ZIP to see what moves the rate.
How the rate is built · 43752
RVUs × geographic indexes × conversion factor
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Work 0.79Practice expense 0.15Malpractice 0.09
All indexes start at 1.000 (the national rate). Enter a ZIP or drag a slider.
Payment rules and modifiers for 43752
The CMS indicators that decide how 43752 is paid alongside other services.
CMS payment indicators · 43752
Gastric tube placement
| Rule | CMS value | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Global period | 000 | Same-day global: pre- and post-op care on the day of the procedure is included. |
| Multiple procedures | 0 | No multiple-procedure reduction. |
| Bilateral (modifier 50) | 0 | The 150% bilateral adjustment doesn’t apply. |
| Assistant at surgery (80/81/82/AS) | 1 | Not paid (statutory restriction). |
| Co-surgeons (62) | 0 | Not permitted. |
| Team surgery (66) | 0 | Not permitted. |
| Professional/technical | 0 | Physician service: no professional/technical split. |
43752 compared with similar codes
Compare codes
43752 vs 43753 vs 43754 vs 43755 vs 43761: national Medicare rates
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How to choose
- 43753Gastric aspiration
- 43752 covers nasal or oral gastric tube placement for purposes such as decompression or feeding. Choose 43753 for therapeutic gastric intubation and aspiration requiring fluoroscopic guidance.
- 43754Gastric aspiration
- 43754 is for diagnostic gastric aspiration with a single specimen. Use 43752 when the service is gastric tube placement rather than a single-specimen diagnostic intubation.
- 43755Gastric aspiration
- 43755 is for diagnostic gastric aspiration involving multiple specimens. It is distinct from placement for decompression, lavage, or feeding reported with 43752.
- 43761G-tube repositioning
- 43761 repositions an existing gastrostomy tube. Code 43752 concerns placement of a tube through the nose or mouth into the stomach.
43752 billing questions
When should this code be used instead of 43753?
Use 43752 for nasal or oral gastric tube placement for purposes such as decompression, lavage, or feeding. Code 43753 describes therapeutic gastric intubation and aspiration requiring fluoroscopic guidance.
Is tube insertion separately billable?
No. Insertion of the nasal or oral tube is part of this service; do not report a separate charge for that insertion.
What should the procedure note include?
Document the nasal or oral route, that the tube was placed into the stomach, the clinical purpose, and whether gastric contents were aspirated.
Can modifier 50 be used?
No. Bilateral adjustment is inappropriate for this service.
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.
What does the 0-day global period include?
Same-day preoperative and postoperative care is included in the procedure's 0-day global period.
Where these rates come from
FeeBase calculates base physician payments from CMS work, practice-expense and malpractice RVUs, adjusted by each locality’s geographic indexes and the conversion factor. Services without a published rate are labeled, never given a made-up amount. Amounts are Medicare allowed amounts before claim adjustments: not a patient’s bill or a commercial rate.
CMS RVU26D · effective Oct 1, 2026 through the day before Jan 1, 2027
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