No office rate
47610 is the combined service when gallbladder removal and common duct exploration are performed. Use 47700 for exploration without that combined cholecystectomy service.
On this page
CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
47700 Bile duct exploration Medicare reimbursement rates in Massachusetts
Reports operative exploration of the bile ducts to investigate suspected ductal disease, such as obstruction or an abnormality identified during abdominal surgery. Compare 47700 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in Massachusetts.
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 47700 in Massachusetts?
Massachusetts 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
No supported rate
Facility setting
$1005.16–$1078.11
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.
Biliary surgery
About 47700: Operative bile duct exploration
Reports operative exploration of the bile ducts to investigate suspected ductal disease, such as obstruction or an abnormality identified during abdominal surgery.
A surgeon explores the bile ducts during an operation to investigate a suspected ductal problem, such as obstruction or an abnormality found in the operative field. General and hepatobiliary surgeons typically perform this work in a hospital operating room. This code describes exploration; removal of a lesion or reconstruction of a duct is a different operative service.
Select the code when the operative report documents actual exploration of the ducts, not imaging alone. If gallbladder removal and common duct exploration are performed together, consider the combined service reported by 47610 rather than separately reporting the exploration. The 90-day global period includes 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 reduction. Modifier 50 is not appropriate. An assistant at surgery may be paid; co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation, and team surgery is not permitted.
CMS billing rules for 47700
- 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 RVU16.09 · 53%
- Practice expense (office) RVU9.80 · 32%
- Malpractice RVU4.30 · 14%
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.
47700 compared with similar codes
Office rates for Massachusetts, from the same CMS release.
No office rate
47711 reports excision of an intrahepatic bile duct tumor. Exploration without tumor removal is the service described by 47700.
No office rate
47712 reports excision of an extrahepatic bile duct tumor. Choose it when the tumor is excised, not when the operative service is exploration alone.
No office rate
47760 describes creation of a bile duct-to-bowel connection. It represents reconstruction, not exploration of the ducts.
Compare 47700 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
Metropolitan Boston →
Office / nonfacility
Unavailable
Facility
$1078.11
Rest Of Massachusetts →
Office / nonfacility
Unavailable
Facility
$1005.16
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47700 billing questions
When should 47700 be selected instead of 47610?
Use 47700 for operative bile duct exploration without the combined gallbladder-removal service. When cholecystectomy and common duct exploration are performed together, 47610 describes that combined service.
Does an intraoperative cholangiogram alone support 47700?
No. The operative documentation should describe exploration of the bile ducts, rather than imaging alone.
Can exploration be separately reported with bile duct tumor excision?
When the operative service removes a bile duct tumor, select the applicable excision code, such as 47711 or 47712, based on the documented site. Do not separately report exploration that is integral to that excision.
What documentation supports 47700?
The operative report should identify the bile duct exploration performed and the clinical finding or concern prompting it. Document separately performed procedures, such as duct reconstruction or lesion excision, distinctly.
How are assistants and co-surgeons handled?
Assistant-at-surgery payment may be available. Co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation; team surgery is not permitted for this code.
Does modifier 50 apply to this code?
No. Report the service without modifier 50; bilateral adjustment is not appropriate for this ductal exploration.
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.
5,71047610,,Removal of gallbladder,A,,20.40,9.44,NA,9.44,,5.30,35.14,35.14,0,090,0.09,0.81,0.10,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
5,71147612,,Removal of gallbladder,A,,20.68,9.46,NA,9.46,,5.53,35.67,35.67,0,090,0.09,0.81,0.10,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
5,71247620,,Removal of gallbladder,A,,22.49,9.90,NA,9.90,,6.02,38.41,38.41,0,090,0.09,0.81,0.10,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
5,71347700,,Exploration of bile ducts,A,,16.09,9.80,NA,9.80,,4.30,30.19,30.19,0,090,0.09,0.81,0.10,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
5,71447701,,Bile duct revision,A,,28.01,13.02,NA,13.02,,7.48,48.51,48.51,0,090,0.09,0.81,0.10,2,0,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
5,71547711,,Excision of bile duct tumor,A,,25.25,11.75,NA,11.75,,6.33,43.33,43.33,0,090,0.09,0.81,0.10,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
5,71647712,,Excision of bile duct tumor,A,,32.88,13.80,NA,13.80,,8.80,55.48,55.48,0,090,0.09,0.81,0.10,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00