No office rate
Choose 33251 when cardiopulmonary bypass is used for the operative ablation; 33250 describes the corresponding operation without bypass.
On this page
CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
33251 Surgical ablation Medicare reimbursement rates in Michigan
Reports open surgical ablation of a supraventricular arrhythmogenic focus or pathway when the operation is performed with cardiopulmonary bypass. Compare 33251 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in Michigan.
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 33251 in Michigan?
Michigan 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
$1532.89–$1683.39
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.
Cardiac surgery
About 33251: Open supraventricular focus ablation with bypass
Reports open surgical ablation of a supraventricular arrhythmogenic focus or pathway when the operation is performed with cardiopulmonary bypass.
This code covers an open operation to ablate a supraventricular arrhythmogenic focus or pathway, such as a pathway responsible for Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome. A cardiac surgeon typically performs the procedure in the operating room with cardiopulmonary bypass. It is distinct from catheter-based electrophysiologic ablation and from broader atrial tissue ablation procedures used for atrial fibrillation.
Select the code when the operative report supports ablation of a supraventricular focus or pathway and documents use of cardiopulmonary bypass; the no-bypass counterpart is 33250. The 90-day global period includes the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of 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. An assistant at surgery may be paid; co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation, and team surgery is not permitted.
CMS billing rules for 33251
- 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) RVU10.60 · 23%
- Malpractice RVU7.10 · 15%
22
Medicare services in 2024 · #5866 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.
33251 compared with similar codes
Office rates for Michigan, from the same CMS release.
No office rate
33256 describes extensive atrial tissue ablation and reconstruction with bypass. 33251 is for operative ablation of a supraventricular focus or pathway.
No office rate
93653 is a catheter-based electrophysiologic ablation service. 33251 describes open surgical ablation performed with cardiopulmonary bypass.
Compare 33251 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
Detroit →
Office / nonfacility
Unavailable
Facility
$1683.39
Rest Of Michigan →
Office / nonfacility
Unavailable
Facility
$1532.89
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33251 billing questions
How does 33251 differ from 33250?
Both describe operative ablation of a supraventricular arrhythmogenic focus or pathway. Use 33251 when the operation uses cardiopulmonary bypass; 33250 is the no-bypass counterpart.
Is this the code for a catheter ablation?
No. This code describes open surgical ablation performed with cardiopulmonary bypass. Catheter-based electrophysiologic ablation is a different service.
Can modifier 50 be appended?
No. CMS identifies bilateral adjustment as inappropriate for this code because of its descriptor or anatomy.
What postoperative care is included?
The 90-day global period includes the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care.
Can an assistant or co-surgeon be reported?
Assistant-at-surgery services may be paid. Co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation; 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.
3,87333249,,Insj/rplcmt defib w/lead(s),A,,14.55,5.91,NA,5.91,,3.43,23.89,23.89,0,090,0.09,0.84,0.07,2,0,1,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,8743324F,,Mri ct scan ord rvwd rqstd,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
3,87533250,,Ablate heart dysrhythm focus,A,,25.25,10.37,NA,10.37,,6.05,41.67,41.67,0,090,0.09,0.84,0.07,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,87633251,,Ablate heart dysrhythm focus,A,,28.20,10.60,NA,10.60,,7.10,45.90,45.90,0,090,0.09,0.84,0.07,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,87733254,,Ablate atria lmtd,A,,23.12,9.92,NA,9.92,,5.68,38.72,38.72,0,090,0.09,0.84,0.07,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,87833255,,Ablate atria w/o bypass ext,A,,28.31,11.34,NA,11.34,,6.77,46.42,46.42,0,090,0.09,0.84,0.07,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,87933256,,Ablate atria w/bypass exten,A,,34.03,12.52,NA,12.52,,8.15,54.70,54.70,0,090,0.09,0.84,0.07,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00