$983.94–$1,066.96
Choose 47533 when the service places a biliary drainage catheter. Choose 47538 when a stent is placed in the initial duct.
On this page
CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
47538 Biliary stent Medicare reimbursement rates in Missouri
Percutaneous placement of a biliary stent in the initial duct to restore bile drainage, typically for an obstructing stricture or other blockage. Compare 47538 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in Missouri.
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 47538 in Missouri?
Missouri has 3 payment localities in this comparison. Use the service location to choose the applicable amount. These are the supported base rates for the 3 payment areas shown below, using the same CMS release.
Office / nonfacility
$3035.96–$3335.56
3 of 3 localities have a supported rate.
Facility setting
$197.40–$200.63
3 of 3 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.
Where 47538 pays more and less in Missouri
3 payment localities
$3035.96 to $3335.56
Interventional radiology
About 47538: Percutaneous biliary stent placement
Percutaneous placement of a biliary stent in the initial duct to restore bile drainage, typically for an obstructing stricture or other blockage.
An interventional radiologist typically places a stent through a percutaneous, often transhepatic, route to keep an obstructed bile duct open and allow bile to drain. Common clinical settings include biliary strictures and malignant obstruction. Imaging guidance and intraprocedural cholangiography, when performed, are part of the service; the code is for the initial duct treated, not a drainage catheter exchange or removal.
Report this code for stent placement in the initial duct and document the access route, treated duct, obstruction or stricture, and stent placement. Same-day preoperative and postoperative care is included in the 0-day global period. If multiple procedures occur in the same session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and other procedures are subject to the standard 50% multiple-procedure reduction. Modifier 50 is not appropriate for this service. Medicare does not pay for an assistant at surgery, co-surgeons, or team surgery for this code.
CMS billing rules for 47538
- Global period
- Minor procedure with a 0-day global period: same-day preoperative and postoperative care is 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
- 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 RVU4.63 · 4%
- Practice expense (office) RVU99.51 · 95%
- Malpractice RVU0.50 · 0%
685
Medicare services in 2024 · #3287 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.
47538 compared with similar codes
Office rates for Missouri, from the same CMS release.
$533.88–$580.08
47536 describes exchange of an existing biliary drainage catheter; 47538 describes placement of a biliary stent in the initial duct.
$3,467.20–$3,797.02
47538 is for the initial duct treated with a stent. Code 47539 addresses stent placement in an additional duct.
$407.76–$443.60
47537 describes removal of a biliary drainage catheter. It is not the code for placing a biliary stent.
Compare 47538 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.
3 of 3 payment localities
Metropolitan Kansas City →
Office / nonfacility
$3291.94
Facility
$199.82
Metropolitan St. Louis →
Office / nonfacility
$3335.56
Facility
$200.63
Rest Of Missouri →
Office / nonfacility
$3035.96
Facility
$197.40
Need rates for a whole code list?
Fee-sheet and API access are in early access. Tell us which codes and locations your team needs.
47538 billing questions
How does this differ from a biliary drainage catheter placement?
This code is for placing a stent to maintain duct patency. Codes 47533 and 47534 describe placement of biliary drainage catheters, rather than the stent service.
Can the cholangiography or imaging guidance be billed separately?
Imaging guidance and intraprocedural cholangiography, when performed as part of the stent placement, are included in this service.
What supports reporting this code?
Document the percutaneous access, the duct treated, the clinical obstruction or stricture, and placement of the stent in the initial duct.
Should modifier 50 be appended for bilateral duct treatment?
No. CMS identifies bilateral adjustment as inappropriate for this code; report the applicable duct-level service rather than using modifier 50.
How are other procedures in the same session paid?
When multiple procedures are performed in the same session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and the others are subject to the standard 50% multiple-procedure reduction.
Can an assistant or co-surgeon be reported?
Medicare does not pay for an assistant at surgery for this code, and co-surgeons and team surgery are 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.
5,68747535,,Conversion ext bil drg cath,A,,3.85,21.12,,0.79,,0.43,25.40,5.07,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
5,68847536,,Exchange biliary drg cath,A,,2.54,15.28,,0.61,,0.28,18.10,3.43,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
5,68947537,,Removal biliary drg cath,A,,1.79,11.86,,0.52,,0.20,13.85,2.51,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
5,69047538,,Perq plmt bile duct stent,A,,4.63,99.51,,0.92,,0.50,104.64,6.05,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
5,69147539,,Perq plmt bile duct stent,A,,8.53,109.41,,1.46,,0.99,118.93,10.98,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
5,69247540,,Perq plmt bile duct stent,A,,8.80,108.70,,1.51,,0.96,118.46,11.27,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
5,69347541,,Plmt access bil tree sm bwl,A,,6.58,27.98,,1.36,,0.85,35.41,8.79,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00