Billing code 47540: Biliary stentMedicare rate & RVUs in Nevada
Percutaneous biliary stent placement treats a bile duct obstruction or narrowing through an access route created through the skin.
Medicare pays $3,954.95 for 47540 in the office in Nevada (Nevada**). Which amount applies depends on the service address.
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 47540 covers
An interventional radiologist or other physician with appropriate procedural training places a stent in the bile ducts through percutaneous access, commonly using imaging to guide the device across an obstructed or narrowed segment. The procedure is generally performed in a hospital or another setting equipped for image-guided biliary intervention. Diagnostic cholangiography may be performed as part of the stent procedure.
Select this code when the documented service meets its specific percutaneous stent-placement circumstances; distinguish it from biliary drainage catheter placement, exchange, or duct dilation. The record should identify the biliary access, target duct or obstruction, stent placement, and imaging performed. CMS assigns a 0-day global period, so same-day preoperative and postoperative care is included. When multiple procedures occur in the same session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and other procedures are subject to the standard 50% reduction. Modifier 50 is inappropriate. CMS does not pay an assistant at surgery, and co-surgeon and team-surgery billing are not permitted.
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.
47540 in Nevada**
| Payment locality | Office | Facility |
|---|---|---|
| Nevada** | $3,954.95 | $371.12 |
How the 47540 rate is calculated
Each of 47540’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 · 47540
RVUs × geographic indexes × conversion factor
Work8.80
8.80 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI
Practice expense108.70
108.70 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI
Malpractice0.96
0.96 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI
Adjusted RVUs
118.4600
Conversion factor
$33.4009
Medicare rate
$3,956.67
Every GPCI starts at 1.000, the national rate. Enter a ZIP or drag a slider.
Payment rules and modifiers for 47540
The CMS indicators that decide how 47540 is paid alongside other services.
CMS payment indicators · 47540
Biliary stent
| 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 | 2 | Standard reduction: highest-valued procedure at 100%, others at 50%. |
| 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. |
What modifiers do to the payment
Modifier 51 · payment effect
With and without the modifier
47540 without 51 · national office
$3,956.67
Biliary stent
47540-51 · Second procedure: 50%
$1,978.34
When this isn’t the highest-valued procedure in the session, Medicare pays 50% of its fee schedule amount (the highest is paid at 100%).
47540 compared with similar codes
Compare codes · National
5 codes, side by side
How to choose
- 47538Biliary stent
- Both codes concern percutaneous biliary stent placement. Use the code whose full descriptor matches the circumstances and device configuration documented for the procedure.
- 47539Biliary stent
- This is a related percutaneous biliary stent code. Check its full descriptor against the documented stent and drainage-catheter circumstances before selecting between the codes.
- 47533Biliary drainage
- 47533 reports placement of an external biliary drainage catheter. Select 47540 when the documented service is the applicable percutaneous biliary stent placement.
- 47542Biliary dilation
- 47542 describes dilation of a biliary duct or ampulla. It is not a substitute for reporting the applicable stent-placement service.
47540 billing questions
How is this different from biliary drainage catheter placement?
This code describes placement of a biliary stent. Codes 47533 and 47534 describe placement of biliary drainage catheters rather than stent placement.
Is diagnostic cholangiography separately reported with the stent placement?
Diagnostic cholangiography may be part of the stent procedure. Review the code descriptor and documentation before considering a separate cholangiography code.
Does this code have a postoperative global period?
It has a 0-day global period. Same-day preoperative and postoperative care is included.
Can an assistant surgeon or co-surgeon be billed?
CMS does not pay an assistant at surgery for this service. Co-surgeons and team surgery are not permitted.
How are other procedures in the same session paid?
Under the standard multiple procedure reduction, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and other 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 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
Show the CMS file lines behind this rate
Fee sheets
Put 47540 and the rest of your codes on one sheet
Build a fee sheet from your own code list at your locality, put your payer contracts beside Medicare, and see what changed each quarter.
Build my fee sheetOr price your code list free →