No office rate
The procedures both place a shunt to an extraocular reservoir. The distinguishing feature is whether a graft is used.
On this page
CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
66179 Glaucoma shunt Medicare reimbursement rates in Nevada
Reports glaucoma surgery placing an aqueous shunt to an extraocular plate reservoir without a graft to help lower intraocular pressure. Compare 66179 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in Nevada.
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 66179 in Nevada?
Nevada has 1 payment locality in this comparison. Use the service location to choose the applicable amount. These are the supported base rates for the payment area shown below, using the same CMS release.
Office / nonfacility
No supported rate
Facility setting
$917.89
1 of 1 localities have a supported rate.
Payment area: Nevada**
One mapped payment locality.
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.
Ophthalmology surgery
About 66179: Aqueous shunt to extraocular reservoir without graft
Reports glaucoma surgery placing an aqueous shunt to an extraocular plate reservoir without a graft to help lower intraocular pressure.
An ophthalmic surgeon places a drainage tube connected to a plate reservoir outside the eye to redirect aqueous fluid and reduce intraocular pressure. This operation is used for glaucoma when pressure control requires a drainage implant; it is commonly performed in a hospital outpatient department or ambulatory surgery center. The coded service is the shunt placement without a graft, distinguishing it from placement that includes a graft.
Select the code when the operative report supports placement of an aqueous shunt to an extraocular reservoir and confirms that no graft was used. The major-surgery 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 50% reduction. For bilateral surgery, modifier 50 is paid at 150%. An assistant at surgery may be paid; co-surgeons and team surgery are not permitted.
CMS billing rules for 66179
- 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 procedure with modifier 50 is paid at 150%.
- Assistant at surgery
- Assistant at surgery may be paid.
- Co-surgeons
- Co-surgeons not permitted.
- Team surgery
- Team surgery not permitted.
Where the value comes from
- Work RVU13.65 · 49%
- Practice expense (office) RVU12.91 · 47%
- Malpractice RVU1.09 · 4%
1.1K
Medicare services in 2024 · #2907 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.
66179 compared with similar codes
Office rates for Nevada, from the same CMS release.
No office rate
Use 66183 for an anterior-segment drainage device without an extraocular reservoir; this code involves a shunt connected to an extraocular reservoir.
No office rate
66170 is a different glaucoma operation. Choose this code when the documented procedure places an aqueous shunt to an extraocular reservoir without a graft.
No office rate
66184 describes revision of an existing aqueous shunt, not placement of a new shunt.
Compare 66179 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.
1 of 1 payment localities
Nevada** →
Office / nonfacility
Unavailable
Facility
$917.89
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How this local rate is calculated
Each RVU component is multiplied by its own geographic practice cost index (GPCI). The three adjusted components are added, then multiplied by the conversion factor. These are the inputs used for 66179 in Nevada**.
PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv
7,370
- Code
- 66179
- Physician work
- 13.65
- Practice expense
- 12.91
- Malpractice
- 1.09
GPCI2026.csv
73
- Locality
- Nevada**
- Physician work
- 1.000
- Practice expense
- 1.001
- Malpractice
- 0.833
| Component | RVU | Locality factor | Adjusted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Physician work | 13.65 | × 1.000 | 13.6500 |
| Practice expense | 12.91 | × 1.001 | 12.9229 |
| Malpractice | 1.09 | × 0.833 | 0.9080 |
| Total RVUs | 27.4809 | ||
| Conversion factor | × 33.4009 | ||
Facility rate, Nevada**$917.89
Explore RVUs, geographic factors and the full formula
Facility
| Component | RVU | Local GPCI |
|---|---|---|
| Work | 13.65 | 1 |
| Practice expense | 12.91 | 1.001 |
| Malpractice | 1.09 | 0.833 |
(13.65 × 1 + 12.91 × 1.001 + 1.09 × 0.833) × $33.4009 = $917.89
The office and facility calculations use their respective practice-expense RVUs. The facility amount here is the physician fee, not a separate hospital or facility bill.
66179 billing questions
How does this code differ from 66180?
Both describe aqueous shunt placement to an extraocular reservoir. Use this code when the shunt is placed without a graft; use 66180 when a graft is used.
Is this the right code for every glaucoma drainage device?
No. This code describes a shunt to an extraocular reservoir. Code 66183 describes insertion of an anterior-segment drainage device without an extraocular reservoir.
Does the global period include routine postoperative visits?
Yes. The 90-day major-surgery global period includes the day-before preoperative visit and related postoperative care during the 90 days after surgery.
How is bilateral placement reported?
Report bilateral surgery with modifier 50; CMS pays the bilateral procedure at 150%.
Can an assistant surgeon be reported?
An assistant at surgery may be paid. Co-surgeons and team surgery are not permitted for this code.
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.
7,36766172,,Incision of eye,A,,14.47,15.18,NA,15.18,,1.16,30.81,30.81,0,090,0.10,0.70,0.20,2,1,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
7,36866174,,Trluml dil aq o/f can w/o st,A,,7.43,8.17,NA,8.17,,0.58,16.18,16.18,0,090,0.10,0.70,0.20,2,1,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
7,36966175,,Trluml dil aq o/f can w/st,A,,9.11,8.74,NA,8.74,,0.72,18.57,18.57,0,090,0.10,0.70,0.20,2,1,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
7,37066179,,Aqueous shunt eye w/o graft,A,,13.65,12.91,NA,12.91,,1.09,27.65,27.65,0,090,0.10,0.70,0.20,2,1,2,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
7,37166180,,Aqueous shunt eye w/graft,A,,14.63,13.26,NA,13.26,,1.17,29.06,29.06,0,090,0.10,0.70,0.20,2,1,2,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
7,37266183,,Insert ant drainage device,A,,12.87,12.48,NA,12.48,,1.04,26.39,26.39,0,090,0.10,0.80,0.10,2,1,2,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
7,37366184,,Revision of aqueous shunt,A,,9.34,10.47,NA,10.47,,0.75,20.56,20.56,0,090,0.10,0.70,0.20,2,1,2,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
7005302,MO,99,REST OF MISSOURI,1.000,0.862,0.974
7103202,MT,01,MONTANA**,1.000,1.000,0.998
7205402,NE,00,NEBRASKA,1.000,0.923,0.378
7301312,NV,00,NEVADA**,1.000,1.001,0.833
7414312,NH,40,NEW HAMPSHIRE,1.000,1.041,0.875
7512402,NJ,01,NORTHERN NJ,1.063,1.160,1.068
7612402,NJ,99,REST OF NEW JERSEY,1.040,1.092,1.097