Choose 66170 for trabeculectomy without the specified prior-surgery or trauma scarring; 66172 is the corresponding service when that scarring is present.
On this page
CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
66170 Trabeculectomy Medicare reimbursement rates in Oklahoma
Reports an ab externo trabeculectomy to lower intraocular pressure by creating a guarded drainage pathway, without scarring from prior ocular surgery or trauma. Compare 66170 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in Oklahoma.
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 66170 in Oklahoma?
Oklahoma 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
$882.19
1 of 1 localities have a supported rate.
Payment area: Oklahoma
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.
Glaucoma surgery
About 66170: Trabeculectomy without prior scarring
Reports an ab externo trabeculectomy to lower intraocular pressure by creating a guarded drainage pathway, without scarring from prior ocular surgery or trauma.
An ophthalmic surgeon performs this filtering operation to lower intraocular pressure, commonly for glaucoma that remains inadequately controlled with medication or laser treatment. The surgeon creates a guarded opening through the sclera so aqueous fluid can drain beneath the conjunctiva and form a filtering bleb. This code describes the procedure without scarring from previous ocular surgery or trauma; the presence of such scarring distinguishes the related 66172 service. The procedure is typically performed in an operating room, and the operative report should identify the eye, surgical approach, and relevant prior ocular history.
Report the service for the eye treated. CMS assigns a 90-day global period, including 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% multiple-procedure reduction. For bilateral surgery, modifier 50 is paid at 150%. Assistant-at-surgery payment may be made; co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation, and team surgery is not permitted.
CMS billing rules for 66170
- 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 paid only with supporting documentation.
- Team surgery
- Team surgery not permitted.
Where the value comes from
- Work RVU13.59 · 48%
- Practice expense (office) RVU13.41 · 48%
- Malpractice RVU1.09 · 4%
7.2K
Medicare services in 2024 · #1642 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.
66170 compared with similar codes
Office rates for Oklahoma, from the same CMS release.
66174 describes transluminal dilation of the aqueous outflow canal without a retention device. It is a different approach from creating a trabeculectomy filtration pathway.
66180 involves aqueous shunt surgery with a graft. 66170 is a trabeculectomy rather than implantation of that shunt.
Compare 66170 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
Oklahoma →
Office / nonfacility
Unavailable
Facility
$882.19
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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 66170 in Oklahoma.
PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv
7,366
- Code
- 66170
- Physician work
- 13.59
- Practice expense
- 13.41
- Malpractice
- 1.09
GPCI2026.csv
86
- Locality
- Oklahoma
- Physician work
- 1.000
- Practice expense
- 0.893
- Malpractice
- 0.777
| Component | RVU | Locality factor | Adjusted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Physician work | 13.59 | × 1.000 | 13.5900 |
| Practice expense | 13.41 | × 0.893 | 11.9751 |
| Malpractice | 1.09 | × 0.777 | 0.8469 |
| Total RVUs | 26.4121 | ||
| Conversion factor | × 33.4009 | ||
Facility rate, Oklahoma$882.19
Explore RVUs, geographic factors and the full formula
Facility
| Component | RVU | Local GPCI |
|---|---|---|
| Work | 13.59 | 1 |
| Practice expense | 13.41 | 0.893 |
| Malpractice | 1.09 | 0.777 |
(13.59 × 1 + 13.41 × 0.893 + 1.09 × 0.777) × $33.4009 = $882.19
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.
66170 billing questions
When should 66172 be considered instead?
Use 66172 when scarring from previous ocular surgery or trauma is present. The operative documentation should support which condition applies.
How is bilateral trabeculectomy reported?
For bilateral surgery, report modifier 50; CMS pays this code at 150% under the stated bilateral rule.
Does the global period include postoperative visits?
Yes. The 90-day global period includes the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care.
How does the multiple-procedure reduction work?
When other procedures are performed in the same session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and the others are paid at 50%.
Can an assistant or co-surgeon be reported?
Assistant-at-surgery payment may be made. Co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation; team surgery is not permitted.
What should the operative note establish?
Document the eye treated, the ab externo filtering procedure performed, and whether scarring from prior ocular surgery or trauma is present.
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.
