No office rate
93654 describes catheter-based ventricular arrhythmia ablation. Code 33261 is for extensive surgical ablation of a ventricular focus.
On this page
CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
33261 Heart ablation Medicare reimbursement rates in Tennessee
Reports extensive open surgical ablation of a ventricular arrhythmogenic focus, including mapping and isolation, when the operative work exceeds a limited ablation. Compare 33261 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in Tennessee.
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 33261 in Tennessee?
Tennessee 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
$1396.04
1 of 1 localities have a supported rate.
Payment area: Tennessee
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.
Cardiac surgery
About 33261: Extensive ventricular arrhythmia ablation
Reports extensive open surgical ablation of a ventricular arrhythmogenic focus, including mapping and isolation, when the operative work exceeds a limited ablation.
This code covers extensive surgical treatment of a ventricular arrhythmogenic focus, with mapping and isolation of the tissue responsible for the dysrhythmia. Cardiac surgeons perform it in an operating room, typically for a patient undergoing open heart surgery or treatment of a difficult ventricular arrhythmia. The operative report should identify the ventricular focus and describe the mapping and ablation work that supports an extensive rather than limited procedure.
Select this code based on the extent of ventricular ablation documented, not simply the diagnosis or the presence of another cardiac operation. CMS assigns a 90-day global period, including the day-before preoperative visit and 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 for this code. An assistant at surgery may be paid; co-surgeons require supporting documentation, and team surgery is not permitted.
CMS billing rules for 33261
- 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) RVU10.97 · 24%
- Malpractice RVU6.75 · 15%
16
Medicare services in 2024 · #6035 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.
33261 compared with similar codes
Office rates for Tennessee, from the same CMS release.
No office rate
33256 addresses extensive ablation and reconstruction of atrial tissue with cardiopulmonary bypass. Code 33261 concerns an extensive ventricular arrhythmogenic focus.
Compare 33261 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
Tennessee →
Office / nonfacility
Unavailable
Facility
$1396.04
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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 33261 in Tennessee.
PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv
3,884
- Code
- 33261
- Physician work
- 28.20
- Practice expense
- 10.97
- Malpractice
- 6.75
GPCI2026.csv
95
- Locality
- Tennessee
- Physician work
- 1.000
- Practice expense
- 0.909
- Malpractice
- 0.537
| Component | RVU | Locality factor | Adjusted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Physician work | 28.20 | × 1.000 | 28.2000 |
| Practice expense | 10.97 | × 0.909 | 9.9717 |
| Malpractice | 6.75 | × 0.537 | 3.6248 |
| Total RVUs | 41.7965 | ||
| Conversion factor | × 33.4009 | ||
Facility rate, Tennessee$1396.04
Explore RVUs, geographic factors and the full formula
Facility
| Component | RVU | Local GPCI |
|---|---|---|
| Work | 28.2 | 1 |
| Practice expense | 10.97 | 0.909 |
| Malpractice | 6.75 | 0.537 |
(28.2 × 1 + 10.97 × 0.909 + 6.75 × 0.537) × $33.4009 = $1396.04
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.
33261 billing questions
How does this differ from 33260?
Both codes describe ventricular focus ablation. Use 33261 when the operative documentation supports extensive ablation; 33260 is the limited ventricular procedure.
Does this code describe catheter ablation?
No. This code describes surgical ablation of a ventricular focus. Catheter-based ventricular arrhythmia ablation is represented by 93654.
Can modifier 50 be used for ablation on both sides?
No. CMS identifies bilateral adjustment as inappropriate for this code; modifier 50 is not appropriate.
May an assistant or co-surgeon be reported?
CMS indicates that an assistant at surgery may be paid. Co-surgeons are paid only when supporting documentation is provided; team surgery is not permitted.
What documentation supports the extensive code?
The operative report should identify the ventricular arrhythmogenic focus and describe the mapping, isolation, and extent of ablation that distinguish the work from a limited ventricular procedure.
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.
3,88133258,,Ablate atria x10sv add-on,A,,10.73,5.75,NA,5.75,,2.57,19.05,19.05,0,ZZZ,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,0,2,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,88233259,,Ablate atria w/bypass add-on,A,,13.79,7.43,NA,7.43,,3.36,24.58,24.58,0,ZZZ,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,0,2,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,8833325F,,Preop asses 4 cataract surg,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
3,88433261,,Ablate heart dysrhythm focus,A,,28.20,10.97,NA,10.97,,6.75,45.92,45.92,0,090,0.09,0.84,0.07,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,88533262,,Rmvl& replc pulse gen 1 lead,A,,5.66,2.87,NA,2.87,,1.33,9.86,9.86,0,090,0.09,0.84,0.07,2,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,88633263,,Rmvl & rplcmt dfb gen 2 lead,A,,5.93,2.92,NA,2.92,,1.40,10.25,10.25,0,090,0.09,0.84,0.07,2,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,88733264,,Rmvl & rplcmt dfb gen mlt ld,A,,6.19,2.99,NA,2.99,,1.46,10.64,10.64,0,090,0.09,0.84,0.07,2,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
9214412,RI,01,RHODE ISLAND,1.019,1.033,0.892
9311202,SC,01,SOUTH CAROLINA,1.000,0.924,0.850
9403402,SD,02,SOUTH DAKOTA**,1.000,1.000,0.336
9510312,TN,35,TENNESSEE,1.000,0.909,0.537
9604412,TX,31,AUSTIN,1.002,1.058,0.886
9704412,TX,20,BEAUMONT,1.000,0.910,0.929
9804412,TX,09,BRAZORIA,1.008,0.991,0.780