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CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01

43888 Gastric port exchange Medicare reimbursement rates in Texas

Reports open removal and replacement of the subcutaneous access port in a gastric restrictive system when the work is limited to that component. Compare 43888 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in Texas.

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 43888 in Texas?

Texas has 8 payment localities in this comparison. Use the service location to choose the applicable amount. These are the supported base rates for the 8 payment areas shown below, using the same CMS release.

Office / nonfacility

No supported rate

Facility setting

$439.69–$482.55

8 of 8 localities have a supported rate.

Lowest: Beaumont

Highest: Houston

A spread of $42.86 per service.

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.

Find 43888 in your payment locality →

Where 43888 pays more and less in Texas

Bariatric surgery

About 43888: Open gastric band port removal and replacement

Reports open removal and replacement of the subcutaneous access port in a gastric restrictive system when the work is limited to that component.

This service covers open surgery to remove and replace the subcutaneous access port used with an adjustable gastric band system. A bariatric or general surgeon may perform it when the port component requires exchange, while the work is limited to that component rather than revision of the gastric band or the overall restrictive procedure. The operative report should identify the port exchange and the open approach.

Report this code when both removal and replacement of the port are performed; removal alone or revision without replacement maps to a different code. The 90-day 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 multiple-procedure reduction. Modifier 50 is inappropriate for this service. An assistant at surgery may be paid; co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation, and team surgery is not permitted.

CMS billing rules for 43888

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 RVU6.28 · 45%
  • Practice expense (office) RVU5.86 · 42%
  • Malpractice RVU1.67 · 12%

20

Medicare services in 2024 · #5919 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.

43888 compared with similar codes

Office rates for Texas, from the same CMS release.

43886

Port revision

Open, port component only

No office rate

Choose 43886 for open revision of the port component. Choose 43888 when the port is removed and replaced.

43887

Gastric band port

Open removal only

No office rate

43887 describes open port removal only. This code requires replacement of the port as part of the service.

43848

Bariatric revision

Open approach

No office rate

43848 is for revision of the open gastric restrictive procedure itself; 43888 is limited to removal and replacement of its subcutaneous port component.

Compare 43888 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.

8 of 8 payment localities

43888 office and facility rates by payment locality
Payment localityOfficeFacility
Austin

Office

Unavailable

Facility

$466.68
Beaumont

Office

Unavailable

Facility

$439.69
Brazoria

Office

Unavailable

Facility

$448.91
Dallas

Office

Unavailable

Facility

$454.45
Fort Worth

Office

Unavailable

Facility

$453.22
Galveston

Office

Unavailable

Facility

$451.98
Houston

Office

Unavailable

Facility

$482.55
Rest Of Texas

Office

Unavailable

Facility

$445.87

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43888 billing questions

When should this code be selected instead of 43886?

Use 43888 when the subcutaneous port is both removed and replaced. Code 43886 describes revision of the port component rather than its removal and replacement.

How does this differ from 43887?

43887 is for removal of the port component without replacement. This code requires both removal and replacement.

Can modifier 50 be reported?

No. The CMS bilateral adjustment does not apply, and modifier 50 is inappropriate for this port-component service.

What documentation supports reporting this code?

The operative report should show an open approach and document removal and replacement of the subcutaneous port, with the work limited to that component.

How are other same-session procedures handled?

Under the standard multiple-procedure rule, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and other procedures are subject to a 50% reduction. The 90-day global period includes related postoperative care.

May 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.

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.

RVUs for 43888PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv, line 5,320 (RVU26D)