Billing code 44800: Diverticulum excisionMedicare rate & RVUs in Texas
Reports surgical removal of a Meckel's diverticulum, including cases requiring removal of an adjoining small-bowel segment.
CMS doesn’t publish an office rate for 44800 in Texas.
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 44800 covers
A surgeon removes a Meckel's diverticulum, a pouch arising from the small intestine. The procedure is generally performed by a general surgeon in a hospital operating room for problems such as bleeding, inflammation, obstruction, or another complication attributed to the diverticulum. The service can include removal of a portion of small intestine when needed as part of the excision.
Report the code when the operative record supports removal of a Meckel's diverticulum; document the indication, operative findings, extent of excision, and whether adjacent bowel was removed. The CMS global period is 90 days and includes the day-before preoperative visit and related postoperative care during that period. 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. Assistant-at-surgery payment may be made; co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation, and team surgery is not permitted. Modifier 50 is inappropriate for this anatomy.
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.
Where 44800 pays more and less in Texas
The same RVUs, adjusted for each area’s costs. Open a locality for its calculation, history and nearby areas.
8 of 8 payment localities
| Payment locality | Office | Facility |
|---|---|---|
| Austin | Unavailable | $744.04 |
| Beaumont | Unavailable | $710.41 |
| Brazoria | Unavailable | $719.33 |
| Dallas | Unavailable | $728.56 |
| Fort Worth | Unavailable | $727.32 |
| Galveston | Unavailable | $724.50 |
| Houston | Unavailable | $777.76 |
| Rest Of Texas | Unavailable | $717.64 |
How the 44800 rate is calculated
Each of 44800’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 · 44800
RVUs × geographic indexes × conversion factor
Work11.75
11.75 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI
Practice expense7.49
7.49 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI
Malpractice2.91
2.91 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI
Adjusted RVUs
22.1500
Conversion factor
$33.4009
Medicare rate
$739.83
Every GPCI starts at 1.000, the national rate. Enter a ZIP or drag a slider.
Payment rules and modifiers for 44800
44800 has a 90-day global period: related visits in that window are included in the surgery payment.
CMS payment indicators · 44800
Diverticulum excision
| Rule | CMS value | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Global period | 090 | Major surgery: the day before, the day of, and 90 days after are 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) | 2 | Paid. |
| Co-surgeons (62) | 1 | Permitted with supporting documentation. |
| Team surgery (66) | 0 | Not permitted. |
| Professional/technical | 0 | Physician service: no professional/technical split. |
| Split (54/55/56) | 0.09/0.81/0.10 | Share of the payment for pre-op, the procedure itself, and post-op care. |
Global surgery period · 44800
Diverticulum excision
90-day global period ends
Dec 30, 2026
Covers Sep 30, 2026 through Dec 30, 2026 (92 days, including the day before surgery).
Visit on Oct 31, 2026
Day 30 of the 90-day post-op period: related follow-up care is included in the surgical payment.
Pre-op dayGlobal period
What modifiers do to the payment
Modifier 51 · payment effect
With and without the modifier
44800 without 51 · national facility
$739.83
Diverticulum excision
44800-51 · Second procedure: 50%
$369.92
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%).
44800 compared with similar codes
Compare codes · National
4 codes, side by side
How to choose
- 44120Small-bowel resection
- 44800 identifies excision of a Meckel's diverticulum and includes any associated small-bowel resection. 44120 describes small-intestine resection for other indications.
- 44202Small bowel resection
- 44202 describes laparoscopic resection of small intestine. Choose the code that matches the documented procedure and approach; 44800 specifically identifies Meckel's diverticulum excision.
- 44899Unlisted px meckel's dvrtclm
- 44800 describes Meckel's diverticulum excision. Consider 44899 only for a Meckel's diverticulum procedure not represented by a specific code.
44800 billing questions
Does this code include removal of small intestine?
Yes. The code covers excision of the Meckel's diverticulum with or without resection of adjoining small intestine when needed for that operation.
Can the bowel resection be reported separately?
Do not separately report a resection that is part of excising the Meckel's diverticulum. The operative report should clarify whether bowel removal was integral to that excision or a distinct procedure for separate pathology.
What documentation supports reporting this code?
Document that the structure removed was a Meckel's diverticulum, the clinical indication, operative findings, and the extent of any small-bowel removal.
Should modifier 50 be appended?
No. CMS identifies bilateral adjustment as inappropriate for this code's descriptor and anatomy.
What postoperative care is included?
The 90-day global period includes the day-before preoperative visit and related postoperative care during the 90 days after surgery.
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 44800 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 →