No office rate
Choose 44005 for open adhesiolysis and 44180 when the surgeon frees bowel adhesions laparoscopically.
On this page
CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
44005 Bowel adhesiolysis Medicare reimbursement rates in Utah
Open adhesiolysis frees bowel from adhesions causing tethering or obstruction when the surgeon performs the work as a distinct abdominal procedure. Compare 44005 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in Utah.
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 44005 in Utah?
Utah 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
$988.88
1 of 1 localities have a supported rate.
Payment area: Utah
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.
Digestive surgery
About 44005: Open freeing of bowel adhesions
Open adhesiolysis frees bowel from adhesions causing tethering or obstruction when the surgeon performs the work as a distinct abdominal procedure.
The surgeon reaches the abdominal cavity through an incision and carefully divides adhesions that tether or obstruct the bowel. General surgeons commonly perform this in a hospital operating room when adhesions are the focus of treatment, such as in a patient with adhesive small-bowel obstruction. This code represents open surgery; laparoscopic freeing of bowel adhesions is reported with a different code.
Report 44005 when the adhesiolysis is a distinct procedure, rather than routine release of adhesions needed to expose or complete another abdominal operation. The operative note should describe the adhesions, the bowel involved, and the work performed to free it. The day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care are included in the major-surgery global period. When multiple procedures are performed in one session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and other procedures are subject to the standard 50% reduction. Modifier 50 is not appropriate for this unpaired bowel procedure. An assistant at surgery may be paid; co-surgeons require supporting documentation, and team surgery is not permitted.
CMS billing rules for 44005
- 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 RVU18.00 · 59%
- Practice expense (office) RVU8.01 · 26%
- Malpractice RVU4.54 · 15%
7.1K
Medicare services in 2024 · #1653 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.
44005 compared with similar codes
Office rates for Utah, from the same CMS release.
No office rate
44005 frees bowel from adhesions; 44120 removes a segment of small intestine and reconnects the bowel.
No office rate
44005 addresses bowel tethering from adhesions. 44050 is for open reduction of obstruction from a different mechanical cause.
Compare 44005 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
Utah →
Office / nonfacility
Unavailable
Facility
$988.88
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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 44005 in Utah.
PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv
5,323
- Code
- 44005
- Physician work
- 18.00
- Practice expense
- 8.01
- Malpractice
- 4.54
GPCI2026.csv
104
- Locality
- Utah
- Physician work
- 1.000
- Practice expense
- 0.940
- Malpractice
- 0.898
| Component | RVU | Locality factor | Adjusted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Physician work | 18.00 | × 1.000 | 18.0000 |
| Practice expense | 8.01 | × 0.940 | 7.5294 |
| Malpractice | 4.54 | × 0.898 | 4.0769 |
| Total RVUs | 29.6063 | ||
| Conversion factor | × 33.4009 | ||
Facility rate, Utah$988.88
Explore RVUs, geographic factors and the full formula
Facility
| Component | RVU | Local GPCI |
|---|---|---|
| Work | 18 | 1 |
| Practice expense | 8.01 | 0.94 |
| Malpractice | 4.54 | 0.898 |
(18 × 1 + 8.01 × 0.94 + 4.54 × 0.898) × $33.4009 = $988.88
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.
44005 billing questions
How does 44005 differ from 44180?
44005 is the open approach to freeing bowel adhesions. 44180 describes laparoscopic enterolysis.
Can modifier 50 be used for adhesions on both sides of the abdomen?
No. The procedure is not a paired-side service, so modifier 50 is not appropriate.
Is postoperative care included in 44005?
Yes. The major-surgery global period includes the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care.
Can an assistant or co-surgeon be reported?
An assistant at surgery may be paid. Co-surgeons are paid only when supporting documentation is provided; team surgery is not permitted.
What happens when 44005 is performed with another procedure in the same session?
The highest-valued procedure is paid in full, and other procedures are subject to the standard multiple-procedure reduction.
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.
5,32043888,,Gstr rstcv px opn rmvl&rplc,A,,6.28,5.86,NA,5.86,,1.67,13.81,13.81,0,090,0.09,0.81,0.10,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
5,32143889,,Gstr rstcv px trnsorl esg,A,,12.56,7.00,NA,7.00,,1.99,21.55,21.55,0,090,0.09,0.84,0.07,3,0,0,0,0,9,43235,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
5,32243999,,Unlisted procedure stomach,C,,0.00,0.00,,0.00,,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,YYY,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,0,0,1,1,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
5,32344005,,Freeing of bowel adhesion,A,,18.00,8.01,NA,8.01,,4.54,30.55,30.55,0,090,0.09,0.81,0.10,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
5,3244400F,,Rehab thxpy options w/pt,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
5,32544010,,Incision of small bowel,A,,13.90,6.89,NA,6.89,,2.64,23.43,23.43,0,090,0.09,0.81,0.10,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
5,32644015,,Insert needle cath bowel,A,,2.55,0.62,NA,0.62,,0.62,3.79,3.79,0,ZZZ,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
10104412,TX,15,GALVESTON,1.008,0.993,0.828
10204412,TX,18,HOUSTON,1.008,0.993,1.376
10304412,TX,99,REST OF TEXAS,1.000,0.949,0.903
10403502,UT,09,UTAH,1.000,0.940,0.898
10514512,VT,50,VERMONT,1.000,0.990,0.506
10611302,VA,00,VIRGINIA,1.000,0.983,0.706
10709202,VI,50,VIRGIN ISLANDS,1.000,1.011,0.985