Billing code 44015: Bowel decompressionMedicare rate & RVUs in Utah
Reports needle-catheter placement into bowel for decompression, sometimes with irrigation, as an add-on during a related primary procedure.
CMS doesn’t publish an office rate for 44015 in Utah.
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 44015 covers
This service involves placing a needle catheter into the bowel to relieve distention by allowing contents or gas to escape; irrigation may also be performed. A cecostomy is a representative example. Surgeons typically perform the placement during an abdominal operation when bowel decompression is needed as part of the operative care.
Report 44015 only with a primary procedure; it is not a standalone service. The operative note should identify the bowel site, catheter placement, decompression performed, any irrigation, and the primary procedure performed in the same operative episode. CMS treats payment for this add-on as part of the primary procedure’s global period. Do not report it as a separate primary service or as a later follow-up procedure.
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.
44015 in Utah
| Payment locality | Office | Facility |
|---|---|---|
| Utah | Unavailable | $123.23 |
How the 44015 rate is calculated
Each of 44015’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 · 44015
RVUs × geographic indexes × conversion factor
Swap in your local Medicare rate.
Work 2.55Practice expense 0.62Malpractice 0.62
All indexes start at 1.000 (the national rate). Enter a ZIP or drag a slider.
Payment rules and modifiers for 44015
The CMS indicators that decide how 44015 is paid alongside other services.
CMS payment indicators · 44015
Bowel decompression
| Rule | CMS value | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Global period | ZZZ | Add-on code: falls within the primary procedure’s global period. |
| Multiple procedures | 0 | No multiple-procedure reduction. |
| 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. |
What modifiers do to the payment
Modifier 80 · payment effect
With and without the modifier
44015 without 80 · national facility
$126.59
Bowel decompression
44015-80 · Assistant: 16%
$20.25
A physician assistant at surgery is paid 16% of the surgeon’s fee schedule amount.
44015 compared with similar codes
Compare codes
44015 vs 44021 vs 44020 vs 44025: national Medicare rates
Swap in your local Medicare rate.
How to choose
- 44021Bowel decompression
- Use 44015 for needle-catheter decompression. Code 44021 describes small-bowel decompression by an incision.
- 44020Small-bowel exploration
- Code 44020 describes an incision of small bowel; 44015 is specifically for needle-catheter placement for decompression.
- 44025Colon incision
- Code 44025 describes an incision of large bowel. Code 44015 reports needle-catheter decompression, not a bowel incision.
44015 billing questions
Can 44015 be reported by itself?
No. It is an add-on code and must be reported with a primary procedure.
What documentation supports 44015?
Document the bowel site, needle-catheter placement, the decompression performed, whether irrigation was done, and the associated primary procedure.
How does 44015 differ from 44021?
44015 reports decompression through needle-catheter placement. Code 44021 describes a small-bowel decompression approach involving an incision.
Is catheter placement included in the primary procedure?
CMS identifies 44015 as an add-on, so report it with a primary procedure when the separately described catheter-placement service is performed and documented.
How does the global period affect 44015?
CMS pays this add-on within the primary procedure’s global period. It is not a separate follow-up service.
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 44015 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 →