33518 Cabg artery-vein two
What 33518 is
CMS fee schedule short descriptor: Cabg artery-vein two.
Full CPT long descriptions are licensed by the American Medical Association and are not published on this site; the short descriptor above is the one CMS prints in its own fee schedule file. See About CPT.
Medicare payment for 33518 (CY2026)
| Work RVU | Practice expense RVU | Malpractice RVU | Total | Medicare rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Non-facility (office) | 7.73 | 1.55 | 1.91 | 11.19 | $373.76 |
| Facility (hospital, ASC) | 7.73 | 1.55 | 1.91 | 11.19 | $373.76 |
National rates: total RVUs x the CY2026 conversion factor of 33.4009 (non-QP), before geographic adjustment. Actual Medicare payment is 80% of the rate shown after the deductible; the patient or secondary payer owes the 20% coinsurance.
Status: Active - payable under the Physician Fee Schedule. Global period: Add-on code: global period of the primary procedure applies.
Medically Unlikely Edit (MUE)
Medicare caps 33518 at 1 unit per date of service for practitioner claims (MAI 2 - date of service edit (absolute): units above the MUE never pay), rationale: Anatomic Consideration. Units above the cap are denied unless the edit's adjudication rules allow an appeal with documentation.
Billed with 33518? These codes are bundled into it
33518 is a Column 1 code in 45 active NCCI PTP edits. When one of these Column 2 codes is reported on the same date of service, it is denied as bundled - unless the edit's modifier indicator is 1 and documentation supports a distinct service with an NCCI-associated modifier.
| Column 2 code | Short description | Modifier indicator | |
|---|---|---|---|
20680 | Removal of implant deep | 0 - no modifier bypass | Check pair |
32100 | Exploration of chest | 1 - modifier may bypass | Check pair |
32551 | Insertion of chest tube | 1 - modifier may bypass | Check pair |
32556 | Insert cath pleura w/o image | 1 - modifier may bypass | Check pair |
32557 | Insert cath pleura w/ image | 1 - modifier may bypass | Check pair |
33140 | Heart revascularize (tmr) | 0 - no modifier bypass | Check pair |
33210 | Insert electrd/pm cath sngl | 0 - no modifier bypass | Check pair |
33211 | Insert card electrodes dual | 0 - no modifier bypass | Check pair |
33254 | Ablate atria lmtd | 0 - no modifier bypass | Check pair |
33255 | Ablate atria w/o bypass ext | 0 - no modifier bypass | Check pair |
33256 | Ablate atria w/bypass exten | 0 - no modifier bypass | Check pair |
33310 | Exploratory heart surgery | 1 - modifier may bypass | Check pair |
33315 | Exploratory heart surgery | 1 - modifier may bypass | Check pair |
33517 | Cabg artery-vein single | 1 - modifier may bypass | Check pair |
35226 | Repair blood vessel dir lxtr | 1 - modifier may bypass | Check pair |
35681 | Composite byp grft pros&vein | 1 - modifier may bypass | Check pair |
35682 | Composite byp grft 2 veins | 1 - modifier may bypass | Check pair |
35683 | Composite byp grft 3/> segmt | 1 - modifier may bypass | Check pair |
35702 | Expl n/flwd surg uxtr art | 1 - modifier may bypass | Check pair |
35703 | Expl n/flwd surg lxtr art | 1 - modifier may bypass | Check pair |
35820 | Explore chest vessels | 1 - modifier may bypass | Check pair |
36591 | Draw blood off venous device | 0 - no modifier bypass | Check pair |
36592 | Collect blood from picc | 0 - no modifier bypass | Check pair |
37700 | Ligation&div long saph vein | 1 - modifier may bypass | Check pair |
37718 | Lig div&strpg short saph vn | 1 - modifier may bypass | Check pair |
37722 | Lig div&strpg long saph vein | 1 - modifier may bypass | Check pair |
37735 | Lig&div&compl strpg saph vn | 1 - modifier may bypass | Check pair |
39010 | Exploration of chest | 1 - modifier may bypass | Check pair |
64420 | Njx aa&/strd ntrcost nrv 1 | 1 - modifier may bypass | Check pair |
64421 | Njx aa&/strd ntrcost nrv ea | 1 - modifier may bypass | Check pair |
Showing 30 of 45 column 2 codes. Use the pair checker for any specific combination.
33518 is bundled into these codes
33518 appears as a Column 2 code in 4 active edits. Reported with one of these Column 1 codes on the same date of service, 33518 is the code that denies.
| Column 1 code | Short description | Modifier indicator | |
|---|---|---|---|
33519 | Cabg artery-vein three | 1 | Check pair |
33521 | Cabg artery-vein four | 1 | Check pair |
33522 | Cabg artery-vein five | 1 | Check pair |
33523 | Cabg art-vein six or more | 1 | Check pair |
Data: CMS CY2026 Physician Fee Schedule RVU file (October release, RVU26D) and Medicare NCCI PTP practitioner edits v32.3 (2026 Q4). Verify against the official files before billing or contracting decisions.