33891 Medicaid reimbursement rate by state (2026)
Physician and practitioner services (fee schedule). Medicaid pays a median of $850.09 for 33891 across 10 states, from $156.30 in Louisiana to $1,407.12 in New Mexico.
- States publishing
- 10
- National median
- $850.09units vary by state
- Lowest
- $156.30Louisiana
- Highest
- $1,407.12New Mexico
What does Medicaid pay for 33891?
10 state Medicaid programs publish a fee-for-service rate for 33891. The national median is $850.09 (units differ between states). New Mexico pays the most, $1,407.12, and Louisiana the least, $156.30, a 9.0x spread.
33891 rate by state: highest, middle and lowest
One like-for-like fee-for-service rate per state, ranked. The workspace lists all 10 states with every variant, modifier and effective date.
How to read this table
- Order. States are listed from the highest published rate to the lowest. No single unit is shared by 8 or more states for 33891, so the order is by published amount and is not a like-for-like rank.
- Medicaid rate. The most the state's fee-for-service program pays for one unit, as published. 6 of the 10 states list more than one rate for 33891, by modifier, provider type or setting; the table shows the one that matches the provider level and setting used across states, without add-ons.
- Unit. None of the 10 schedules prints a separate unit for 33891, so each amount is a flat payment for one service as the code defines it.
- Per hour. 33891 is not billed in time units in these states, so no hourly figure is shown.
- Managed-care plans. The rule the state sets for its plans on this rate. What each rule means is explained below.
- % of Medicare. No Medicare physician fee schedule amount is on file for 33891, so there is no percentage.
- Source and date. Each Source link opens the state's own document; “since” is the date the rate took effect.
Why 33891 rates differ between states
Published rates for 33891 run from $156.30 in Louisiana to $1,407.12 in New Mexico, a 9.0x gap in the same unit. Half the states pay more than the median of $850.09 and half pay less. The usual reasons for a spread like this in physician & professional rates:
- Many schedules pay differently by place of service (office versus facility) and by practitioner, and nurse practitioners and physician assistants are often paid a percentage of the physician amount.
- Some states pay physician services as a percentage of the Medicare fee schedule; others keep a schedule of their own that may not have been rebased for years.
- Each state sets its own physician conversion factor or fee for every code, and many update them on a state budget cycle rather than on Medicare's calendar.
Timing matters too. 1 state set the current rate for 33891 in 2026 or later, while 4 states still pay a rate that took effect in 2022 or earlier. A state that has not updated its rate in years will drift down the ranking as others raise theirs.
What managed-care plans pay for 33891
No managed-care plan publishes what it pays for 33891. What is public is the rule each state's plan contracts set, and that rule decides how much the published rate matters when you contract with a plan.
In 3 states, the published rate binds plans: a floor, a pass-through or a state-set rate. In 7 states, plans negotiate and the published rate is a benchmark or out-of-network default.
- Plans negotiate; the published rate applies out of network (7 states). In-network rates can be above or below the published rate. The published rate is the benchmark both sides know, and the fallback if no contract is signed.
- Plans must pay at least the published rate (3 states). The published rate is your floor. Negotiate up from it, and if a plan pays less, the contract provision is the basis for a payment dispute.
Plan-negotiated rates are never estimated here. To see the rule and its citation for a particular state, open that state's managed-care page, for example New Mexico managed care.
Units and billing for 33891
33891 is a CPT surgery code in the physician & professional line, billed mostly by physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants and other licensed practitioners. Surgical codes are paid once per procedure. The fee can include a global period of related care before and after the procedure, and modifiers for multiple, bilateral or assistant procedures raise or reduce what is actually paid.
Where a state publishes separate facility and non-facility amounts, the non-facility (office) amount is usually higher because the practice carries the overhead. Practitioners who are not physicians are often paid a reduced percentage of the published amount, so check the schedule for the reduction that applies to your provider type.
Before billing, confirm the rate, unit and any modifier with the state's current schedule or the plan: the amounts here are as published, not a guarantee of payment.
Frequently asked questions
What does Medicaid pay for 33891?
It depends on the state. Of the 10 states with a published fee-for-service rate, the median is $850.09. New Mexico pays the most ($1,407.12) and Louisiana the least ($156.30).
Which state pays the highest Medicaid rate for 33891?
New Mexico, at $1,407.12, effective 2025-01-01.
Which state pays the lowest Medicaid rate for 33891?
Louisiana, at $156.30, effective 2025-07-01.
What unit is 33891 billed in?
None of the 10 schedules prints a separate unit for 33891, so each amount is a flat payment for one service as the code defines it.
Do managed-care plans pay the same rate for 33891?
Not necessarily. In 3 states, the published rate binds plans: a floor, a pass-through or a state-set rate. In 7 states, plans negotiate and the published rate is a benchmark or out-of-network default. Each rule is cited to the plan contract, statute or notice in the workspace.