Insertion Of Pacemaker And Upper And Lower Heart Chamber Electrode
What Medicare pays for 33208, what providers bill, and how the price varies across 52 states, drawn from CMS 2023 claims data.
33208 · the short answer
For insertion of pacemaker and upper and lower heart chamber electrode, Medicare pays about $568.96 while providers bill $2,894.21 on average, a 5.1× markup, a below-median markup. State-level Medicare rates range 339% from lowest to highest.
- Medicare pays
- $568.96
- Providers bill
- $2,894.21
- Markup
- 5.1×
- Markup percentile
- 47th
Medicare amounts are CMS-published; markup = average submitted charge ÷ average Medicare payment.
Price Range Across States
What You Might Pay
Estimated using RAND 2024 commercial-to-Medicare ratios. Actual prices vary by insurer, plan, and facility.
How we estimate these prices
These estimates are based on the RAND Hospital Price Transparency Study (4th Edition, 2024), which found that commercial insurance prices average 224% of Medicare rates nationally. We apply category-specific ratios: Cardiovascular Surgery procedures average 2.24x Medicare rates. Cash/self-pay estimates blend typical cash discounts (55% of billed charges) with Medicare-based estimates (150% of allowed amounts). These are statistical estimates, not quotes. Contact your insurer or provider for actual costs.
Where this markup sits nationally
Markup (billed ÷ Medicare) across 8,901 procedures with a meaningful Medicare rate
5 more affordable than 47% of 8,901 procedures
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more procedures. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source CMS Medicare Physician & Other Practitioners · 2023
Prices by State
| State | Medicare Payment | Billed Charge |
|---|---|---|
| Alaska | $1,549.81 | $13,250.29 |
| Arizona | $1,306.43 | $6,214.03 |
| Louisiana | $941.80 | $5,121.68 |
| Kansas | $823.66 | $6,830.19 |
| California | $811.30 | $3,670.35 |
| Texas | $768.09 | $5,215.48 |
| Oklahoma | $712.34 | $2,916.57 |
| Florida | $696.37 | $2,689.92 |
| Oregon | $679.43 | $2,502.76 |
| Nebraska | $678.42 | $3,286.28 |
| Nevada | $613.77 | $3,072.77 |
| Missouri | $612.75 | $2,694.78 |
| Illinois | $598.72 | $3,230.95 |
| Virginia | $521.55 | $1,719.38 |
| Minnesota | $502.86 | $3,191.64 |
| Mississippi | $487.93 | $3,111.26 |
| New Mexico | $476.62 | $2,420.76 |
| Colorado | $465.43 | $1,990.68 |
| New York | $453.87 | $2,675.10 |
| District of Columbia | $438.90 | $1,626.39 |
| New Jersey | $431.34 | $2,130.79 |
| Delaware | $430.01 | $1,322.68 |
| Maryland | $427.65 | $1,639.71 |
| Pennsylvania | $427.40 | $2,024.11 |
| Michigan | $419.09 | $1,507.94 |
| Massachusetts | $412.71 | $2,036.40 |
| Connecticut | $411.82 | $2,335.68 |
| Ohio | $401.27 | $1,823.48 |
| New Hampshire | $399.13 | $4,264.69 |
| Hawaii | $398.98 | $1,285.06 |
| Washington | $397.41 | $1,418.44 |
| Rhode Island | $391.47 | $1,377.25 |
| Wyoming | $389.86 | $4,028.94 |
| Montana | $388.32 | $1,743.41 |
| Georgia | $386.07 | $2,053.87 |
| North Carolina | $385.70 | $2,068.10 |
| West Virginia | $385.50 | $1,622.31 |
| Utah | $379.73 | $1,442.84 |
| Puerto Rico | $379.08 | $513.95 |
| Maine | $375.99 | $1,387.06 |
| Alabama | $374.00 | $1,789.11 |
| Kentucky | $373.42 | $1,474.93 |
| South Dakota | $372.79 | $1,447.83 |
| South Carolina | $372.68 | $2,122.53 |
| Arkansas | $371.16 | $1,403.07 |
| North Dakota | $370.46 | $2,556.97 |
| Tennessee | $366.30 | $1,544.85 |
| Vermont | $361.35 | $2,238.74 |
| Indiana | $360.32 | $1,899.26 |
| Wisconsin | $358.29 | $5,155.26 |
| Idaho | $354.63 | $1,383.40 |
| Iowa | $353.18 | $1,873.50 |
What the Data Says About Insertion Of Pacemaker And Upper And Lower Heart Chamber Electrode
Across 52 states with reporting providers, CPT code 33208 (Insertion Of Pacemaker And Upper And Lower Heart Chamber Electrode) shows a national average Medicare payment of $568.96 against an average billed charge of $2,894.21. That gap, a 5.1x markup, or 409% above the Medicare allowed amount, is narrower than most procedures in our dataset, suggesting providers price this code closer to what payers actually reimburse.
Cardiovascular Surgery procedures like this one saw 92.1K services billed to Medicare in 2023 by 5.9K distinct providers, serving 89.1K unique beneficiaries. State-level variation is significant: Iowa reports the lowest average payment at $353.18, while Alaska reports the highest at $1,549.81. A 339% spread this wide is typically a GPCI story: practice-expense and malpractice-premium components of the fee formula diverge sharply by locality even though the procedure code never changes.
Applying RAND 2024 commercial-to-Medicare ratios specific to the Cardiovascular Surgery category (2.24x), the estimated commercial insurance price lands near $1,604.42, with self-pay cash discounts commonly bringing the figure closer to $1,333.10. Within Cardiovascular Surgery, Insertion Of Pacemaker And Upper And Lower Heart Chamber Electrode ranks #256 of 568 tracked procedures by national average Medicare payment.
What to do with this
If you may have insertion of pacemaker and upper and lower heart chamber electrode done, these steps turn the numbers above into a real-world cost estimate.
- Request a Good Faith Estimate from your provider at least 3 business days before a scheduled procedure, under the No Surprises Act it is an enforceable written price.
- Compare insertion of pacemaker and upper and lower heart chamber electrode costs in your state, Medicare rates vary by locality. Browse states
- Check a hospital’s published cash price, which is often far below the billed charge. Price transparency
- Understand why billed charges run several times the Medicare rate before you negotiate. Read the guide
Figures here are averages and estimates, not a quote. Confirm coverage and out-of-pocket costs with your insurer and provider.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does Insertion Of Pacemaker And Upper And Lower Heart Chamber Electrode cost?
Insertion Of Pacemaker And Upper And Lower Heart Chamber Electrode (CPT 33208) shows unusually wide state-to-state pricing: Medicare pays $568.96 on average nationally, but the $353.18-$1,549.81 range across states spans more than double from cheapest to priciest.
Why do providers charge more than Medicare pays?
Providers set their own chargemaster rates (billed charges), which are typically much higher than what any insurer pays. Medicare pays a fixed rate based on the procedure code and geographic location. The billed charge is relevant mainly for uninsured patients, who may face prices closer to the submitted charge.
How much does Insertion Of Pacemaker And Upper And Lower Heart Chamber Electrode cost with insurance?
With commercial insurance, insertion of pacemaker and upper and lower heart chamber electrode costs an estimated $1,604.42 on average (range: $1,123.09-$2,246.19), a moderate premium over Medicare's $568.96. Without insurance, the estimated cash price is $1,333.10.
Which state has the lowest cost for Insertion Of Pacemaker And Upper And Lower Heart Chamber Electrode?
Iowa has by far the lowest average Medicare payment for Insertion Of Pacemaker And Upper And Lower Heart Chamber Electrode at $353.18, while Alaska pays more than double at $1,549.81 - a $1,196.63 gap.
How many providers perform Insertion Of Pacemaker And Upper And Lower Heart Chamber Electrode?
A moderate provider base performs Insertion Of Pacemaker And Upper And Lower Heart Chamber Electrode: 5.9K providers nationally, totaling 92.1K Medicare-billed services (89.1K beneficiaries) across 52 states in 2023.
What is the billed-to-Medicare markup for Insertion Of Pacemaker And Upper And Lower Heart Chamber Electrode?
Providers bill 5.1x what Medicare pays for Insertion Of Pacemaker And Upper And Lower Heart Chamber Electrode - a below-median markup at 409% above the Medicare rate.
Related Guides
Tips to reduce out-of-pocket costs
Your right to upfront pricing
How Medicare payments work
Decode charges and codes
Why bills exceed actual costs
Geographic pricing factors
Data from CMS Medicare Physician & Other Practitioners (2023).
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.
Related
Every figure on PlainProcedure is rendered directly from CMS Medicare Physician & Other Practitioners data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on CMS Medicare Physician & Other Practitioners data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.