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CPT 37248: Percutaneous/Open Venous Balloon Angioplasty
CPT code 37248 is billed for percutaneous or open incision balloon angioplasty of veins (excluding the dialysis circuit), including all necessary imaging guidance and radiological supervision and interpretation. This code covers interventions that mechanically dilate stenotic or occluded veins to restore or improve venous blood flow. Nationally, venous angioplasty is a common endovascular option for symptomatic venous obstruction and selected thrombotic or stenotic lesions; accurate coding affects clinical reporting, facility billing, and payer coverage determinations.
Key payers in this analysis include Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna Health, United Healthcare, and Medicare. Readers will find a concise overview of clinical context for venous angioplasty, payer coverage considerations, common related procedure codes, and typical sites of service. The publication highlights where 37248 fits within endovascular practice—distinguishing angioplasty from stent placement and diagnostic angiography—and identifies common clinical indications such as peripheral venous stenosis and embolic or thrombotic arterial sequelae when venous intervention is indicated.
This briefing is intended to orient clinical coders, billing staff, and policy teams to the definition and clinical scope of CPT code 37248, what accompanying documentation supports its use, and how it interacts with related endovascular procedures and imaging services. Data not available in the input regarding payer-specific policy language and reimbursement benchmarks.
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Billing Code Overview
CPT code 37248 describes percutaneous or open incision angioplasty of a vein (excluding the dialysis circuit) using a balloon-tipped catheter. The provider places the catheter into the lumen of the affected vein and expands the balloon as many times and at as many points as necessary to open the vein and improve blood circulation. The procedure includes all imaging guidance and diagnostic imaging necessary to perform the angioplasty, as well as radiological supervision and interpretation.
Service Type: Endovascular venous angioplasty
Typical Site of Service: Hospital outpatient department or ambulatory surgery center, with the procedure performed in an interventional radiology or vascular surgery procedural suite.
National Reimbursement Benchmarks
Across national benchmarks for CPT 37248, Medicare’s mean reimbursement of $1,358.70 sits between BUCA’s average commercial mean of $2,140.70 and several large national commercial plans; BUCA’s mean is about $782 higher than Medicare, indicating that BUCA pays materially above the federal average for this code. Blue Cross Blue Shield and UnitedHealth Group show higher commercial means ($2,754.50 and $1,886.20 respectively), while Aetna and Cigna are lower on average; these comparisons place Medicare near the middle of the overall national distribution.
Dispersion measured as P75 minus P25 highlights variability across payers: Blue Cross Blue Shield has the widest interquartile spread at $2,275.40 ($3,575.40 − $1,300.00), followed by UnitedHealth Group at $1,788.60 ($2,617.50 − $828.90), and Cigna at $1,485.90 ($1,927.80 − $430.90). Aetna exhibits the tightest spread among listed commercial plans at $1,113.00 ($1,399.00 − $285.60), while BUCA’s interquartile range is $1,928.70 ($2,892.30 − $963.60). Medicare’s interquartile range is narrow at $167.00 ($1,415.00 − $1,248.00), reflecting relatively consistent locality-based rates.