CPT code 33019: Pericardial drainage, CT-guided catheter placement2026 Medicare rate & RVUs in Alaska

In Alaska, Medicare pays $243.00 for 33019 in a facility. There’s no office rate.

Check a contract rate as a % of Medicare · 33019 nationwide

Medicare allowed amount for participating (non-QP) physicians, before deductible, coinsurance and claim adjustments. Not a patient’s bill or a hospital charge.

What 33019 covers

This service involves accessing the pericardial space through the chest wall under CT guidance and leaving an indwelling catheter to drain fluid, such as an effusion associated with cardiac tamponade. It is typically performed by a cardiologist, interventional radiologist, or other physician experienced in percutaneous image-guided procedures in a hospital or other facility. The catheter permits ongoing drainage rather than a single needle aspiration.

Report 33019 when the documented service includes percutaneous catheter placement and CT guidance. The procedure note should identify the indication, CT-guided access, catheter placement, and drainage performed. Imaging guidance is included in the service. The code has a 0-day global period, so same-day preoperative and postoperative care is included. When multiple procedures are performed in one session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and the others are subject to the standard multiple-procedure reduction. Modifier 50 is inappropriate; assistant-at-surgery services are not paid, and co-surgeons and team surgery are not permitted.

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.

How Alaska compares for 33019

Across 109 of 109 payment localities, the facility rate for 33019 runs from $166.62 in Wisconsin to $243.00 in Alaska. Alaska pays $243.00. The RVUs are the same everywhere; the geographic indexes change the dollars.

Every other payment area

33019 rates by state

Office rate range in each state. Select a state to see its payment localities.

See 33019 in every payment locality

How the 33019 rate is calculated

Each of 33019’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.

Payment rules and modifiers for 33019

The CMS indicators that decide how 33019 is paid alongside other services.

What modifiers do to the payment

When to use modifier 51

Codes related to 33019

Related codes aren’t interchangeable: bill the code that matches the service performed.

How 33019 has changed in Alaska

Price 33019 for an earlier date of service

Where the Alaska rate applies

Alaska is a Medicare payment area, not a city. Our Census mapping connects it to 355 cities and communities in Alaska. Some span more than one payment area; confirm with the service ZIP.

• Adak
• Akhiok
• Akiachak
• Akiak
• Akutan
• Alakanuk
• Alatna
• Alcan Border

Browse all communities in Alaska

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

Open CMS sourceHow we calculate rates