CPT code 33951: ECMO cannulation, percutaneous, age 5 or older2026 Medicare rate & RVUs

Medicare pays $389.12 for 33951 nationally in a facility.

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

What 33951 covers

This service covers percutaneous placement of cannulae in peripheral vessels to establish extracorporeal membrane oxygenation or extracorporeal life support. It is used when a patient needs temporary circulatory or respiratory support, including situations requiring peripheral access such as femoral cannulation. Cardiothoracic and other surgeons who perform ECMO access procedures commonly provide the service in a hospital setting. The age threshold for this code is five years or older.

Select this code when the cannulae are placed percutaneously in peripheral vessels; use a different code when the patient is younger or the access is open or central. The operative record should identify the access approach, peripheral site, cannula placement, and patient age. The service has a 0-day global period, so same-day preoperative and postoperative care is included. When other procedures occur in the same 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 payment requires documented medical necessity; 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.

Where 33951 pays more and less

The same RVUs, adjusted for each area’s costs. Open a locality for its calculation, history and nearby areas.

109 of 109 payment localities

33951 rates by state

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

How the 33951 rate is calculated

Each of 33951’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 33951

The CMS indicators that decide how 33951 is paid alongside other services.

What modifiers do to the payment

When to use modifier 51

33951 compared with similar codes

How to choose

33952ECMO cannulationPeripheral, percutaneous, younger than five

Both codes cover percutaneous peripheral ECMO/ECLS cannula insertion; 33952 is for patients younger than five, while 33951 is for patients age five or older.

33953ECMO cannulationOpen, age six and older

33953 is for open peripheral cannula insertion in patients age five or older. Report 33951 when the peripheral cannulae are placed percutaneously.

33955Central cannulationBirth through age five

33955 describes open central cannula insertion. 33951 is for percutaneous placement in peripheral vessels.

33946ECMO initiationVenovenous, age six and older

33946 reports venous ECMO/ECLS initiation, not peripheral cannula placement. Cannulation and initiation are distinct services when both are performed and documented.

Codes related to 33951

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

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