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CPT code 36000: Venous access, needle or intracatheter2026 Medicare rate & RVUs

Identifies placement of a needle or intracatheter into a vein to establish access for an injection, infusion, or another procedure.

CMS RVU26DEffective Oct 1, 2026109 payment localities

Medicare rate · 36000

Venous access, needle or intracatheter

Office or facility?

Work RVUs
0.18
Total RVUs
0.24
Global days
XXX

National rate · 2026

—

Not priced in the facility setting.

See every locality for 36000 →Billed by an NP, PA or therapist? →

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

Your location

Medicare pays by the payment locality where the service is performed.

On this page 10 sections
  1. Medicare rate
  2. What 36000 covers
  3. By payment locality
  4. Rate map
  5. How it’s calculated
  6. Payment rules
  7. Similar codes
  8. Related codes
  9. Billing questions
  10. Sources

What 36000 covers

CPT 36000 identifies placement of a needle or intracatheter into a vein to establish venous access. Clinicians use this access when a treatment or procedure requires a route into the venous circulation, including an injection or infusion. The code describes access placement, not advancement of a catheter to a central venous site and not collection of a blood specimen. It is reported by the clinician performing the access in treatment or procedure settings.

Medicare assigns this code physician fee schedule status B. Medicare never pays it separately; its payment is included in payment for other services. The code identifies the access service and does not represent an infusion, injection, drug dose, or dose-based unit. Catheter placement into the superior or inferior vena cava is described by 36010, rather than this venous-entry code.

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 36000 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

36000 office and facility rates by payment locality
Payment localityOfficeFacility
AlabamaUnavailableUnavailable
AlaskaUnavailableUnavailable
ArizonaUnavailableUnavailable
ArkansasUnavailableUnavailable
Atlanta, GAUnavailableUnavailable
Austin, TXUnavailableUnavailable
Bakersfield, CAUnavailableUnavailable
Baltimore area, MDUnavailableUnavailable
Beaumont, TXUnavailableUnavailable
Brazoria, TXUnavailableUnavailable

36000 rates by state

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

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Explore a state

Local rates. Clear comparisons.

Hover or focus a tile to see its rate range. Select it to open the state’s fee schedule.

View every state and territory as a table
36000 office rate range by state
State / territoryOffice rate rangeLocalities
AKNo published base rate1
ALNo published base rate1
ARNo published base rate1
AZNo published base rate1
CANo published base rate29
CONo published base rate1
CTNo published base rate1
DCNo published base rate1
DENo published base rate1
FLNo published base rate3
GANo published base rate2
GUNo published base rate1
HINo published base rate1
IANo published base rate1
IDNo published base rate1
ILNo published base rate4
INNo published base rate1
KSNo published base rate1
KYNo published base rate1
LANo published base rate2
MANo published base rate2
MDNo published base rate3
MENo published base rate2
MINo published base rate2
MNNo published base rate1
MONo published base rate3
MSNo published base rate1
MTNo published base rate1
NCNo published base rate1
NDNo published base rate1
NENo published base rate1
NHNo published base rate1
NJNo published base rate2
NMNo published base rate1
NVNo published base rate1
NYNo published base rate5
OHNo published base rate1
OKNo published base rate1
ORNo published base rate2
PANo published base rate2
PRNo published base rate1
RINo published base rate1
SCNo published base rate1
SDNo published base rate1
TNNo published base rate1
TXNo published base rate8
UTNo published base rate1
VANo published base rate2
VINo published base rate1
VTNo published base rate1
WANo published base rate2
WINo published base rate1
WVNo published base rate1
WYNo published base rate1

How the 36000 rate is calculated

Each of 36000’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.

How the rate is built · 36000

RVUs × geographic indexes × conversion factor

Office or facility?

Work0.18

0.18 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI

Practice expense0.74

0.74 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI

Malpractice0.02

0.02 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI

Adjusted RVUs

0.9400

Conversion factor

$33.4009

Medicare rate

$31.40

Every GPCI starts at 1.000, the national rate. Enter a ZIP or drag a slider.

Payment rules and modifiers for 36000

36000 has no global surgery period, no multiple-procedure, bilateral or assistant-at-surgery adjustment, and no professional/technical split. What changes the payment is where the service happens: the place of service on the claim decides whether Medicare pays the office or the facility rate.

Place of service · 36000

Which rate does Medicare pay?

The POS code on the claim line (CMS-1500 box 24B).

POS 11 · non-facility rate · national

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36000 isn’t priced in this setting.

36000 compared with similar codes

Compare codes · National

4 codes, side by side

Office or facility?

  • 36000

    Venous access, needle or intracatheter0.18 wRVU

    Not priced

  • 36010

    Venous catheter, SVC or IVC placement2.13 wRVU

    $512.37

  • 36410

    Skilled venipuncture, age three or older0.18 wRVU

    $19.04

  • 36415

    Venipuncture, routine venous sampleLab fee

    $9.34

How to choose

36010Venous catheterSVC or IVC placement
36000 identifies venous entry with a needle or intracatheter. Code 36010 describes catheter placement into the superior or inferior vena cava.
36410Skilled venipunctureAge three or older
Code 36410 describes venipuncture requiring physician skill for a diagnostic or therapeutic purpose; 36000 identifies venous access placement.
36415VenipunctureRoutine venous sample
Code 36415 describes routine venipuncture for blood collection. Code 36000 identifies venous access for another service.

Codes related to 36000

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

Codes related to 36000
CodeHow it relatesNational office range
Same family
36010Venous catheter, SVC or IVC placementRelated venous catheter-placement code for access into the superior or inferior vena cava.$445.45–$702.81
36011Venous catheterization, first-order branchRelated code for selective catheter placement in the venous system.$679.87–$1,077.25
36012Venous catheterization, second-order or deeper branchRelated code for more selective catheter placement in the venous system.$703.31–$1,108.88

36000 billing questions

When is 36000 used instead of 36010?

36000 identifies venous entry with a needle or intracatheter. Code 36010 describes catheter placement into the superior or inferior vena cava.

Is 36000 the code for a routine blood draw?

No. Code 36000 identifies venous access, while 36415 describes routine venipuncture for blood collection.

Does Medicare pay 36000 separately with an infusion or injection?

No. Medicare assigns status B, so payment for 36000 is included in payment for other services.

Does 36000 describe the infusion or injection itself?

No. It identifies placement of venous access; the infusion or injection is a distinct service.

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

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