CPT code 36010: Venous catheter, SVC or IVC placement2026 Medicare rate & RVUs

Medicare pays $512.37 for 36010 nationally in the office and $95.19 in a hospital or facility. Local office rates run $445.45–$702.81.

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

What 36010 covers

CPT 36010 represents advancing a catheter into the superior vena cava (SVC) or inferior vena cava (IVC). It is used for central venous catheter positioning, such as during caval venography or catheter-based evaluation of suspected central venous obstruction. Interventional radiologists and other physicians performing vascular catheter procedures commonly provide this service in a fluoroscopy suite or procedural setting. The defining point is placement in the cava itself, rather than selective catheterization of a named venous branch.

Report the code when the catheter reaches the SVC or IVC and documentation supports that placement; distinguish it from peripheral venous needle access and from selective branch catheterization. For caval venography, the imaging service is distinct from catheter placement and may be represented by the applicable supervision-and-interpretation code when supported. CMS applies the standard multiple-procedure reduction when multiple procedures are performed in the same session: the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and other procedures at 50%. When the service is appropriately reported bilaterally with modifier 50, CMS pays 150%.

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 36010 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

36010 rates by state

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

How the 36010 rate is calculated

Each of 36010’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 36010

The CMS indicators that decide how 36010 is paid alongside other services.

What modifiers do to the payment

When to use modifier 50

36010 compared with similar codes

How to choose

36011Venous catheterizationFirst-order branch

36010 stops at catheter placement in the SVC or IVC. 36011 applies when the catheter is selectively placed in a first-order venous branch.

36012Venous catheterizationSecond-order or deeper branch

Use 36012 for selective catheter placement in a second-order or more distal venous branch; 36010 describes placement in the cava.

36000Venous accessNeedle or intracatheter

36000 reports placement of a needle in a vein for access. 36010 reports advancement of a catheter into the SVC or IVC.

36005Venography injectionExtremity veins

36005 describes an injection procedure for extremity venography. 36010 describes catheter placement in a central vein.

Codes related to 36010

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