CPT code 36011: Venous catheterization, first-order branch2026 Medicare rate & RVUs

Medicare pays $781.92 for 36011 nationally in the office and $136.61 in a hospital or facility. Local office rates run $679.87–$1,077.25.

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

What 36011 covers

This code describes advancing a catheter from a larger vein into its first-order branch. For example, a catheter advanced from the inferior vena cava into a renal vein is selectively positioned in a branch; the approach route does not determine the branch order. Interventional radiologists, vascular specialists, and other physicians may perform this work in an angiography suite or another procedural setting for venography, venous sampling, or a catheter-based treatment.

Choose the code based on the catheter’s final selective position in the venous tree: a first-order branch supports 36011, while further selection into a second-order or more distal branch points to 36012. Documentation should identify the accessed venous pathway and catheter tip location. CMS applies the standard multiple-procedure reduction when multiple procedures are performed in one session: the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and the others at 50%. For a bilateral procedure reported with modifier 50, CMS pays at 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 36011 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

36011 rates by state

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

How the 36011 rate is calculated

Each of 36011’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 36011

The CMS indicators that decide how 36011 is paid alongside other services.

What modifiers do to the payment

When to use modifier 50

36011 compared with similar codes

How to choose

36010Venous catheterSVC or IVC placement

36010 represents placement in a central vein. Choose 36011 when the catheter is advanced selectively into a first-order venous branch.

36012Venous catheterizationSecond-order or deeper branch

36012 applies when selective placement reaches a second-order or more distal venous branch; 36011 is for the first-order branch.

36013Pulmonary catheter placementRight heart or main pulmonary artery

36013 is for selective catheter placement in a pulmonary artery, not the venous system described by 36011.

36000Venous accessNeedle or intracatheter

36000 describes introducing a needle or intracatheter into a vein, rather than selective catheter advancement into a first-order branch.

Codes related to 36011

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