CPT code 36478: Laser vein ablation, first vein treated2026 Medicare rate & RVUs in Tennessee

In Tennessee, Medicare pays $893.28 for 36478 in the office and $226.54 when it’s performed in a hospital or facility.

Check a contract rate as a % of Medicare · 36478 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 36478 covers

A clinician advances a laser fiber through a percutaneous access into an incompetent superficial vein and uses thermal energy to close it. The service is commonly performed for refluxing veins such as the great or small saphenous vein by vascular surgeons, interventional radiologists, and other clinicians trained in venous procedures. It may be performed in an office or outpatient facility. Imaging guidance and monitoring during the ablation are part of the service.

Report 36478 for the first vein treated; use 36479 for each additional vein treated in the same extremity through a separate access site. Documentation should identify the treated vein, support its incompetence and the clinical need for treatment, and describe the laser technique. CMS assigns a 0-day global period, so same-day preoperative and postoperative care is included. When multiple procedures occur in one session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and other procedures are subject to the standard reduction. For bilateral treatment, modifier 50 is paid at 150%. Assistant-at-surgery payment is barred, and co-surgeon and team-surgery billing 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 Tennessee compares for 36478

Across 109 of 109 payment localities, the office rate for 36478 runs from $853.92 in Arkansas to $1,323.30 in San Benito County, CA. Tennessee pays $893.28. The RVUs are the same everywhere; the geographic indexes change the dollars.

Every other payment area

36478 rates by state

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

See 36478 in every payment locality

How the 36478 rate is calculated

Each of 36478’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 36478

The CMS indicators that decide how 36478 is paid alongside other services.

What modifiers do to the payment

When to use modifier 50

Codes related to 36478

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

How 36478 has changed in Tennessee

Price 36478 for an earlier date of service

Where the Tennessee rate applies

Tennessee is a Medicare payment area, not a city. Our Census mapping connects it to 504 cities and communities in Tennessee. Some span more than one payment area; confirm with the service ZIP.

• Adams
• Adamsville
• Alamo
• Alcoa
• Alexandria
• Algood
• Allardt
• Altamont

Browse all communities in Tennessee

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