CPT code 36556: Central line insertion, age 5 years or older2026 Medicare rate & RVUs in Alabama

In Alabama, Medicare pays $212.85 for 36556 in the office and $72.57 when it’s performed in a hospital or facility.

Check a contract rate as a % of Medicare · 36556 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 36556 covers

This service covers placement of a non-tunneled catheter into a central vein for access such as infusion of medications or fluids, hemodynamic monitoring, or treatment when peripheral access is inadequate. It is commonly performed by a physician or other qualified practitioner in a hospital, intensive care unit, emergency department, or procedural setting. The patient must be at least 5 years old, and the catheter must be centrally inserted and non-tunneled; a peripherally inserted central catheter or a tunneled catheter is a different service.

Report the code for the insertion, not for a later exchange or removal. The record should identify the indication, patient age, access site, and catheter placement. Ultrasound guidance may be separately reported when its requirements are met and documented. Medicare assigns a 0-day global period, so same-day preoperative and postoperative care is included. Modifier 50 is inappropriate. Medicare does not pay an assistant at surgery for this service; 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.

How Alabama compares for 36556

Across 109 of 109 payment localities, the office rate for 36556 runs from $209.69 in Arkansas to $317.01 in San Benito County, CA. Alabama pays $212.85. The RVUs are the same everywhere; the geographic indexes change the dollars.

Every other payment area

36556 rates by state

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

See 36556 in every payment locality

How the 36556 rate is calculated

Each of 36556’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 36556

The CMS indicators that decide how 36556 is paid alongside other services.

Codes related to 36556

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

How 36556 has changed in Alabama

Price 36556 for an earlier date of service

Where the Alabama rate applies

Alabama is a Medicare payment area, not a city. Our Census mapping connects it to 595 cities and communities in Alabama. Some span more than one payment area; confirm with the service ZIP.

• Abanda
• Abbeville
• Adamsville
• Addison
• Akron
• Alabaster
• Albertville
• Alexander City

Browse all communities in Alabama

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