CPT code 36581: Catheter replacement, tunneled, without port2026 Medicare rate & RVUs in Alaska

In Alaska, Medicare pays $845.51 for 36581 in the office and $213.76 when it’s performed in a hospital or facility.

Check a contract rate as a % of Medicare · 36581 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 36581 covers

This service replaces a tunneled, centrally inserted venous catheter in its entirety through the existing venous access, without a subcutaneous port or pump. Imaging guidance and its associated supervision and interpretation are included. It is commonly performed by an interventional radiologist or another physician experienced in vascular access, often for a patient whose long-term infusion or hemodialysis catheter is damaged, malfunctioning, or due for exchange. The code describes replacement, not repair of a catheter that remains in place or placement through a new venous access.

Report the code when documentation supports a complete exchange of the tunneled catheter through the same access and identifies the imaging-guided service. The procedure note should establish the catheter type, absence of a port or pump, the existing access used, and the replacement performed. CMS assigns a 10-day global period, so related postoperative visits during that period are included. When multiple procedures occur in one session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and other procedures are subject to the standard 50% multiple-procedure reduction. Modifier 50 is inappropriate. Assistant-at-surgery payment requires documented medical necessity; 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 Alaska compares for 36581

Across 109 of 109 payment localities, the office rate for 36581 runs from $660.90 in Arkansas to $1,044.90 in San Benito County, CA. Alaska pays $845.51. The RVUs are the same everywhere; the geographic indexes change the dollars.

Every other payment area

36581 rates by state

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

See 36581 in every payment locality

How the 36581 rate is calculated

Each of 36581’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 36581

36581 has a 10-day global period: related visits in that window are included in the surgery payment.

What modifiers do to the payment

When to use modifier 51

Codes related to 36581

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

How 36581 has changed in Alaska

Price 36581 for an earlier date of service

Where the Alaska rate applies

Alaska is a Medicare payment area, not a city. Our Census mapping connects it to 355 cities and communities in Alaska. Some span more than one payment area; confirm with the service ZIP.

• Adak
• Akhiok
• Akiachak
• Akiak
• Akutan
• Alakanuk
• Alatna
• Alcan Border

Browse all communities in Alaska

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