CPT code 36591: Port blood draw, implantable venous access device2026 Medicare rate & RVUs

Medicare pays $30.39 for 36591 nationally in the office. Local office rates run $25.99–$43.53.

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

What 36591 covers

Report 36591 when blood is withdrawn for specimen testing through a completely implanted venous access device, such as a chest port used for oncology treatment. The service is collection through the port, not catheter placement or removal and not laboratory analysis. Nursing staff commonly access ports in oncology clinics and infusion centers under practice protocols; documentation should identify the implanted device and confirm that a specimen was obtained through it.

Use 36592 for blood collection from a PICC instead. Document the device type and collection method, and report ordered laboratory analyses separately. CMS classifies 36591 as technical-component-only, with interpretation covered by a separate code. It is an injection or minor service payable only when no other physician service is billed that day; when another physician service is billed on the same date, separate payment for 36591 is not expected.

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 36591 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

36591 rates by state

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

How the 36591 rate is calculated

Each of 36591’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 36591

The CMS indicators that decide how 36591 is paid alongside other services.

36591 compared with similar codes

How to choose

36592Catheter blood collectionEstablished venous catheter

36591 is for blood collection through a completely implanted venous access device. 36592 is used when blood is collected from a PICC.

96523Port irrigationImplanted drug-delivery access device

Use 96523 for irrigation of an implanted venous access device without blood specimen collection when irrigation is the only service performed; use 36591 when blood is obtained through the device.

36569PICC insertionAge 5 or older, no imaging

36569 reports PICC insertion for a patient age five or older without imaging guidance. It is a catheter placement service, not blood collection through an existing implanted port.

36593Device declotThrombolytic treatment

36593 reports declotting a vascular access device. It describes treatment of an occluded device, not specimen collection through a functioning port.

Codes related to 36591

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