CPT code 36600: Arterial blood draw, percutaneous puncture2026 Medicare rate & RVUs in Puerto Rico

In Puerto Rico, Medicare pays $27.56 for 36600 in the office and $13.04 when it’s performed in a hospital or facility.

Check a contract rate as a % of Medicare · 36600 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 36600 covers

This service covers obtaining an arterial specimen by puncturing an artery, commonly the radial artery, with a needle. It is often performed at the bedside in an emergency department, hospital, or outpatient setting when arterial blood is needed for blood-gas or other diagnostic testing. A physician or other qualified clinician may perform the collection; the laboratory analysis is a separate service.

Report the puncture when arterial blood is actually collected, not for venous sampling or simply because an arterial catheter is present. Documentation should identify the reason for arterial sampling and support that an arterial specimen was obtained. Report the applicable laboratory analysis separately when performed and separately reportable. Under the CMS multiple-procedure reduction rule, when this service is performed in the same session as other procedures subject to that reduction, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and the others are paid at 50%.

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 Puerto Rico compares for 36600

Across 109 of 109 payment localities, the office rate for 36600 runs from $24.76 in Arkansas to $35.45 in San Benito County, CA. Puerto Rico pays $27.56. The RVUs are the same everywhere; the geographic indexes change the dollars.

Every other payment area

36600 rates by state

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

See 36600 in every payment locality

How the 36600 rate is calculated

Each of 36600’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 36600

The CMS indicators that decide how 36600 is paid alongside other services.

What modifiers do to the payment

When to use modifier 51

Codes related to 36600

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

How 36600 has changed in Puerto Rico

Price 36600 for an earlier date of service

Where the Puerto Rico rate applies

Puerto Rico is a Medicare payment area, not a city. Our Census mapping connects it to 292 cities and communities in Puerto Rico. Some span more than one payment area; confirm with the service ZIP.

• Aceitunas
• Adjuntas
• Aguada
• Aguadilla
• Aguas Buenas
• Aguas Claras
• Aguilita
• Aibonito

Browse all communities in Puerto Rico

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