CPT code 37236: Arterial stent, first treated artery2026 Medicare rate & RVUs in California
Report 37236 for open or percutaneous stent placement in the first treated artery outside the code-specific carotid, intracranial, and lower-extremity categories.
Medicare pays $2,789.43–$3,593.93 for 37236 in the office in California, from Chico, CA to San Benito County, CA. Which amount applies depends on the service address.
Medicare allowed amount for participating (non-QP) physicians, before deductible, coinsurance and claim adjustments. Not a patient’s bill or a hospital charge.
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On this page 9 sections
What 37236 covers
37236 covers open or catheter-based placement of an intravascular stent in an artery, outside the separately coded lower-extremity, cervical carotid, and intracranial services. Interventional radiologists, vascular surgeons, and other physicians performing vascular interventions may use it for sites such as renal, mesenteric, or subclavian arteries. The service includes imaging supervision and interpretation for the stent procedure, as well as balloon angioplasty performed in the same vessel.
Report 37236 for the first treated artery in this code family; use 37237 for each additional treated artery. Documentation should identify the treated artery, the stent placement, and any angioplasty performed in that vessel. CMS assigns a 0-day global period, so same-day preoperative and postoperative care is included. When multiple procedures are performed in one session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and other procedures are subject to the standard 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.
Where 37236 pays more and less in California
The same RVUs, adjusted for each area’s costs. Open a locality for its calculation, history and nearby areas.
29 payment localities
$2789.43 to $3593.93
29 of 29 payment localities
| Payment locality | Office | Facility |
|---|---|---|
| Bakersfield, CA | $2,794.80 | $373.59 |
| Chico, CA | $2,789.43 | $368.22 |
| El Centro, CA | $2,789.76 | $368.55 |
| Fresno, CA | $2,789.43 | $368.22 |
| Hanford, CA | $2,789.43 | $368.22 |
| Los Angeles, CA | $3,000.32 | $386.91 |
| Madera, CA | $2,789.43 | $368.22 |
| Marin County, CA | $3,512.63 | $397.75 |
| Merced, CA | $2,789.43 | $368.22 |
| Modesto, CA | $2,789.43 | $368.22 |
| Napa, CA | $3,299.87 | $388.23 |
| Oxnard, CA | $2,991.66 | $380.47 |
| Redding, CA | $2,789.43 | $368.22 |
| Rest of California | $2,789.43 | $368.22 |
| Riverside, CA | $2,810.57 | $389.36 |
| Sacramento, CA | $2,945.50 | $376.27 |
| Salinas, CA | $2,935.08 | $374.69 |
| San Benito County, CA | $3,593.93 | $408.35 |
| San Diego, CA | $3,018.38 | $376.26 |
| San Francisco, CA | $3,510.39 | $395.51 |
| San Luis Obispo, CA | $2,886.12 | $369.91 |
| Santa Clara County, CA | $3,584.78 | $399.21 |
| Santa Cruz, CA | $3,058.15 | $374.05 |
| Santa Maria, CA | $2,949.96 | $374.11 |
| Santa Rosa, CA | $3,089.94 | $377.12 |
| Stockton, CA | $2,789.43 | $368.22 |
| Vallejo, CA | $3,296.65 | $385.01 |
| Visalia, CA | $2,789.43 | $368.22 |
| Yuba City, CA | $2,789.43 | $368.22 |
How the 37236 rate is calculated
Each of 37236’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.
How the rate is built · 37236
RVUs × geographic indexes × conversion factor
Work8.53
8.53 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI
Practice expense67.32
67.32 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI
Malpractice1.97
1.97 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI
Adjusted RVUs
77.8200
Conversion factor
$33.4009
Medicare rate
$2,599.26
Every GPCI starts at 1.000, the national rate. Enter a ZIP or drag a slider.
Payment rules and modifiers for 37236
The CMS indicators that decide how 37236 is paid alongside other services.
CMS payment indicators · 37236
Arterial stent, first treated artery
| Rule | CMS value | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Global period | 000 | Same-day global: pre- and post-op care on the day of the procedure is included. |
| Multiple procedures | 2 | Standard reduction: highest-valued procedure at 100%, others at 50%. |
| Bilateral (modifier 50) | 0 | The 150% bilateral adjustment doesn’t apply. |
| Assistant at surgery (80/81/82/AS) | 0 | Not paid without supporting documentation. |
| Co-surgeons (62) | 0 | Not permitted. |
| Team surgery (66) | 0 | Not permitted. |
| Professional/technical | 0 | Physician service: no professional/technical split. |
What modifiers do to the payment
Modifier 51 · payment effect
With and without the modifier
37236 without 51 · national office
$2,599.26
Arterial stent, first treated artery
37236-51 · Second procedure: 50%
$1,299.63
When this isn’t the highest-valued procedure in the session, Medicare pays 50% of its fee schedule amount (the highest is paid at 100%).
37236 compared with similar codes
Compare codes · National
5 codes, side by side
How to choose
- 37237Arterial stentEach additional artery
- 37237 reports each additional treated artery in the same session; 37236 reports the first artery in this code family.
- 37238Venous stentingInitial vein
- Use 37238 for initial venous stent placement. Use 37236 when the treated vessel is an artery.
- 37246Arterial angioplastyInitial artery
- 37246 is for arterial balloon angioplasty without the stent placement reported by 37236; angioplasty in the stented vessel is included in 37236.
- 37215Carotid stentingWith distal embolic protection
- 37215 is the specific transcatheter stenting code for a cervical carotid artery, an anatomy category excluded from 37236.
37236 billing questions
When should 37236 be used instead of 37238?
37236 is for an artery; 37238 is the corresponding initial-vessel code for a vein. Select based on the treated vessel, not the access route.
How is another treated artery reported?
Use add-on code 37237 for each additional artery treated in the same session. Multiple stents in one artery do not, by themselves, make it an additional artery.
Is angioplasty in the stented artery separately reported?
Angioplasty performed in the same vessel is included in 37236. The code also includes imaging supervision and interpretation for the stent procedure.
Can modifier 50 be used for bilateral arterial stenting?
No. The CMS bilateral adjustment does not apply, and modifier 50 is inappropriate for this code.
What payment rules apply when other procedures are performed in the same session?
Under the standard multiple procedure reduction, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and other procedures are reduced. The 0-day global period includes same-day preoperative and postoperative care.
When is an assistant at surgery payable?
Assistant-at-surgery payment is available only when documentation supports medical necessity. Co-surgeon and team-surgery payment are not permitted.
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
Show the CMS file lines behind this rate
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