CPT code 49405: Visceral drainage, percutaneous catheter placement2026 Medicare rate & RVUs

Medicare pays $837.69 for 49405 nationally in the office and $166.67 in a hospital or facility. Local office rates run $733.12–$1,152.00.

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

What 49405 covers

A physician, commonly an interventional radiologist, uses imaging to guide a catheter through the skin into a fluid collection within a visceral organ and establish drainage. A typical example is catheter drainage of a liver abscess. The procedure is generally performed in a hospital or other imaging suite, with the catheter left in place to drain the collection as clinically indicated.

Select this service when the collection is within a visceral structure; a collection located in the peritoneal or retroperitoneal space is distinguished by the target anatomy. Document the collection’s location, the percutaneous approach, image guidance, and catheter placement. Imaging guidance is included in the drainage service. The procedure has a 0-day global period, so same-day preoperative and postoperative care is included. When multiple procedures are performed in the same session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and others at 50%. Modifier 50 is inappropriate; assistant-at-surgery payment is restricted, and 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 49405 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

49405 rates by state

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

How the 49405 rate is calculated

Each of 49405’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 49405

The CMS indicators that decide how 49405 is paid alongside other services.

What modifiers do to the payment

When to use modifier 51

49405 compared with similar codes

How to choose

49406Catheter drainagePeritoneal or retroperitoneal

Choose 49405 when the collection is within a visceral organ. Choose 49406 when the target is a collection in the peritoneal or retroperitoneal space.

49407Pelvic drainageTransvaginal or transrectal

49407 describes collection drainage through a transvaginal or transrectal route. This code describes percutaneous catheter drainage of a visceral collection.

49423Drain catheter exchangeFluoroscopic exchange

49423 is for exchanging a drainage catheter already in place. This code is for image-guided percutaneous catheter drainage of a visceral collection.

Codes related to 49405

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