CPT code 49406: Catheter drainage, peritoneal or retroperitoneal2026 Medicare rate & RVUs

Medicare pays $837.03 for 49406 nationally in the office and $166.67 in a hospital or facility. Local office rates run $732.55–$1,151.04.

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

What 49406 covers

This service places a catheter through the skin into a fluid collection in the peritoneal or retroperitoneal space so the collection can be drained. Typical cases include image-guided drainage of an abdominal abscess, hematoma, or cyst. An interventional radiologist commonly performs the procedure in a hospital imaging suite or other procedural setting, using imaging to guide access and catheter position.

Select this code when the collection is peritoneal or retroperitoneal; collections in a visceral organ or another specified access route belong to different codes. The report should identify the collection’s location and nature, the imaging guidance and access used, and catheter placement and drainage. This is a minor procedure with 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 is paid in full and the others are subject to the standard 50% reduction. 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 49406 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

49406 rates by state

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

How the 49406 rate is calculated

Each of 49406’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 49406

The CMS indicators that decide how 49406 is paid alongside other services.

What modifiers do to the payment

When to use modifier 51

49406 compared with similar codes

How to choose

49405Visceral drainagePercutaneous catheter placement

Choose 49406 for a peritoneal or retroperitoneal collection; choose 49405 when the collection is in a visceral site.

49407Pelvic drainageTransvaginal or transrectal

Code 49407 describes catheter drainage using a transvaginal or transrectal route, rather than percutaneous access to a peritoneal or retroperitoneal collection.

49083ParacentesisWith imaging guidance

Code 49083 is for image-guided abdominal paracentesis. Use 49406 when a catheter is placed to drain a peritoneal or retroperitoneal collection.

Codes related to 49406

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