CPT code 49451: Feeding tube exchange, duodenal or jejunal tube2026 Medicare rate & RVUs in Merced, CA

In Merced, CA, Medicare pays $651.01 for 49451 in the office and $74.81 when it’s performed in a hospital or facility.

Check a contract rate as a % of Medicare · 49451 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 49451 covers

Code 49451 describes exchanging a duodenostomy or jejunostomy tube through an established percutaneous tract. Fluoroscopy and contrast injections are used to guide the exchange and check tube position; radiological supervision and interpretation are part of the service. Interventional radiologists commonly perform the procedure in hospital or outpatient imaging settings when a tube is malfunctioning, displaced, or due for exchange. This is for an existing access tract, not creation of a new one.

Report the code when the documentation identifies the tube and tract exchanged and supports image-guided replacement. The fluoroscopy, contrast injections, and their interpretation are included in the code. The procedure has a 0-day global period, so same-day preoperative and postoperative care is included. If multiple procedures occur in one session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and other procedures are subject to the standard 50% reduction. Modifier 50 is inappropriate for this tube exchange. An assistant is payable only when medical necessity is documented; 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.

How Merced, CA compares for 49451

Across 109 of 109 payment localities, the office rate for 49451 runs from $523.04 in Arkansas to $841.71 in San Benito County, CA. Merced, CA pays $651.01. The RVUs are the same everywhere; the geographic indexes change the dollars.

Every other payment area

49451 rates by state

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

See 49451 in every payment locality

How the 49451 rate is calculated

Each of 49451’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 49451

The CMS indicators that decide how 49451 is paid alongside other services.

What modifiers do to the payment

When to use modifier 51

Codes related to 49451

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

How 49451 has changed in Merced, CA

Price 49451 for an earlier date of service

Where the Merced, CA rate applies

Merced, CA is a Medicare payment area, not a city. Our Census mapping connects it to 24 cities and communities in California. Some span more than one payment area; confirm with the service ZIP.

• Merced
• Atwater
• Ballico
• Bear Creek
• Cressey
• Delhi
• Dos Palos
• Dos Palos Y

Browse all communities in California

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