CPT code 55875: Prostate brachytherapy, needle or catheter placement2026 Medicare rate & RVUs

Medicare pays $687.72 for 55875 nationally in a facility.

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

What 55875 covers

A urologist places needles or catheters through the perineum into the prostate so radioactive material can be used for interstitial treatment. A common setting is an operating room or outpatient surgical facility for prostate brachytherapy. The urologist may perform the placement with a radiation oncologist involved in the treatment plan; the code allows placement with or without cystoscopy. This is the placement service, not the radiation source application itself.

Select the code when the operative record supports transperineal prostate needle or catheter placement for interstitial radioelement treatment. Document the treatment purpose and the placement performed; do not substitute prostate marker placement or biodegradable spacer placement. CMS assigns a 90-day major-surgery global period, including the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care. When multiple procedures occur in one session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and others at 50%. 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 55875 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

55875 rates by state

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

How the 55875 rate is calculated

Each of 55875’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 55875

55875 has a 90-day global period: related visits in that window are included in the surgery payment.

What modifiers do to the payment

When to use modifier 51

55875 compared with similar codes

How to choose

55874Prostate spacerBiodegradable material

Use 55875 for needles or catheters placed for interstitial radioactive treatment. Code 55874 concerns transperineal placement of biodegradable material, such as a prostate spacer.

55876Prostate markersRadiation guidance devices

Use 55876 for prostate radiotherapy marker or device placement. Use 55875 when needles or catheters are placed to support interstitial radioelement treatment.

55873Prostate cryoablationUltrasound-guided freeze treatment

Code 55873 describes prostate cryoablation, not placement for interstitial radiation treatment.

55866ProstatectomyLaparoscopic, radical

Code 55866 describes laparoscopic radical prostatectomy. It represents surgical removal of the prostate rather than brachytherapy access placement.

Codes related to 55875

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