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CPT code 93503: Heart catheter, monitoring catheter placement2026 Medicare rate & RVUs

Reports placement of a flow-directed catheter in the pulmonary artery for hemodynamic monitoring, such as in an intensive care or operative setting.

CMS RVU26DEffective Oct 1, 2026109 payment localities46.2K Medicare services in 2024

Medicare pays $81.50 for 93503 nationally in a facility.

Medicare rate · 93503

Heart catheter, monitoring catheter placement

Office or facility?

Work RVUs
1.95
Total RVUs
2.44
Global days
000

National rate · 2026

$81.50

Facility setting, before claim adjustments.

See every locality for 93503 →Billed by an NP, PA or therapist? →

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

Your location

Medicare pays by the payment locality where the service is performed.

On this page 10 sections
  1. Medicare rate
  2. What 93503 covers
  3. By payment locality
  4. Rate map
  5. How it’s calculated
  6. Payment rules
  7. Similar codes
  8. Related codes
  9. Billing questions
  10. Sources

What 93503 covers

A physician places a flow-directed catheter, commonly a Swan-Ganz catheter, through venous access and advances it through the right heart into the pulmonary artery for hemodynamic monitoring. The service is typically performed in an intensive care unit, operating room, or cardiac catheterization setting by a cardiologist, anesthesiologist, or other physician managing a patient who needs invasive monitoring. The purpose is catheter placement and monitoring, not a diagnostic right-heart catheterization study.

Report the service when the record supports placement of the monitoring catheter, including the indication and the catheter’s final position. CMS assigns a 0-day global period, so same-day preoperative and postoperative care is included. Modifier 50 is inappropriate because the descriptor and anatomy do not support bilateral reporting. 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 93503 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

93503 office and facility rates by payment locality
Payment localityOfficeFacility
AlabamaUnavailable$77.59
AlaskaUnavailable$112.04
ArizonaUnavailable$80.31
ArkansasUnavailable$77.12
Atlanta, GAUnavailable$83.07
Austin, TXUnavailable$81.54
Bakersfield, CAUnavailable$81.38
Baltimore area, MDUnavailable$84.72
Beaumont, TXUnavailable$80.14
Brazoria, TXUnavailable$80.60

93503 rates by state

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

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Local rates. Clear comparisons.

Hover or focus a tile to see its rate range. Select it to open the state’s fee schedule.

View every state and territory as a table
93503 office rate range by state
State / territoryOffice rate rangeLocalities
AKNo published base rate1
ALNo published base rate1
ARNo published base rate1
AZNo published base rate1
CANo published base rate29
CONo published base rate1
CTNo published base rate1
DCNo published base rate1
DENo published base rate1
FLNo published base rate3
GANo published base rate2
GUNo published base rate1
HINo published base rate1
IANo published base rate1
IDNo published base rate1
ILNo published base rate4
INNo published base rate1
KSNo published base rate1
KYNo published base rate1
LANo published base rate2
MANo published base rate2
MDNo published base rate3
MENo published base rate2
MINo published base rate2
MNNo published base rate1
MONo published base rate3
MSNo published base rate1
MTNo published base rate1
NCNo published base rate1
NDNo published base rate1
NENo published base rate1
NHNo published base rate1
NJNo published base rate2
NMNo published base rate1
NVNo published base rate1
NYNo published base rate5
OHNo published base rate1
OKNo published base rate1
ORNo published base rate2
PANo published base rate2
PRNo published base rate1
RINo published base rate1
SCNo published base rate1
SDNo published base rate1
TNNo published base rate1
TXNo published base rate8
UTNo published base rate1
VANo published base rate2
VINo published base rate1
VTNo published base rate1
WANo published base rate2
WINo published base rate1
WVNo published base rate1
WYNo published base rate1

How the 93503 rate is calculated

Each of 93503’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 · 93503

RVUs × geographic indexes × conversion factor

Office or facility?

Work1.95

1.95 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI

Practice expense0.31

0.31 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI

Malpractice0.18

0.18 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI

Adjusted RVUs

2.4400

Conversion factor

$33.4009

Medicare rate

$81.50

Every GPCI starts at 1.000, the national rate. Enter a ZIP or drag a slider.

Payment rules and modifiers for 93503

The CMS indicators that decide how 93503 is paid alongside other services.

CMS payment indicators · 93503

Heart catheter, monitoring catheter placement

RuleCMS valueWhat it means
Global period000Same-day global: pre- and post-op care on the day of the procedure is included.
Multiple procedures0No multiple-procedure reduction.
Bilateral (modifier 50)0The 150% bilateral adjustment doesn’t apply.
Assistant at surgery (80/81/82/AS)0Not paid without supporting documentation.
Co-surgeons (62)0Not permitted.
Team surgery (66)0Not permitted.
Professional/technical0Physician service: no professional/technical split.

93503 compared with similar codes

Compare codes · National

4 codes, side by side

Office or facility?

  • 93503

    Heart catheter, monitoring catheter placement1.95 wRVU

    Not priced

  • 93451

    Right heart cath, hemodynamic measurements2.41 wRVU

    $851.39

  • 36556

    Central line insertion, age 5 years or older1.71 wRVU

    $237.81

  • 93505

    Heart biopsy, endomyocardial tissue sampling4.02 wRVU

    $648.65

How to choose

93451Right heart cathHemodynamic measurements
Choose 93451 for a diagnostic right-heart catheterization study. Choose 93503 for placement of a flow-directed catheter for monitoring.
36556Central line insertionAge 5 years or older
Code 36556 describes placement of a central venous catheter. It does not describe advancing a flow-directed catheter into the pulmonary artery for monitoring.
93505Heart biopsyEndomyocardial tissue sampling
Code 93505 reports endomyocardial tissue sampling. It is a biopsy service, not placement of a monitoring catheter.

Codes related to 93503

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

Codes related to 93503
CodeHow it relatesNational office range
Used instead
93451Right heart cath, hemodynamic measurementsDiagnostic right-heart catheterization evaluates hemodynamics; 93503 is for placement for monitoring.$737.87–$1,188.27
36556Central line insertion, age 5 years or olderCentral venous catheter placement serves central access needs rather than pulmonary artery monitoring.$209.69–$317.01
Often billed with
93505Heart biopsy, endomyocardial tissue samplingA separately indicated endomyocardial biopsy may be performed during a cardiac catheterization encounter.$570.72–$876.55

93503 billing questions

How is this different from a diagnostic right-heart catheterization?

This code describes placing a flow-directed catheter for monitoring. A diagnostic right-heart catheterization, such as 93451, is selected when the physician performs a diagnostic hemodynamic study.

Does the record need to identify the catheter’s final position?

Yes. Document the monitoring indication, the placement procedure, and the catheter’s final position in the pulmonary artery.

Can modifier 50 be reported?

No. CMS identifies bilateral adjustment as inappropriate for this code because the descriptor and anatomy do not support bilateral reporting.

Can an assistant-at-surgery be paid?

Assistant-at-surgery payment is allowed only when the record documents medical necessity. CMS does not permit co-surgeons or team surgery for this code.

What care is included in the global period?

The 0-day global period includes same-day preoperative and postoperative care.

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
RVUs for 93503PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv, line 12,129 (RVU26D)

Open CMS sourceHow we calculate rates

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