CPT code 32556: Pleural catheter2026 Medicare rate & RVUs

Medicare pays $841.03 for 32556 nationally in the office and $111.89 in a hospital or facility. Local office rates run $729.69–$1,174.52.

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

What 32556 covers

This service places a catheter percutaneously into the pleural space and leaves it in place for drainage, without imaging guidance. It is used to drain pleural fluid or air when a catheter is needed rather than a one-time needle aspiration. Pulmonologists, thoracic surgeons, and other physicians who manage pleural disease may perform it at the bedside or in a procedure setting. The method and documentation should support that the catheter was inserted into the pleural space and that imaging guidance was not used.

Report 32556 for the catheter placement, not for a thoracentesis that removes fluid without leaving a catheter. Document the indication, side, catheter placement, and whether imaging guidance was used; imaging-guided placement is represented by 32557. CMS assigns a 0-day global period, so same-day preoperative and postoperative care is included. For multiple procedures in one session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and other procedures are subject to the standard 50% reduction. Bilateral reporting with modifier 50 is paid at 150%. Assistant-at-surgery payment is restricted, and co-surgeon and team-surgery payment 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 32556 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

32556 rates by state

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

How the 32556 rate is calculated

Each of 32556’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 32556

The CMS indicators that decide how 32556 is paid alongside other services.

What modifiers do to the payment

When to use modifier 50

32556 compared with similar codes

How to choose

32557Pleural catheter

Both describe percutaneous placement of an indwelling pleural catheter; 32557 is selected when imaging guidance is used, while 32556 is for placement without it.

32554Thoracentesis

32554 is pleural aspiration without imaging and does not describe leaving an indwelling catheter in place.

32555Thoracentesis

32555 is pleural aspiration with imaging; choose 32556 when a catheter is placed without imaging rather than performing a one-time aspiration.

32550Pleural catheter

32550 describes placement of a tunneled pleural catheter. 32556 applies to percutaneous indwelling catheter placement without imaging guidance.

Codes related to 32556

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