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CPT code 50396: Kidney pressure test2026 Medicare rate & RVUs

Reports percutaneous measurement of pressure within the renal collecting system, typically during evaluation of suspected urinary outflow obstruction.

CMS RVU26DEffective Oct 1, 2026109 payment localities14 Medicare services in 2024

Medicare pays $100.20 for 50396 nationally in a facility.

Medicare rate · 50396

Kidney pressure test

Office or facility?

Work RVUs
2.04
Total RVUs
3.00
Global days
000

National rate · 2026

$100.20

Facility setting, before claim adjustments.

See every locality for 50396 →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 50396 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 50396 covers

This service measures pressure within the kidney’s collecting system by introducing a needle and injecting fluid while pressure is assessed. Urologists and interventional radiologists may perform it during a diagnostic workup for suspected obstruction, such as when evaluating impaired drainage at the ureteropelvic junction. The procedure may include contrast injection, but the defining service is the pressure measurement rather than imaging alone.

Report the code when the documented service is an intrarenal pressure study, not simply renal-pelvis access, drainage, or a contrast study. The record should support the indication, percutaneous technique, pressure measurement, and any contrast used. CMS assigns a 0-day global period, so same-day preoperative and postoperative care is included. When multiple procedures are performed in the same session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and other procedures are subject to the standard 50% reduction. For bilateral performance, modifier 50 is paid at 150%. Assistant-at-surgery payment requires medical-necessity documentation; 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 50396 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

50396 office and facility rates by payment locality
Payment localityOfficeFacility
AlabamaUnavailable$94.13
AlaskaUnavailable$132.92
ArizonaUnavailable$98.45
ArkansasUnavailable$93.38
Atlanta, GAUnavailable$102.16
Austin, TXUnavailable$101.05
Bakersfield, CAUnavailable$101.32
Baltimore area, MDUnavailable$104.73
Beaumont, TXUnavailable$97.44
Brazoria, TXUnavailable$99.05

50396 rates by state

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

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Explore a state

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
50396 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 50396 rate is calculated

Each of 50396’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 · 50396

RVUs × geographic indexes × conversion factor

Office or facility?

Work2.04

2.04 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI

Practice expense0.76

0.76 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI

Malpractice0.20

0.20 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI

Adjusted RVUs

3.0000

Conversion factor

$33.4009

Medicare rate

$100.20

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

Payment rules and modifiers for 50396

The CMS indicators that decide how 50396 is paid alongside other services.

CMS payment indicators · 50396

Kidney pressure test

RuleCMS valueWhat it means
Global period000Same-day global: pre- and post-op care on the day of the procedure is included.
Multiple procedures2Standard reduction: highest-valued procedure at 100%, others at 50%.
Bilateral (modifier 50)1Bilateral with modifier 50 pays 150% of the fee schedule amount.
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.

What modifiers do to the payment

Modifier 50 · payment effect

With and without the modifier

50396 without 50 · national facility

$100.20

Kidney pressure test

50396-50 · Bilateral: 150%

$150.30

Both sides on one line with modifier 50 are paid at 150% of the fee schedule amount (subject to multiple-procedure rules with other procedures).

When to use modifier 50

50396 compared with similar codes

Compare codes · National

50396 vs 50390 vs 50391: Medicare rates

Office or facility?

  • 50396

    Kidney pressure test2.04 wRVU

    Not priced

  • 50390

    Renal lesion drainage1.91 wRVU

    Not priced

  • 50391

    Renal instillation1.91 wRVU

    $127.26

How to choose

50390Renal lesion drainage
50390 addresses percutaneous aspiration or injection of a renal cyst or pelvis. It is not the pressure-measurement service reported with 50396.
50391Renal instillation
50391 reports therapeutic-agent instillation into the renal pelvis or ureter. Use 50396 for pressure measurement, not medication delivery.

Codes related to 50396

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

Codes related to 50396
CodeHow it relatesNational office range
Same family
50390Renal lesion drainageRelated percutaneous renal-pelvis work; this code addresses aspiration or injection, not pressure measurement.No office rate
50391Renal instillationRelated percutaneous renal-pelvis service for therapeutic instillation rather than pressure measurement.$115.55–$159.16

50396 billing questions

When should this be reported instead of a nephrostogram?

Report this code for a documented intrarenal pressure measurement. A nephrostogram evaluates the collecting system with contrast imaging; imaging alone does not represent a pressure study.

Does contrast injection by itself support this code?

No. Contrast may be used during the pressure study, but the service must include measurement of intrarenal pressure.

How is bilateral performance reported?

When the procedure is performed bilaterally, report modifier 50. CMS pays the bilateral procedure at 150% under the supplied payment rule.

How does the multiple-procedure reduction affect payment?

For procedures performed in the same session, CMS pays the highest-valued procedure in full and pays other procedures at 50%.

What care is included in the global period?

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

Can an assistant or co-surgeon be reported?

Assistant-at-surgery payment requires documentation of medical necessity. Co-surgeons and team surgery are not permitted under the supplied CMS rules.

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 50396PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv, line 5,914 (RVU26D)

Open CMS sourceHow we calculate rates

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