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CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01

33951 ECMO cannulation Medicare reimbursement rates in Colorado

Reports percutaneous placement of peripheral ECMO/ECLS cannulae for patients age five or older, such as femoral vascular access for extracorporeal support. Compare 33951 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in Colorado.

Amounts below use the non-QP conversion factor for participating physicians. These are base physician payments before claim-level adjustments, not patient costs or total hospital charges.

What does Medicare pay for 33951 in Colorado?

Colorado has 1 payment locality in this comparison. Use the service location to choose the applicable amount. These are the supported base rates for the payment area shown below, using the same CMS release.

Office / nonfacility

No supported rate

Facility setting

$382.16

1 of 1 localities have a supported rate.

Payment area: Colorado

One mapped payment locality.

These are locality ranges, not averages or address-specific quotes. A facility-setting amount covers the physician service; it does not include a hospital’s separate bill. Choose a locality below to inspect its calculation, compare other payment areas, or price a percentage of Medicare.

Find 33951 in your payment locality →

Cardiothoracic surgery

About 33951: Peripheral ECMO Cannula Insertion, Percutaneous

Reports percutaneous placement of peripheral ECMO/ECLS cannulae for patients age five or older, such as femoral vascular access for extracorporeal support.

This service covers percutaneous placement of cannulae in peripheral vessels to establish extracorporeal membrane oxygenation or extracorporeal life support. It is used when a patient needs temporary circulatory or respiratory support, including situations requiring peripheral access such as femoral cannulation. Cardiothoracic and other surgeons who perform ECMO access procedures commonly provide the service in a hospital setting. The age threshold for this code is five years or older.

Select this code when the cannulae are placed percutaneously in peripheral vessels; use a different code when the patient is younger or the access is open or central. The operative record should identify the access approach, peripheral site, cannula placement, and patient age. The service has a 0-day global period, so same-day preoperative and postoperative care is included. When other procedures occur in the same session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and the others are subject to the standard multiple procedure reduction. Modifier 50 is inappropriate. Assistant-at-surgery payment requires documented medical necessity; co-surgeons and team surgery are not permitted.

CMS billing rules for 33951

Global period
Minor procedure with a 0-day global period: same-day preoperative and postoperative care is included.
Multiple procedures
Standard multiple procedure reduction: the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and others at 50% when performed in the same session.
Bilateral procedures
Bilateral adjustment does not apply; the descriptor or anatomy makes modifier 50 inappropriate.
Assistant at surgery
Assistant at surgery is paid only with documentation of medical necessity.
Co-surgeons
Co-surgeons not permitted.
Team surgery
Team surgery not permitted.

Where the value comes from

  • Work RVU7.95 · 68%
  • Practice expense (office) RVU1.79 · 15%
  • Malpractice RVU1.91 · 16%

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.

33951 compared with similar codes

Office rates for Colorado, from the same CMS release.

33952

ECMO cannulation

Peripheral, percutaneous, younger than five

No office rate

Both codes cover percutaneous peripheral ECMO/ECLS cannula insertion; 33952 is for patients younger than five, while 33951 is for patients age five or older.

33953

ECMO cannulation

Open, age six and older

No office rate

33953 is for open peripheral cannula insertion in patients age five or older. Report 33951 when the peripheral cannulae are placed percutaneously.

33955

Central cannulation

Birth through age five

No office rate

33955 describes open central cannula insertion. 33951 is for percutaneous placement in peripheral vessels.

33946

ECMO initiation

Venovenous, age six and older

No office rate

33946 reports venous ECMO/ECLS initiation, not peripheral cannula placement. Cannulation and initiation are distinct services when both are performed and documented.

Compare 33951 by payment locality

Find the payment area for your service address, then open its rate page for calculation inputs, release history and the percentage-of-Medicare tool. A city may cross payment-area boundaries; the ZIP lookup above helps resolve the location.

1 of 1 payment localities

Office and facility base rates · shared scale starting at $0

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How this local rate is calculated

Each RVU component is multiplied by its own geographic practice cost index (GPCI). The three adjusted components are added, then multiplied by the conversion factor. These are the inputs used for 33951 in Colorado.

PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv

4,137

Code
33951
Physician work
7.95
Practice expense
1.79
Malpractice
1.91

GPCI2026.csv

37

Locality
Colorado
Physician work
1.012
Practice expense
1.064
Malpractice
0.781
Facility calculation for 33951 in Colorado
ComponentRVULocality factorAdjusted
Physician work7.95× 1.0128.0454
Practice expense1.79× 1.0641.9046
Malpractice1.91× 0.7811.4917
Total RVUs11.4417
Conversion factor× 33.4009

Facility rate, Colorado$382.16

Explore RVUs, geographic factors and the full formula

Facility

Facility calculation inputs
ComponentRVULocal GPCI
Work7.951.012
Practice expense1.791.064
Malpractice1.910.781

(7.95 × 1.012 + 1.79 × 1.064 + 1.91 × 0.781) × $33.4009 = $382.16

The office and facility calculations use their respective practice-expense RVUs. The facility amount here is the physician fee, not a separate hospital or facility bill.

33951 billing questions

How does 33951 differ from 33952?

Both describe percutaneous peripheral ECMO/ECLS cannula insertion. Use 33951 for patients age five or older and 33952 for patients younger than five.

When should 33953 be considered instead?

33953 describes open peripheral cannula insertion for patients age five or older. The access technique, rather than the peripheral site alone, distinguishes it from 33951.

Is modifier 50 appropriate for cannulation on both sides?

No. The CMS bilateral adjustment does not apply to 33951, and modifier 50 is inappropriate.

What documentation supports reporting 33951?

Document the patient's age, the peripheral access site, the percutaneous approach, and placement of the cannulae for ECMO/ECLS.

Can an assistant-at-surgery be reported?

Assistant-at-surgery payment is limited to cases with documented medical necessity. Co-surgeons and team surgery are not permitted.

How does the 0-day global period affect same-day care?

Same-day preoperative and postoperative care is included in the procedure's 0-day global period.

Where these rates come from

FeeBase calculates base physician payments from CMS work, practice-expense, and malpractice RVUs, adjusted by each locality’s geographic indices and the applicable conversion factor. Unavailable or separately priced services are labeled rather than assigned a made-up amount.

Source: RVU26D. Effective 2026-10-01 through the day before 2027-01-01.

RVUs for 33951PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv, line 4,137 (RVU26D)
Geographic factors for ColoradoGPCI2026.csv, line 37 (RVU26D)
Open CMS sourceHow this rate is calculatedBuild a fee sheet