$1,051.85
Use 36215 when the catheter reaches a first-order branch; use 36216 when it is advanced into a second-order branch.
On this page
CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
36216 Arterial catheterization Medicare reimbursement rates in Delaware
Reports selective catheter placement into a second-order thoracic or brachiocephalic arterial branch during a diagnostic or interventional vascular procedure. Compare 36216 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in Delaware.
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 36216 in Delaware?
Delaware 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
$1067.11
1 of 1 localities have a supported rate.
Payment area: Delaware
One mapped payment locality.
Facility setting
$240.13
1 of 1 localities have a supported rate.
Payment area: Delaware
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.
Vascular procedures
About 36216: Second-order thoracic arterial catheter placement
Reports selective catheter placement into a second-order thoracic or brachiocephalic arterial branch during a diagnostic or interventional vascular procedure.
A physician advances a catheter through an arterial route into a second-order branch in the thoracic or brachiocephalic arterial distribution. This selective positioning may support angiography or an endovascular procedure, commonly in a hospital catheterization or angiography suite. Interventional radiologists, vascular surgeons, and other physicians performing catheter-based vascular services may report the placement when the documented catheter path reaches this branch level.
Choose the code from the vessel hierarchy and the catheter tip’s destination, not from the number of imaging runs or the clinical diagnosis. The record should identify the access route, vessels traversed, target branch, and related imaging or intervention. The procedure has a 0-day global period, so same-day preoperative and postoperative care is included. When multiple procedures occur in one session, CMS pays the highest-valued procedure in full and reduces others under its standard multiple procedure rule. Modifier 50 is inappropriate; assistant-at-surgery payment is restricted, and co-surgeon and team-surgery billing are not permitted.
CMS billing rules for 36216
- 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
- Statutory restriction: assistant at surgery is not paid.
- Co-surgeons
- Co-surgeons not permitted.
- Team surgery
- Team surgery not permitted.
Where the value comes from
- Work RVU5.14 · 16%
- Practice expense (office) RVU26.08 · 81%
- Malpractice RVU1.13 · 3%
2.5K
Medicare services in 2024 · #2302 by national volume
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.
36216 compared with similar codes
Office rates for Delaware, from the same CMS release.
$1,951.22
Use 36217 when the catheter reaches a third-order or more selective branch, rather than stopping at the second-order level represented by 36216.
$226.97
36218 reports an additional qualifying branch after the initial selective placement; 36216 identifies the second-order placement itself.
$1,243.46
36222 is for a defined cervicocerebral angiography service that includes catheter placement. Do not use 36216 to separately represent placement already included in that service.
Compare 36216 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
Delaware →
Office / nonfacility
$1067.11
Facility
$240.13
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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 36216 in Delaware.
PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv
4,444
- Code
- 36216
- Physician work
- 5.14
- Practice expense
- 26.08
- Malpractice
- 1.13
GPCI2026.csv
40
- Locality
- Delaware
- Physician work
- 1.005
- Practice expense
- 0.988
- Malpractice
- 0.899
| Component | RVU | Locality factor | Adjusted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Physician work | 5.14 | × 1.005 | 5.1657 |
| Practice expense | 26.08 | × 0.988 | 25.7670 |
| Malpractice | 1.13 | × 0.899 | 1.0159 |
| Total RVUs | 31.9486 | ||
| Conversion factor | × 33.4009 | ||
Office / nonfacility rate, Delaware$1067.11
Explore RVUs, geographic factors and the full formula
Office / nonfacility
| Component | RVU | Local GPCI |
|---|---|---|
| Work | 5.14 | 1.005 |
| Practice expense | 26.08 | 0.988 |
| Malpractice | 1.13 | 0.899 |
(5.14 × 1.005 + 26.08 × 0.988 + 1.13 × 0.899) × $33.4009 = $1067.11
Facility
| Component | RVU | Local GPCI |
|---|---|---|
| Work | 5.14 | 1.005 |
| Practice expense | 1.02 | 0.988 |
| Malpractice | 1.13 | 0.899 |
(5.14 × 1.005 + 1.02 × 0.988 + 1.13 × 0.899) × $33.4009 = $240.13
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.
36216 billing questions
How does 36216 differ from 36215 and 36217?
Select by catheter destination within the arterial tree: 36215 represents a first-order branch, 36216 a second-order branch, and 36217 a third-order or more selective branch.
Can 36216 be reported for each additional branch selected?
Use 36216 for the qualifying second-order placement. For each additional second-order or more selective branch in the same vascular family, consider add-on code 36218 when its reporting criteria are met.
What documentation supports 36216?
Document the access route, the vessels traversed, the target branch and its order, and the diagnostic or therapeutic service associated with the catheter placement.
Should 36216 be reported with cervicocerebral angiography codes?
Codes such as 36222 describe cervicocerebral angiography services that include catheter placement. Do not separately add 36216 for catheter work already represented by that service.
Can modifier 50 or an assistant-at-surgery modifier be used?
Modifier 50 is inappropriate for this code. Medicare does not pay an assistant at surgery for this service; co-surgeons and team surgery are not permitted.
How does CMS reduce payment when other procedures are performed in the session?
The highest-valued procedure is paid in full, and other procedures subject to the standard multiple procedure rule are paid at 50%.
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.
4,44136160,,Establish access to aorta,A,,2.46,13.51,,0.38,,0.36,16.33,3.20,0,XXX,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
4,44236200,,Place catheter in aorta,A,,2.70,13.64,,0.36,,0.62,16.96,3.68,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,1,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
4,44336215,,Place catheter in artery,A,,4.07,27.17,,0.94,,0.62,31.86,5.63,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
4,44436216,,Place catheter in artery,A,,5.14,26.08,,1.02,,1.13,32.35,7.29,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
4,44536217,,Place catheter in artery,A,,6.13,51.50,,1.37,,1.53,59.16,9.03,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
4,44636218,,Place catheter in artery,A,,0.98,5.69,,0.20,,0.21,6.88,1.39,0,ZZZ,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
4,44736221,,Place cath thoracic aorta,A,,3.82,23.81,,0.61,,0.90,28.53,5.33,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,2,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3704112,CO,01,COLORADO,1.012,1.064,0.781
3813102,CT,00,CONNECTICUT,1.020,1.077,1.210
3912202,DC,01,DC + MD/VA SUBURBS,1.054,1.178,1.113
4012102,DE,01,DELAWARE,1.005,0.988,0.899
4109102,FL,03,FORT LAUDERDALE,1.000,1.013,1.808
4209102,FL,04,MIAMI,1.000,1.041,2.529
4309102,FL,99,REST OF FLORIDA,1.000,0.956,1.503