$607.60–$671.65
Both describe percutaneous placement of an indwelling pleural catheter; 32557 is selected when imaging guidance is used, while 32556 is for placement without it.
On this page
CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
32556 Pleural catheter Medicare reimbursement rates in Illinois
Percutaneous placement of an indwelling pleural drainage catheter without imaging guidance when ongoing drainage is needed rather than a single aspiration. Compare 32556 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in Illinois.
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 32556 in Illinois?
Illinois has 4 payment localities in this comparison. Use the service location to choose the applicable amount. These are the supported base rates for the 4 payment areas shown below, using the same CMS release.
Office / nonfacility
$782.99–$871.32
4 of 4 localities have a supported rate.
Facility setting
$117.28–$128.56
4 of 4 localities have a supported rate.
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.
Where 32556 pays more and less in Illinois
4 payment localities
$782.99 to $871.32
Pulmonary procedures
About 32556: Percutaneous pleural catheter placement without imaging
Percutaneous placement of an indwelling pleural drainage catheter without imaging guidance when ongoing drainage is needed rather than a single aspiration.
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.
CMS billing rules for 32556
- 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 procedure with modifier 50 is paid at 150%.
- 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 RVU2.44 · 10%
- Practice expense (office) RVU22.37 · 89%
- Malpractice RVU0.37 · 1%
5K
Medicare services in 2024 · #1872 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.
32556 compared with similar codes
Office rates for Illinois, from the same CMS release.
$247.56–$271.60
32554 is pleural aspiration without imaging and does not describe leaving an indwelling catheter in place.
$295.11–$323.36
32555 is pleural aspiration with imaging; choose 32556 when a catheter is placed without imaging rather than performing a one-time aspiration.
$737.59–$814.88
32550 describes placement of a tunneled pleural catheter. 32556 applies to percutaneous indwelling catheter placement without imaging guidance.
Compare 32556 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.
4 of 4 payment localities
Chicago →
Office / nonfacility
$861.35
Facility
$128.56
East St. Louis →
Office / nonfacility
$793.79
Facility
$122.98
Rest Of Illinois →
Office / nonfacility
$782.99
Facility
$117.28
Suburban Chicago →
Office / nonfacility
$871.32
Facility
$122.49
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32556 billing questions
How do I choose between 32556 and 32557?
Use 32556 when the indwelling pleural catheter is placed without imaging guidance. Use 32557 when imaging guidance is used for placement.
Can I report 32556 for a thoracentesis?
No. A thoracentesis removes pleural fluid by aspiration without leaving an indwelling catheter; 32554 and 32555 distinguish aspiration without and with imaging guidance.
How is bilateral placement reported?
CMS lists 32556 as bilateral when modifier 50 is used, with payment at 150%. Document the service on each side.
What documentation supports 32556?
Document the clinical indication, the side treated, placement of the catheter in the pleural space, and that imaging guidance was not used.
Can an assistant or co-surgeon be paid for this service?
CMS restricts assistant-at-surgery payment for 32556. Co-surgeons and team surgery are not permitted.
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.
3,73232553,,Ins mark thor for rt perq,A,,3.46,10.87,,0.71,,0.38,14.71,4.55,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,0,2,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,73332554,,Aspirate pleura w/o imaging,A,,1.77,5.82,,0.39,,0.21,7.80,2.37,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,1,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,73432555,,Aspirate pleura w/ imaging,A,,2.21,6.88,,0.38,,0.22,9.31,2.81,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,1,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,73532556,,Insert cath pleura w/o image,A,,2.44,22.37,,0.54,,0.37,25.18,3.35,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,1,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,73632557,,Insert cath pleura w/ image,A,,3.04,16.03,,0.50,,0.33,19.40,3.87,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,1,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,73732560,,Treat pleurodesis w/agent,A,,1.50,6.54,,0.32,,0.23,8.27,2.05,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,73832561,,Lyse chest fibrin init day,A,,1.36,1.52,,0.29,,0.15,3.03,1.80,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,0,2,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00