No office rate
Choose 33017 when percutaneous drainage includes placement of an indwelling catheter in a patient age 6 or older without congenital cardiac anomaly; 33016 reports pericardiocentesis.
On this page
CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
33016 Pericardiocentesis Medicare reimbursement rates in Kentucky
Reports needle drainage of pericardial fluid, with imaging guidance included when performed, for an effusion or cardiac tamponade. Compare 33016 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in Kentucky.
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 33016 in Kentucky?
Kentucky 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
$198.19
1 of 1 localities have a supported rate.
Payment area: Kentucky
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.
Cardiology procedure
About 33016: Pericardiocentesis with imaging guidance
Reports needle drainage of pericardial fluid, with imaging guidance included when performed, for an effusion or cardiac tamponade.
A clinician accesses the pericardial space with a needle to aspirate fluid, often to relieve pressure from an effusion or tamponade and, when indicated, obtain fluid for analysis. Cardiologists and other clinicians experienced in the procedure commonly perform it in a hospital, such as in a catheterization laboratory or intensive care unit. Imaging guidance is included when used. This code fits pericardiocentesis rather than drainage that leaves an indwelling catheter in place.
Document the clinical indication, pericardial access and aspiration, and imaging used. CMS assigns a 0-day global period, so same-day preoperative and postoperative care is included. When multiple procedures occur in the same session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and the others are subject to the standard 50% multiple-procedure reduction. Modifier 50 is inappropriate. CMS does not pay an assistant at surgery for this service, and co-surgeons and team surgery are not permitted.
CMS billing rules for 33016
- 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 RVU4.29 · 70%
- Practice expense (office) RVU0.83 · 14%
- Malpractice RVU0.99 · 16%
3.8K
Medicare services in 2024 · #2034 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.
33016 compared with similar codes
Office rates for Kentucky, from the same CMS release.
No office rate
Choose 33018 for indwelling-catheter drainage in a patient age 5 or younger or with a congenital cardiac anomaly. 33016 reports pericardiocentesis instead.
No office rate
33025 describes surgical creation of a pericardial window for drainage; 33016 is needle access and aspiration.
Compare 33016 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
Kentucky →
Office / nonfacility
Unavailable
Facility
$198.19
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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 33016 in Kentucky.
PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv
3,814
- Code
- 33016
- Physician work
- 4.29
- Practice expense
- 0.83
- Malpractice
- 0.99
GPCI2026.csv
55
- Locality
- Kentucky
- Physician work
- 1.000
- Practice expense
- 0.889
- Malpractice
- 0.915
| Component | RVU | Locality factor | Adjusted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Physician work | 4.29 | × 1.000 | 4.2900 |
| Practice expense | 0.83 | × 0.889 | 0.7379 |
| Malpractice | 0.99 | × 0.915 | 0.9059 |
| Total RVUs | 5.9337 | ||
| Conversion factor | × 33.4009 | ||
Facility rate, Kentucky$198.19
Explore RVUs, geographic factors and the full formula
Facility
| Component | RVU | Local GPCI |
|---|---|---|
| Work | 4.29 | 1 |
| Practice expense | 0.83 | 0.889 |
| Malpractice | 0.99 | 0.915 |
(4.29 × 1 + 0.83 × 0.889 + 0.99 × 0.915) × $33.4009 = $198.19
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.
33016 billing questions
How does 33016 differ from 33017 or 33018?
33016 is for pericardiocentesis without the indwelling catheter service described by 33017 and 33018. Those codes distinguish patient age and congenital cardiac anomaly status.
Can imaging guidance be billed separately?
Imaging guidance, when performed for the pericardiocentesis, is included in 33016. Document the guidance used as part of the procedure.
Does 33016 have a global period?
Yes. It has a 0-day global period, and same-day preoperative and postoperative care is included.
Can modifier 50 or an assistant-at-surgery modifier be reported?
Modifier 50 is inappropriate for this code. CMS does not pay an assistant at surgery for 33016.
How does CMS handle other procedures performed in the same session?
The highest-valued procedure is paid in full; other procedures in the same session are subject to the standard multiple-procedure reduction. Co-surgeons and team surgery are not permitted for 33016.
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.
3,81132998,,Ablate pulm tumor perq rf,A,,8.80,77.68,,1.58,,1.02,87.50,11.40,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,1,2,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,81232999,,Unlisted px lungs & pleura,C,,0.00,0.00,,0.00,,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,YYY,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,0,1,1,1,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,8133300F,,Ajcc stage docd b/4 thxpy,I,,0.00,0.00,,0.00,,0.00,0.00,0.00,9,XXX,0.00,0.00,0.00,9,9,9,9,9,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,81433016,,Pericardiocentesis w/imaging,A,,4.29,0.83,NA,0.83,,0.99,6.11,6.11,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,81533017,,Prcrd drg 6yr+ w/o cgen car,A,,4.50,0.87,NA,0.87,,1.04,6.41,6.41,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,81633018,,Prcrd drg 0-5yr or w/anomly,A,,5.27,0.99,NA,0.99,,1.27,7.53,7.53,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,81733019,,Perq prcrd drg insj cath ct,A,,4.18,0.68,NA,0.68,,0.51,5.37,5.37,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
5208102,IN,00,INDIANA,1.000,0.927,0.486
5305102,IA,00,IOWA,1.000,0.915,0.397
5405202,KS,00,KANSAS,1.000,0.904,0.504
5515102,KY,00,KENTUCKY,1.000,0.889,0.915
5607202,LA,01,NEW ORLEANS,1.000,0.941,1.136
5707202,LA,99,REST OF LOUISIANA,1.000,0.885,0.958
5814112,ME,03,SOUTHERN MAINE,1.000,0.991,0.631