$873.68–$976.01
Choose 49406 for a peritoneal or retroperitoneal collection; choose 49405 when the collection is in a visceral site.
On this page
CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
49406 Catheter drainage Medicare reimbursement rates in Massachusetts
Report percutaneous, image-guided catheter placement to drain a fluid collection in the peritoneal or retroperitoneal space. Compare 49406 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in Massachusetts.
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 49406 in Massachusetts?
Massachusetts has 2 payment localities in this comparison. Use the service location to choose the applicable amount. These are the supported base rates for the 2 payment areas shown below, using the same CMS release.
Office / nonfacility
$872.98–$975.21
2 of 2 localities have a supported rate.
Facility setting
$167.09–$174.81
2 of 2 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.
Interventional radiology
About 49406: Image-guided peritoneal fluid drainage
Report percutaneous, image-guided catheter placement to drain a fluid collection in the peritoneal or retroperitoneal space.
This service places a catheter through the skin into a fluid collection in the peritoneal or retroperitoneal space so the collection can be drained. Typical cases include image-guided drainage of an abdominal abscess, hematoma, or cyst. An interventional radiologist commonly performs the procedure in a hospital imaging suite or other procedural setting, using imaging to guide access and catheter position.
Select this code when the collection is peritoneal or retroperitoneal; collections in a visceral organ or another specified access route belong to different codes. The report should identify the collection’s location and nature, the imaging guidance and access used, and catheter placement and drainage. This is a minor procedure with a 0-day global period, so same-day preoperative and postoperative care is included. When multiple procedures are performed in one session, the highest-valued is paid in full and the others are subject to the standard 50% reduction. Modifier 50 is inappropriate; assistant-at-surgery payment is restricted, and co-surgeons and team surgery are not permitted.
CMS billing rules for 49406
- 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 RVU3.90 · 16%
- Practice expense (office) RVU20.74 · 83%
- Malpractice RVU0.42 · 2%
27.5K
Medicare services in 2024 · #1004 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.
49406 compared with similar codes
Office rates for Massachusetts, from the same CMS release.
$766.40–$853.43
Code 49407 describes catheter drainage using a transvaginal or transrectal route, rather than percutaneous access to a peritoneal or retroperitoneal collection.
$295.10–$327.29
Code 49083 is for image-guided abdominal paracentesis. Use 49406 when a catheter is placed to drain a peritoneal or retroperitoneal collection.
Compare 49406 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.
2 of 2 payment localities
Metropolitan Boston →
Office / nonfacility
$975.21
Facility
$174.81
Rest Of Massachusetts →
Office / nonfacility
$872.98
Facility
$167.09
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49406 billing questions
How does this differ from 49405?
Use 49406 for a peritoneal or retroperitoneal collection. Code 49405 is for a collection in a visceral site, such as an organ.
When is 49407 more appropriate?
Code 49407 is for catheter drainage reached through a transvaginal or transrectal route. Code 49406 covers percutaneous drainage of a peritoneal or retroperitoneal collection.
Can the imaging guidance be billed separately?
Image guidance is part of this catheter-drainage service. The procedure documentation should identify the guidance used and how it directed access and catheter placement.
Can modifier 50 be used for collections on both sides?
No. CMS identifies bilateral adjustment as inappropriate for this code, so modifier 50 should not be used.
How does the multiple-procedure rule affect another procedure in the same session?
The highest-valued procedure is paid in full, and the other procedure or procedures are subject to the standard 50% reduction.
Is an assistant or co-surgeon payable for this procedure?
Assistant-at-surgery payment is restricted. Co-surgeons and team surgery are not permitted under the CMS rules provided for this code.
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.
5,79249400,,Air injection into abdomen,A,,1.83,2.47,,0.31,,0.21,4.51,2.35,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
5,79349402,,Remove foreign body adbomen,A,,13.74,6.88,NA,6.88,,3.32,23.94,23.94,0,090,0.09,0.81,0.10,2,0,1,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
5,79449405,,Image cath fluid colxn visc,A,,3.90,20.76,,0.67,,0.42,25.08,4.99,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
5,79549406,,Image cath fluid peri/retro,A,,3.90,20.74,,0.67,,0.42,25.06,4.99,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
5,79649407,,Image cath fluid trns/vgnl,A,,4.14,17.41,,0.74,,0.51,22.06,5.39,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
5,79749411,,Ins mark abd/pel for rt perq,A,,3.48,10.25,,0.90,,0.36,14.09,4.74,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,0,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
5,79849412,,Ins device for rt guide open,A,,1.46,0.36,NA,0.36,,0.39,2.21,2.21,0,ZZZ,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,0,0,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00