$614.01–$646.46
36200 describes aortic catheter placement. 36221 also includes the arch angiographic study and its interpretation, documentation, and report.
On this page
CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
36221 Aortic arch angiography Medicare reimbursement rates in New Jersey
Report this service for nonselective catheter placement in the thoracic aorta with angiographic imaging of the aortic arch and its major vessel origins. Compare 36221 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in New Jersey.
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 36221 in New Jersey?
New Jersey 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
$1034.11–$1090.25
2 of 2 localities have a supported rate.
Facility setting
$187.92–$191.37
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.
Vascular imaging
About 36221: Thoracic aortic arch angiography
Report this service for nonselective catheter placement in the thoracic aorta with angiographic imaging of the aortic arch and its major vessel origins.
A catheter is positioned in the thoracic aorta without selective advancement into an arch branch, and contrast images show the aortic arch and the origins of its major vessels. The service is commonly performed by an interventional radiologist, vascular surgeon, or other physician performing catheter angiography in a hospital or catheterization suite to assess arch anatomy or suspected vascular disease. The code includes the catheter placement and the radiological supervision, interpretation, image documentation, and report for the arch study.
Report 36221 when the documented catheter position and images support a nonselective arch angiogram; selective branch catheterization and the specific territory imaged point to a different cervicocerebral angiography code. The code is priced as bilateral, so modifier 50 does not increase payment. It has a 0-day global period, with same-day preoperative and postoperative care included. When multiple procedures are performed in one session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and other procedures are subject to the standard 50% reduction. Medicare does not pay an assistant at surgery for this code; co-surgeons and team surgery are not permitted.
CMS billing rules for 36221
- 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
- The code is already priced as bilateral; modifier 50 does not increase payment.
- 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 RVU3.82 · 13%
- Practice expense (office) RVU23.81 · 83%
- Malpractice RVU0.90 · 3%
1K
Medicare services in 2024 · #2966 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.
36221 compared with similar codes
Office rates for New Jersey, from the same CMS release.
$1,366.70–$1,440.36
36221 is a nonselective thoracic aortic arch study. 36222 involves selective catheterization for angiography of a carotid or innominate territory.
$2,082.31–$2,198.60
Choose 36223 when selective catheterization supports intracranial and extracranial carotid angiography; 36221 covers nonselective arch imaging.
$1,947.72–$2,055.69
36225 is for selective subclavian angiography. 36221 reports nonselective catheter placement with imaging of the aortic arch.
Compare 36221 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
Northern Nj →
Office / nonfacility
$1090.25
Facility
$191.37
Rest Of New Jersey →
Office / nonfacility
$1034.11
Facility
$187.92
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36221 billing questions
When should 36221 be chosen instead of a selective carotid angiography code?
Use 36221 for nonselective catheter placement in the thoracic aorta with imaging of the arch. Selective catheterization and imaging of a carotid or other branch territory point to a selective angiography code.
Can the arch angiography interpretation be billed separately?
No. The radiological supervision and interpretation, image documentation, and report for the arch study are included in 36221.
Should modifier 50 be appended when both sides are evaluated?
The code is already priced as bilateral, and modifier 50 does not increase payment.
How does Medicare handle 36221 with other procedures in the same session?
The highest-valued procedure is paid in full, and other procedures in the same session are subject to the standard multiple procedure reduction.
What documentation supports reporting 36221?
Document the catheter position in the thoracic aorta, the arch angiographic images obtained, and the interpretation and report. The record should support a nonselective arch study rather than selective branch catheterization.
Can an assistant surgeon or co-surgeon be reported for 36221?
Medicare does not pay an assistant at surgery for this code, and 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.
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
4,44836222,,Place cath carotid/inom art,A,,5.15,31.25,,1.10,,1.31,37.71,7.56,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,1,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
4,44936223,,Place cath carotid/inom art,A,,5.61,50.03,,1.58,,1.71,57.35,8.90,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,1,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
4,45036224,,Place cath carotd art,A,,6.09,62.32,,1.89,,1.96,70.37,9.94,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,1,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00