Billing code 36140: Arterial accessMedicare rate & RVUs in Ohio
Reports introduction of a needle or catheter into an upper- or lower-extremity artery, commonly to establish access for vascular imaging or intervention.
Medicare pays $462.38 for 36140 in the office in Ohio (Ohio). Which amount applies depends on the service address.
Medicare allowed amount for participating (non-QP) physicians, before deductible, coinsurance and claim adjustments. Not a patient’s bill or a hospital charge.
On this page 9 sections
What 36140 covers
Code 36140 describes introducing a needle or catheter into an artery of an arm or leg. Interventional radiologists, vascular surgeons, and other physicians performing vascular procedures may use it in an angiography suite, catheterization laboratory, or similar procedural setting. The code concerns access to an extremity artery; it does not describe the angiographic images or catheter placement in a more central vessel.
Select the code based on the artery entered and the service performed, and document the access site, side, purpose, and catheter placement. When extremity angiography or another vascular procedure is performed, distinguish the access service from the imaging or intervention and report each service only when separately supported. If multiple procedures are performed in the same session, CMS pays the highest-valued procedure in full and the others at 50%.
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.
36140 in Ohio
| Payment locality | Office | Facility |
|---|---|---|
| Ohio | $462.38 | $78.14 |
How the 36140 rate is calculated
Each of 36140’s three RVUs is multiplied by a geographic index (GPCI) for the payment locality, added up, and multiplied by the conversion factor. Drag the indexes or enter a ZIP to see what moves the rate.
How the rate is built · 36140
RVUs × geographic indexes × conversion factor
Swap in your local Medicare rate.
Work 1.72Practice expense 12.87Malpractice 0.37
All indexes start at 1.000 (the national rate). Enter a ZIP or drag a slider.
Payment rules and modifiers for 36140
The CMS indicators that decide how 36140 is paid alongside other services.
CMS payment indicators · 36140
Arterial access
| Rule | CMS value | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Global period | XXX | The global surgery concept doesn’t apply. |
| Multiple procedures | 2 | Standard reduction: highest-valued procedure at 100%, others at 50%. |
| Bilateral (modifier 50) | 0 | The 150% bilateral adjustment doesn’t apply. |
| Assistant at surgery (80/81/82/AS) | 1 | Not paid (statutory restriction). |
| Co-surgeons (62) | 0 | Not permitted. |
| Team surgery (66) | 0 | Not permitted. |
| Professional/technical | 0 | Physician service: no professional/technical split. |
What modifiers do to the payment
Modifier 51 · payment effect
With and without the modifier
36140 without 51 · national office
$499.68
Arterial access
36140-51 · Second procedure: 50%
$249.84
When this isn’t the highest-valued procedure in the session, Medicare pays 50% of its fee schedule amount (the highest is paid at 100%).
36140 compared with similar codes
Compare codes
36140 vs 36100 vs 36160 vs 36200 vs 36620: national Medicare rates
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How to choose
- 36100Arterial access
- 36100 concerns access in a different arterial territory. Choose according to the artery entered, not simply the fact that both services establish arterial access.
- 36160Aortic access
- 36160 describes translumbar aortic access. Code 36140 is for an upper- or lower-extremity artery.
- 36200Aortic catheterization
- 36200 describes nonselective catheter placement in the aorta. Code 36140 concerns introduction into an extremity artery.
- 36620Arterial catheter
- 36620 is for percutaneous arterial catheterization used for pressure monitoring; 36140 concerns access for a vascular procedure.
36140 billing questions
How is 36140 different from catheter placement in the aorta?
36140 describes entry into an upper- or lower-extremity artery. Use the code that reflects the catheter’s documented destination when it is advanced into a more central vessel.
Does 36140 report the angiographic images?
No. It describes arterial access, not the imaging study. Angiography requires its own code when the imaging service is performed and separately reportable.
What details should the procedure note include?
Document the extremity artery and side entered, the purpose of access, and the catheter placement. The record should make clear whether the service involved vascular procedural access or arterial pressure monitoring.
How does the multiple procedure reduction affect payment?
For multiple procedures in the same session, CMS pays the highest-valued procedure in full and the others at 50%.
When would 36620 be more appropriate?
Use 36620 for percutaneous arterial catheterization performed for pressure monitoring. Code 36140 describes extremity arterial access for a vascular procedure, rather than an arterial monitoring line.
Where these rates come from
FeeBase calculates base physician payments from CMS work, practice-expense and malpractice RVUs, adjusted by each locality’s geographic indexes and the conversion factor. Services without a published rate are labeled, never given a made-up amount. Amounts are Medicare allowed amounts before claim adjustments: not a patient’s bill or a commercial rate.
CMS RVU26D · effective Oct 1, 2026 through the day before Jan 1, 2027
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