Billing code 10030: Fluid drainageMedicare rate & RVUs in Utah
Reports percutaneous, image-guided catheter drainage of a soft-tissue fluid collection, such as an abscess or seroma, when catheter drainage is performed.
Medicare pays $588.55 for 10030 in the office in Utah (Utah). 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 10030 covers
The service places a drainage catheter through the skin into a fluid collection in soft tissue, using imaging to guide placement. Typical targets include an abscess, hematoma, seroma, lymphocele, or cyst in sites such as an extremity, abdominal wall, or neck. Interventional radiologists commonly perform the procedure in a hospital or outpatient imaging setting; other physicians with the appropriate procedural role may also perform it. The catheter permits ongoing drainage rather than a one-time needle aspiration. Image guidance is part of the catheter-placement service.
Report this code for a percutaneous catheter placed to drain a soft-tissue collection, not for a collection in a visceral, retroperitoneal, or peritoneal site. Documentation should identify the collection and its location, the percutaneous approach, image guidance, and catheter placement. The code has a 0-day global period, so same-day preoperative and postoperative care is included. When multiple procedures are performed in the same session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and other procedures are subject to the standard 50% reduction. Assistant-at-surgery payment requires documentation of medical necessity; co-surgeons and team surgery are not permitted.
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.
10030 in Utah
| Payment locality | Office | Facility |
|---|---|---|
| Utah | $588.55 | $116.02 |
How the 10030 rate is calculated
Each of 10030’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 · 10030
RVUs × geographic indexes × conversion factor
Swap in your local Medicare rate.
Work 2.68Practice expense 15.56Malpractice 0.35
All indexes start at 1.000 (the national rate). Enter a ZIP or drag a slider.
Payment rules and modifiers for 10030
The CMS indicators that decide how 10030 is paid alongside other services.
CMS payment indicators · 10030
Fluid drainage
| Rule | CMS value | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Global period | 000 | Same-day global: pre- and post-op care on the day of the procedure is included. |
| Multiple procedures | 2 | Standard reduction: highest-valued procedure at 100%, others at 50%. |
| Bilateral (modifier 50) | 9 | The concept doesn’t apply. |
| Assistant at surgery (80/81/82/AS) | 0 | Not paid without supporting documentation. |
| Co-surgeons (62) | 0 | Not permitted. |
| Team surgery (66) | 0 | Not permitted. |
| Professional/technical | 9 | The concept doesn’t apply. |
What modifiers do to the payment
Modifier 51 · payment effect
With and without the modifier
10030 without 51 · national office
$620.92
Fluid drainage
10030-51 · Second procedure: 50%
$310.46
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%).
10030 compared with similar codes
Compare codes
10030 vs 10160 vs 10060 vs 49405 vs 49407: national Medicare rates
Swap in your local Medicare rate.
How to choose
- 10160Lesion aspiration
- Use 10030 when image-guided catheter placement is performed for drainage. Use 10160 for needle aspiration of a soft-tissue collection without catheter placement.
- 10060Abscess drainage
- 10060 describes simple incision and drainage of an abscess. This code describes image-guided percutaneous catheter drainage of a soft-tissue collection.
- 49405Visceral drainage
- Use 10030 for a soft-tissue collection, such as one in an extremity or abdominal wall. Use 49405 for a visceral collection.
- 49407Pelvic drainage
- Use 10030 for a soft-tissue collection. Use 49407 when the collection is peritoneal.
10030 billing questions
How is this different from needle aspiration?
This code describes image-guided placement of a catheter for drainage of a soft-tissue collection. Needle aspiration without catheter placement is a different service, such as the service represented by 10160.
Is imaging guidance separately reported?
Imaging guidance is part of this catheter-placement service. The documentation should show that imaging guided the placement.
Does this code apply to a collection inside an organ or body cavity?
No. This code is for soft tissue, such as an extremity, abdominal wall, or neck. Codes 49405, 49406, and 49407 address other collection locations.
What is included in the 0-day global period?
Same-day preoperative and postoperative care is included. The code has a 0-day global period.
How are multiple procedures in the same session paid?
The highest-valued procedure is paid in full, and other procedures in that session are subject to the standard multiple-procedure reduction.
Can an assistant, co-surgeon, or surgical team be reported?
Assistant-at-surgery payment requires documentation of medical necessity. Co-surgeons and team surgery are not permitted 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 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
Show the CMS file lines behind this rate
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