$552.65–$654.78
36200 describes a catheter left in the aorta without selective branch placement. 36215 requires documented selection of a first-order thoracic or brachiocephalic branch.
On this page
CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
36215 Arterial catheterization Medicare reimbursement rates in Virginia
Report this code when a catheter is selectively positioned in a first-order thoracic or brachiocephalic arterial branch, rather than left in the aorta or advanced farther. Compare 36215 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in Virginia.
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 36215 in Virginia?
Virginia 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
$1042.64–$1235.37
2 of 2 localities have a supported rate.
Facility setting
$181.43–$203.32
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 catheterization
About 36215: First-order thoracic arterial catheter placement
Report this code when a catheter is selectively positioned in a first-order thoracic or brachiocephalic arterial branch, rather than left in the aorta or advanced farther.
The operator advances a catheter from an arterial access site into a first-order branch arising from the thoracic aorta or brachiocephalic trunk. Examples include selective placement in the left common carotid or left subclavian artery. Interventional radiologists, vascular surgeons, and other physicians performing arterial catheter procedures may use this service during diagnostic angiography or an intervention, when the catheter placement is separately reportable.
Documentation should identify the selected artery and show the catheter position and order of branching; access alone does not establish selective placement. Use a more distal-level code when the catheter reaches a second- or third-order branch. The cervicocerebral angiography codes that include catheter selection should not be duplicated with a separate placement code for the same included work. CMS assigns a 0-day global period, so same-day preoperative and postoperative care is included. In a same-session multiple-procedure situation, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and other procedures 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 36215
- 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 RVU4.07 · 13%
- Practice expense (office) RVU27.17 · 85%
- Malpractice RVU0.62 · 2%
26.7K
Medicare services in 2024 · #1020 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.
36215 compared with similar codes
Office rates for Virginia, from the same CMS release.
$1,054.61–$1,249.11
Use 36216 when the catheter reaches a second-order branch; 36215 is for the first-order branch level.
$1,931.73–$2,299.01
36217 applies when the catheter reaches a third-order branch. Do not choose it merely because the procedure involves a more complex intervention.
$1,228.94–$1,459.57
36222 includes catheter selection and cervicocerebral angiography of the common carotid or innominate artery. 36215 describes placement alone when separately reportable.
Compare 36215 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
Dc + Md/Va Suburbs →
Office / nonfacility
$1235.37
Facility
$203.32
Virginia →
Office / nonfacility
$1042.64
Facility
$181.43
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36215 billing questions
How does 36215 differ from 36200?
36215 represents selective placement into a first-order thoracic or brachiocephalic branch. Use 36200 when the catheter remains in the aorta without selective branch placement.
When should 36216 be used instead?
Use 36216 when the catheter is advanced into a second-order branch. Select the level based on the documented catheter position and arterial branching, not the access site.
Can 36215 be reported with cervicocerebral angiography?
Some cervicocerebral angiography codes include catheter selection as part of the service. Do not separately report 36215 for catheter placement already included in the selected angiography code.
Should modifier 50 be appended for bilateral branch selection?
No. CMS identifies bilateral adjustment as inappropriate for this code; modifier 50 should not be used.
What documentation supports 36215?
Document the specific artery selected and the catheter's final position so the first-order branch level is clear. The access site by itself does not support this selective placement.
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.
4,44036140,,Intro ndl icath upr/lxtr art,A,,1.72,12.87,,0.27,,0.37,14.96,2.36,0,XXX,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
4,44136160,,Establish access to aorta,A,,2.46,13.51,,0.38,,0.36,16.33,3.20,0,XXX,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
4,44236200,,Place catheter in aorta,A,,2.70,13.64,,0.36,,0.62,16.96,3.68,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,1,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
4,44336215,,Place catheter in artery,A,,4.07,27.17,,0.94,,0.62,31.86,5.63,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
4,44436216,,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