No office rate
Use 33019 for CT-guided percutaneous drainage with an indwelling catheter. Use 33016 for pericardiocentesis, including imaging guidance, when a catheter-drainage service is not performed.
On this page
CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
33019 Pericardial drainage Medicare reimbursement rates in Washington
Report CT-guided percutaneous pericardial drainage when a clinician places an indwelling catheter to drain pericardial fluid through a needle-created access. Compare 33019 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in Washington.
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 33019 in Washington?
Washington 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
No supported rate
Facility setting
$178.31–$188.38
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.
Cardiology procedure
About 33019: CT-guided percutaneous pericardial drainage
Report CT-guided percutaneous pericardial drainage when a clinician places an indwelling catheter to drain pericardial fluid through a needle-created access.
This service involves accessing the pericardial space through the chest wall under CT guidance and leaving an indwelling catheter to drain fluid, such as an effusion associated with cardiac tamponade. It is typically performed by a cardiologist, interventional radiologist, or other physician experienced in percutaneous image-guided procedures in a hospital or other facility. The catheter permits ongoing drainage rather than a single needle aspiration.
Report 33019 when the documented service includes percutaneous catheter placement and CT guidance. The procedure note should identify the indication, CT-guided access, catheter placement, and drainage performed. Imaging guidance is included in the service. The code has 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 procedure is paid in full and the others are subject to the standard multiple-procedure reduction. Modifier 50 is inappropriate; assistant-at-surgery services are not paid, and co-surgeons and team surgery are not permitted.
CMS billing rules for 33019
- 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 RVU4.18 · 78%
- Practice expense (office) RVU0.68 · 13%
- Malpractice RVU0.51 · 9%
227
Medicare services in 2024 · #4212 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.
33019 compared with similar codes
Office rates for Washington, from the same CMS release.
No office rate
33017 is for percutaneous catheter drainage in patients age 6 years or older without congenital cardiac anomaly. 33019 identifies the CT-guided service.
No office rate
33018 is for percutaneous catheter drainage in patients age 0–5 years or with congenital cardiac anomaly. 33019 identifies the CT-guided service.
No office rate
33025 describes creation of a pericardial window for drainage. 33019 is the percutaneous CT-guided catheter approach.
Compare 33019 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
Rest Of Washington →
Office / nonfacility
Unavailable
Facility
$178.31
Seattle (King Cnty) →
Office / nonfacility
Unavailable
Facility
$188.38
Need rates for a whole code list?
Fee-sheet and API access are in early access. Tell us which codes and locations your team needs.
33019 billing questions
When should 33019 be selected instead of 33016?
33019 describes percutaneous drainage with an indwelling catheter under CT guidance. 33016 describes pericardiocentesis, which may involve aspiration without leaving a catheter.
Is CT guidance separately reported with 33019?
No. The imaging guidance is included in this service; do not separately report the same CT guidance used to place the catheter.
How does 33019 differ from 33017 and 33018?
33019 identifies CT-guided catheter drainage. Codes 33017 and 33018 describe related percutaneous catheter drainage services distinguished by patient age and congenital cardiac anomaly criteria.
Can modifier 50 be appended for drainage on both sides?
No. The CMS bilateral adjustment does not apply to 33019, and modifier 50 is inappropriate for this service.
What payment rules apply when another procedure is performed in the same session?
The highest-valued procedure is paid in full and other procedures are subject to the standard multiple-procedure reduction. Same-day preoperative and postoperative care is included in the 0-day global period.
Can an assistant, co-surgeon, or surgical team be paid for 33019?
Assistant-at-surgery payment is barred for this code. 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.
3,81433016,,Pericardiocentesis w/imaging,A,,4.29,0.83,NA,0.83,,0.99,6.11,6.11,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,81533017,,Prcrd drg 6yr+ w/o cgen car,A,,4.50,0.87,NA,0.87,,1.04,6.41,6.41,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,81633018,,Prcrd drg 0-5yr or w/anomly,A,,5.27,0.99,NA,0.99,,1.27,7.53,7.53,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,81733019,,Perq prcrd drg insj cath ct,A,,4.18,0.68,NA,0.68,,0.51,5.37,5.37,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,8183301F,,Cancer stage docd metast,I,,0.00,0.00,,0.00,,0.00,0.00,0.00,9,XXX,0.00,0.00,0.00,9,9,9,9,9,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,81933020,,Incision of heart sac,A,,13.95,6.10,NA,6.10,,3.41,23.46,23.46,0,090,0.09,0.84,0.07,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,82033025,,Incision of heart sac,A,,12.87,6.11,NA,6.11,,3.18,22.16,22.16,0,090,0.09,0.84,0.07,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00