$630.47–$722.94
47537 removes the catheter without replacement; 47536 describes exchanging an existing catheter for another.
On this page
CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
47537 Biliary catheter removal Medicare reimbursement rates in Washington
Report percutaneous removal of a biliary drainage catheter when drainage is no longer needed, with fluoroscopic guidance included in the service. Compare 47537 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 47537 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
$482.78–$554.29
2 of 2 localities have a supported rate.
Facility setting
$83.94–$89.55
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.
Interventional radiology
About 47537: Percutaneous biliary drainage catheter removal
Report percutaneous removal of a biliary drainage catheter when drainage is no longer needed, with fluoroscopic guidance included in the service.
An interventional radiologist typically removes a biliary drainage catheter through its existing percutaneous tract when the underlying obstruction or leak has resolved, or internal drainage is adequate. This may follow a successful capping trial or other assessment showing that continued external drainage is unnecessary. The service removes the catheter; it does not describe replacing it or converting it to another catheter configuration. Fluoroscopic guidance associated with removal is included.
Report 47537 for the removal itself, supported by a procedure note documenting the catheter removed, the reason it was no longer needed, and the removal performed. 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. Modifier 50 is inappropriate for this service. Medicare does not pay an assistant at surgery, and co-surgeons and team surgery are not permitted.
CMS billing rules for 47537
- 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 RVU1.79 · 13%
- Practice expense (office) RVU11.86 · 86%
- Malpractice RVU0.20 · 1%
1.8K
Medicare services in 2024 · #2536 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.
47537 compared with similar codes
Office rates for Washington, from the same CMS release.
$884.01–$1,012.32
47537 ends catheter drainage by removal. Choose 47535 when the external catheter is converted to an internal-external configuration.
$1,157.22–$1,324.25
47537 removes an existing biliary drainage catheter; 47533 is for percutaneous placement of a new external drainage catheter.
Compare 47537 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
$482.78
Facility
$83.94
Seattle (King Cnty) →
Office / nonfacility
$554.29
Facility
$89.55
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47537 billing questions
How is removal different from catheter exchange?
Use 47537 when the biliary drainage catheter is removed without replacement. Use 47536 when an existing biliary drainage catheter is exchanged for another catheter.
Is fluoroscopic guidance separately reported?
Fluoroscopic guidance associated with the percutaneous catheter removal is included in 47537.
Can modifier 50 be used?
No. The service describes removal of a biliary drainage catheter, and modifier 50 is inappropriate.
What does the 0-day global period include?
Same-day preoperative and postoperative care is included in the procedure payment. Care on later dates is outside that same-day global period.
How does Medicare handle other procedures in the same session?
The highest-valued procedure is paid in full, and other procedures in the session are subject to the standard multiple procedure reduction.
May an assistant or co-surgeon be reported?
Medicare does not pay an assistant at surgery for 47537. 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.
5,68647534,,Plmt biliary drainage cath,A,,7.41,28.24,,1.26,,0.82,36.47,9.49,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
5,68747535,,Conversion ext bil drg cath,A,,3.85,21.12,,0.79,,0.43,25.40,5.07,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
5,68847536,,Exchange biliary drg cath,A,,2.54,15.28,,0.61,,0.28,18.10,3.43,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
5,68947537,,Removal biliary drg cath,A,,1.79,11.86,,0.52,,0.20,13.85,2.51,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
5,69047538,,Perq plmt bile duct stent,A,,4.63,99.51,,0.92,,0.50,104.64,6.05,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
5,69147539,,Perq plmt bile duct stent,A,,8.53,109.41,,1.46,,0.99,118.93,10.98,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
5,69247540,,Perq plmt bile duct stent,A,,8.80,108.70,,1.51,,0.96,118.46,11.27,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00