$46.50–$51.88
51701 is for simple placement of a non-indwelling catheter, often for residual urine collection. Choose 51703 for complicated placement of a temporary indwelling catheter.
On this page
CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
51703 Bladder catheter Medicare reimbursement rates in Washington
Report this service for difficult placement of a temporary indwelling bladder catheter, such as when obstruction or altered anatomy complicates insertion. Compare 51703 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 51703 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
$158.73–$178.28
2 of 2 localities have a supported rate.
Facility setting
$67.28–$71.73
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.
Urology procedure
About 51703: Complicated indwelling bladder catheter insertion
Report this service for difficult placement of a temporary indwelling bladder catheter, such as when obstruction or altered anatomy complicates insertion.
This service covers placement of a temporary indwelling catheter when insertion is complicated, rather than routine catheterization. Situations may include urethral obstruction, stricture, or altered anatomy from prior surgery. Urologists and other qualified clinicians may perform it in an office, emergency department, or hospital when a standard catheter placement is difficult. The documentation should explain the reason for difficulty and the work involved in achieving placement.
Report the complicated insertion instead of a simple catheter-placement code when the documented circumstances support the added complexity. The code has a 0-day global period, so same-day preoperative and postoperative care is included. When multiple procedures occur in the same session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and the others are subject to the standard 50% multiple-procedure 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 51703
- 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 RVU1.43 · 31%
- Practice expense (office) RVU3.00 · 65%
- Malpractice RVU0.19 · 4%
50.1K
Medicare services in 2024 · #781 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.
51703 compared with similar codes
Office rates for Washington, from the same CMS release.
$67.60–$76.47
51702 describes simple placement of a temporary indwelling catheter. Report 51703 when documented circumstances make the insertion complicated.
$144.65–$162.41
51710 covers complicated change of an existing cystostomy tube. 51703 is for complicated placement of a temporary indwelling bladder catheter.
Compare 51703 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
$158.73
Facility
$67.28
Seattle (King Cnty) →
Office / nonfacility
$178.28
Facility
$71.73
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51703 billing questions
What distinguishes this service from routine Foley placement?
The insertion must be complicated, for example by obstruction or altered anatomy. Routine temporary indwelling catheter placement is reported with 51702.
When is 51701 a better choice?
Use 51701 for simple insertion of a non-indwelling catheter, such as straight catheterization to obtain residual urine. This code describes complicated placement of a temporary indwelling catheter.
What documentation supports complicated insertion?
Document the reason ordinary placement was difficult, such as obstruction or altered anatomy, and the circumstances and work involved in catheter placement.
Can modifier 50 be reported?
No. The CMS bilateral adjustment does not apply, and modifier 50 is inappropriate for this service.
How does the multiple-procedure reduction affect payment?
For procedures performed in the same session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and the other procedures are subject to the standard 50% reduction.
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.
6,04551700,,Irrigation of bladder,A,,0.59,1.68,,0.12,,0.07,2.34,0.78,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
6,04651701,,Insert bladder catheter,A,,0.49,0.80,,0.10,,0.07,1.36,0.66,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
6,04751702,,Insert temp bladder cath,A,,0.49,1.40,,0.12,,0.07,1.96,0.68,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
6,04851703,,Insert bladder cath complex,A,,1.43,3.00,,0.40,,0.19,4.62,2.02,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
6,04951705,,Change of bladder tube,A,,0.88,2.03,,0.41,,0.12,3.03,1.41,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
6,05051710,,Change of bladder tube,A,,1.32,2.72,,0.70,,0.17,4.21,2.19,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
6,05151715,,Endoscopic injection/implant,A,,3.64,6.20,,1.11,,0.53,10.37,5.28,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,0,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00