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CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01

33016 Pericardiocentesis Medicare reimbursement rates in Wyoming

Reports needle drainage of pericardial fluid, with imaging guidance included when performed, for an effusion or cardiac tamponade. Compare 33016 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in Wyoming.

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 33016 in Wyoming?

Wyoming has 1 payment locality in this comparison. Use the service location to choose the applicable amount. These are the supported base rates for the payment area shown below, using the same CMS release.

Office / nonfacility

No supported rate

Facility setting

$195.48

1 of 1 localities have a supported rate.

Payment area: Wyoming**

One mapped payment locality.

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.

Find 33016 in your payment locality →

Cardiology procedure

About 33016: Pericardiocentesis with imaging guidance

Reports needle drainage of pericardial fluid, with imaging guidance included when performed, for an effusion or cardiac tamponade.

A clinician accesses the pericardial space with a needle to aspirate fluid, often to relieve pressure from an effusion or tamponade and, when indicated, obtain fluid for analysis. Cardiologists and other clinicians experienced in the procedure commonly perform it in a hospital, such as in a catheterization laboratory or intensive care unit. Imaging guidance is included when used. This code fits pericardiocentesis rather than drainage that leaves an indwelling catheter in place.

Document the clinical indication, pericardial access and aspiration, and imaging used. CMS assigns 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. CMS does not pay an assistant at surgery for this service, and co-surgeons and team surgery are not permitted.

CMS billing rules for 33016

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 RVU4.29 · 70%
  • Practice expense (office) RVU0.83 · 14%
  • Malpractice RVU0.99 · 16%

3.8K

Medicare services in 2024 · #2034 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.

33016 compared with similar codes

Office rates for Wyoming, from the same CMS release.

33017

Pericardial drainage

Age 6+, no congenital anomaly

No office rate

Choose 33017 when percutaneous drainage includes placement of an indwelling catheter in a patient age 6 or older without congenital cardiac anomaly; 33016 reports pericardiocentesis.

33018

Pericardial drainage

Age 0–5 or congenital anomaly

No office rate

Choose 33018 for indwelling-catheter drainage in a patient age 5 or younger or with a congenital cardiac anomaly. 33016 reports pericardiocentesis instead.

33025

Pericardial window

Open surgical drainage

No office rate

33025 describes surgical creation of a pericardial window for drainage; 33016 is needle access and aspiration.

Compare 33016 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.

1 of 1 payment localities

Office and facility base rates · shared scale starting at $0

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How this local rate is calculated

Each RVU component is multiplied by its own geographic practice cost index (GPCI). The three adjusted components are added, then multiplied by the conversion factor. These are the inputs used for 33016 in Wyoming**.

PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv

3,814

Code
33016
Physician work
4.29
Practice expense
0.83
Malpractice
0.99

GPCI2026.csv

112

Locality
Wyoming**
Physician work
1.000
Practice expense
1.000
Malpractice
0.740
Facility calculation for 33016 in Wyoming**
ComponentRVULocality factorAdjusted
Physician work4.29× 1.0004.2900
Practice expense0.83× 1.0000.8300
Malpractice0.99× 0.7400.7326
Total RVUs5.8526
Conversion factor× 33.4009

Facility rate, Wyoming**$195.48

Explore RVUs, geographic factors and the full formula

Facility

Facility calculation inputs
ComponentRVULocal GPCI
Work4.291
Practice expense0.831
Malpractice0.990.74

(4.29 × 1 + 0.83 × 1 + 0.99 × 0.74) × $33.4009 = $195.48

The office and facility calculations use their respective practice-expense RVUs. The facility amount here is the physician fee, not a separate hospital or facility bill.

33016 billing questions

How does 33016 differ from 33017 or 33018?

33016 is for pericardiocentesis without the indwelling catheter service described by 33017 and 33018. Those codes distinguish patient age and congenital cardiac anomaly status.

Can imaging guidance be billed separately?

Imaging guidance, when performed for the pericardiocentesis, is included in 33016. Document the guidance used as part of the procedure.

Does 33016 have a global period?

Yes. It has a 0-day global period, and same-day preoperative and postoperative care is included.

Can modifier 50 or an assistant-at-surgery modifier be reported?

Modifier 50 is inappropriate for this code. CMS does not pay an assistant at surgery for 33016.

How does CMS handle other procedures performed in the same session?

The highest-valued procedure is paid in full; other procedures in the same session are subject to the standard multiple-procedure reduction. Co-surgeons and team surgery are not permitted for 33016.

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.

RVUs for 33016PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv, line 3,814 (RVU26D)
Geographic factors for Wyoming**GPCI2026.csv, line 112 (RVU26D)