CPT 36556: Central Venous Access Catheter Insertion, Age ≥5
Medicare pays $247 and commercial payers pay $798 on average nationally for this procedure.
CPT code 36556 describes insertion of a central venous access catheter in the neck, chest, or groin for patients age 5 years and older; the service is a central venous catheter placement procedure typically performed in an inpatient or outpatient surgical or procedural setting for establishing vascular access to draw blood or administer medications or nutrition.
For related coverage guidance, see recent payer policy updates: Intravenous Anesthetics for the Treatment of Chronic Pain and Psychiatric or Substance Use Disorders, Intravenous Anesthetics for the Treatment of Chronic Pain and Psychiatric or Substance Use Disorders, Intravenous Anesthetics for the Treatment of Chronic Pain and Psychiatric or Substance Use Disorders.
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National Reimbursement Benchmarks
Across payers, Medicare’s mean rate of $246.70 sits below BUCA’s average commercial mean of $797.70, indicating a substantial spread between federal reimbursement and this commercial benchmark. Median values where available (for example, Cigna and UnitedHealth Group) are generally aligned with their means, while BUCA’s median of $856.40 is notably higher than Medicare’s median of $244.00, reinforcing that BUCA-level commercial contracts are well above Medicare averages.
Dispersion measured as the interquartile range (P75 minus P25) is widest for Blue Cross Blue Shield at $1,342.00 (P75 $1,784.40 minus P25 $420.70), followed by BUCA at $880.60 (P75 $1,161.90 minus P25 $298.30). Tightest IQRs are seen with Aetna at $169.30 (P75 $247.10 minus P25 $78.00) and Medicare at $29.00 (P75 $257.00 minus P25 $228.00), indicating relatively concentrated reimbursement around the median for those payers.