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CPT 93451: Percutaneous Venous Access for Oxygen Saturation/Cardiac Output
CPT code 93451 denotes a fluoroscopy-guided percutaneous venous access procedure to obtain venous oxygen saturation measurements for evaluation of cardiac output. Nationally, this code captures an invasive diagnostic technique used in cardiology and critical care to assess hemodynamics, guide management of heart failure and pulmonary hypertension, and support decision-making in complex cardiovascular disease. Accurate coding of this service matters for clinical documentation, quality reporting, and appropriate claims adjudication in acute and ambulatory procedural settings.
Key payers included in the analysis are Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna Health, and UnitedHealthcare, along with Medicare. Readers will find context on clinical intent and typical sites of service, how this procedure relates to other cardiac catheterization and diagnostic services, and which diagnoses commonly align with its use. The publication summarizes benchmarks and coverage patterns, highlights coding relationships to related procedures such as left heart catheterization and flow-directed catheter placement, and provides concise clinical context for why oxygen saturation sampling is performed during invasive hemodynamic assessment.
Data not available in the input for payer-specific reimbursement amounts or utilization metrics.
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Billing Code Overview
CPT code 93451 describes percutaneous venous access via the internal jugular, subclavian, or femoral vein performed under fluoroscopic guidance to obtain oxygen saturation measurements for evaluation of cardiac output. This procedure involves catheter-based sampling of venous blood to measure the percentage of oxygen saturation, providing direct physiologic data used in assessing cardiac function and hemodynamics.
Service type: Invasive diagnostic cardiac catheterization procedures for hemodynamic assessment
Typical site of service: Hospital inpatient or outpatient catheterization laboratory; may also occur in specialized cardiac procedural suites
National Reimbursement Benchmarks
Medicare’s mean rate of $592.20 sits well below BUCA’s commercial average of $2,960.90, illustrating a substantial gap between federal program reimbursement and the higher commercial market benchmark. The median for Medicare is $737 (with P25 of $134 and P75 of $847.50), while BUCA’s median is $3,294.80, so typical commercial reimbursements in BUCA are multiple times higher than Medicare’s central tendency.
Looking at dispersion measured as P75 minus P25, Blue Cross Blue Shield has the widest interquartile spread at $4,755.70 (P75 $6,402.20 minus P25 $1,646.30), followed by BUCA at $3,084.40 (P75 $4,147.70 minus P25 $1,063.30). The tightest spreads appear with Aetna at $665.70 and Cigna at $984.90, while UnitedHealth Group’s IQR is $912.10. These differences highlight substantial variability in commercial pricing across payers.