Cost analysis for CPT 36482 — Chemical destruction of first incompetent vein of arm or leg using imaging guidance
Average Medicare Payment
$1293.21
2023 data
Total Payments (2023)
$60.3M
Services (2023)
45.2K
Price Change (2018–2023)
-19.1%
| Year | Avg Payment | Total Payments | Services | YoY Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | $1597.93 | $38.9M | 23.6K | — |
| 2019 | $1572.57 | $65.1M | 39.9K | -1.6% |
| 2020 | $1476.87 | $53.0M | 34.2K | -6.1% |
| 2021 | $1486.54 | $60.5M | 39.0K | +0.7% |
| 2022 | $1351.24 | $60.3M | 42.8K | -9.1% |
| 2023 | $1293.21 | $60.3M | 45.2K | -4.3% |
The most expensive state pays 6.4x more than the cheapest for this procedure. DC averages $1607.21 vs KS at $250.94.
| State | Avg Payment | Total Payments | Services | Providers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DC | $1607.21 | $165.5K | 103 | 2 |
| NY | $1576.14 | $3.5M | 2.2K | 45 |
| NJ | $1539.07 | $1.2M | 751 | 9 |
| CA | $1519.28 | $13.9M | 9.2K | 103 |
| WA | $1488.12 | $183.0K | 123 | 5 |
| MD | $1403.97 | $992.6K | 707 | 15 |
| MA | $1366.10 | $413.9K | 303 | 10 |
| DE | $1361.85 | $250.6K | 184 | 3 |
| IL | $1354.94 | $3.0M | 2.2K | 33 |
| VA | $1348.82 | $1.8M | 1.3K | 19 |
| MN | $1347.80 | $327.5K | 243 | 8 |
| CO | $1347.53 | $1.7M | 1.2K | 14 |
| MI | $1343.52 | $983.5K | 732 | 15 |
| NC | $1337.78 | $618.1K | 462 | 7 |
| CT | $1336.42 | $608.1K | 455 | 5 |
| WY | $1331.38 | $275.6K | 207 | 3 |
| NV | $1321.90 | $1.1M | 829 | 12 |
| TX | $1321.18 | $6.2M | 4.7K | 86 |
| FL | $1298.46 | $7.5M | 5.7K | 77 |
| AZ | $1285.76 | $4.5M | 3.5K | 36 |
| GA | $1268.61 | $1.3M | 1.0K | 25 |
| NM | $1265.12 | $657.9K | 520 | 3 |
| NE | $1261.68 | $314.2K | 249 | 6 |
| IA | $1218.55 | $608.1K | 499 | 10 |
| PA | $1216.95 | $1.5M | 1.2K | 19 |
| SD | $1216.88 | $450.2K | 370 | 7 |
| TN | $1189.42 | $1.8M | 1.5K | 20 |
| LA | $1187.74 | $382.5K | 322 | 11 |
| UT | $1186.63 | $748.8K | 631 | 8 |
| KY | $1181.95 | $121.7K | 103 | 4 |
| AL | $1146.04 | $662.4K | 578 | 16 |
| MO | $1097.78 | $264.6K | 241 | 5 |
| MS | $1082.87 | $206.8K | 191 | 8 |
| IN | $1072.42 | $954.5K | 890 | 17 |
| ID | $1015.37 | $139.1K | 137 | 4 |
| OR | $839.64 | $111.7K | 133 | 5 |
| OH | $827.63 | $311.2K | 376 | 9 |
| OK | $573.44 | $301.1K | 525 | 8 |
| KS | $250.94 | $44.4K | 177 | 6 |
| Provider | Specialty | State | Payments | Services | Avg/Service |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yong Lee | Internal Medicine | CA | $1.9M | 1.3K | $1495.02 |
| Sam Ebrahimi | Vascular Surgery | CA | $1.2M | 751 | $1587.46 |
| Moinakhtar Lala | Interventional Cardiology | CA | $709.3K | 443 | $1601.23 |
| Rex Manayan | General Surgery | AZ | $571.5K | 439 | $1301.78 |
| Mehran Khorsandi | Cardiology | CA | $542.1K | 339 | $1599.09 |
| Nabiel Azar | General Surgery | AZ | $540.0K | 420 | $1285.78 |
| Glenn Kline | General Surgery | PA | $517.7K | 412 | $1256.65 |
| Armin Foghi | Cardiology | NM | $494.7K | 384 | $1288.24 |
| Michael Nelson | Cardiology | TN | $485.5K | 411 | $1181.25 |
| Joseph Furlong | Diagnostic Radiology | TX | $477.8K | 357 | $1338.29 |
| Vinod Kumar | Cardiology | CA | $443.4K | 304 | $1458.52 |
| Adam Phillips | General Surgery | FL | $438.0K | 345 | $1269.63 |
| Michaela Klein | General Surgery | IL | $428.7K | 308 | $1391.98 |
| Saquib Samee | Cardiology | VA | $426.1K | 323 | $1319.10 |
| James Kemmerling | General Surgery | FL | $396.6K | 312 | $1271.06 |
| Desiree Clarke | Obstetrics & Gynecology | CT | $390.0K | 289 | $1349.38 |
| Robert Coronado | Cardiology | CA | $379.4K | 262 | $1448.23 |
| Randall Towne | Cardiology | TN | $378.5K | 320 | $1182.87 |
| Robert Osipov | General Surgery | AZ | $374.8K | 287 | $1305.84 |
| Sanjeev Saxena | Cardiology | FL | $367.3K | 272 | $1350.27 |
The data suggests significant pricing inconsistencies for CPT 36482. With a 6.4x price gap between the most and least expensive states, geography plays an outsized role in what Medicare pays for this procedure.
While costs have decreased 19.1% since 2018, the wide state-by-state variation suggests the pricing formula may not adequately account for regional differences.
This analysis is based on publicly available CMS data and does not account for patient complexity, comorbidities, or facility-specific factors that may justify pricing differences.
Note: All data is from publicly available Medicare records. OpenMedicare is an independent journalism project not affiliated with CMS.