75989 Abscess drainage under x-ray
What 75989 is
CMS fee schedule short descriptor: Abscess drainage under x-ray.
Full CPT long descriptions are licensed by the American Medical Association and are not published on this site; the short descriptor above is the one CMS prints in its own fee schedule file. See About CPT.
Medicare payment for 75989 (CY2026)
| Work RVU | Practice expense RVU | Malpractice RVU | Total | Medicare rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Non-facility (office) | 1.16 | 2.12 | 0.09 | 3.37 | $112.56 |
| Facility (hospital, ASC) | 1.16 | 2.12 | 0.09 | 3.37 | $112.56 |
National rates: total RVUs x the CY2026 conversion factor of 33.4009 (non-QP), before geographic adjustment. Actual Medicare payment is 80% of the rate shown after the deductible; the patient or secondary payer owes the 20% coinsurance.
Status: Active - payable under the Physician Fee Schedule. Global period: Global concept does not apply.
Medically Unlikely Edit (MUE)
Medicare caps 75989 at 2 units per date of service for practitioner claims (MAI 3 - date of service edit (clinical): units above the MUE may pay with documentation on appeal), rationale: Clinical: Data. Units above the cap are denied unless the edit's adjudication rules allow an appeal with documentation.
Billed with 75989? These codes are bundled into it
75989 is a Column 1 code in 23 active NCCI PTP edits. When one of these Column 2 codes is reported on the same date of service, it is denied as bundled - unless the edit's modifier indicator is 1 and documentation supports a distinct service with an NCCI-associated modifier.
| Column 2 code | Short description | Modifier indicator | |
|---|---|---|---|
0694T | 3d vol img&rcnstj brst/ax | 1 - modifier may bypass | Check pair |
36005 | Injection ext venography | 1 - modifier may bypass | Check pair |
36500 | Insertion of catheter vein | 1 - modifier may bypass | Check pair |
36591 | Draw blood off venous device | 0 - no modifier bypass | Check pair |
36592 | Collect blood from picc | 0 - no modifier bypass | Check pair |
75893 | Venous sampling by catheter | 1 - modifier may bypass | Check pair |
76000 | Fluoroscopy <1 hr phys/qhp | 1 - modifier may bypass | Check pair |
76376 | 3d render w/intrp postproces | 1 - modifier may bypass | Check pair |
76377 | 3d render w/intrp postproces | 1 - modifier may bypass | Check pair |
76942 | Echo guide for biopsy | 1 - modifier may bypass | Check pair |
76998 | Us guide intraop | 1 - modifier may bypass | Check pair |
77001 | Fluoroguide for vein device | 1 - modifier may bypass | Check pair |
77002 | Needle localization by xray | 1 - modifier may bypass | Check pair |
77003 | Fluoroguide for spine inject | 1 - modifier may bypass | Check pair |
77012 | Ct scan for needle biopsy | 1 - modifier may bypass | Check pair |
77021 | Mri guidance ndl plmt rs&i | 1 - modifier may bypass | Check pair |
96523 | Irrig drug delivery device | 0 - no modifier bypass | Check pair |
99446 | Ntrprof ph1/ntrnet/ehr 5-10 | 1 - modifier may bypass | Check pair |
99447 | Ntrprof ph1/ntrnet/ehr 11-20 | 1 - modifier may bypass | Check pair |
99448 | Ntrprof ph1/ntrnet/ehr 21-30 | 1 - modifier may bypass | Check pair |
99449 | Ntrprof ph1/ntrnet/ehr 31/> | 1 - modifier may bypass | Check pair |
99451 | Ntrprof ph1/ntrnet/ehr 5/> | 1 - modifier may bypass | Check pair |
99452 | Ntrprof ph1/ntrnet/ehr rfrl | 1 - modifier may bypass | Check pair |
75989 is bundled into these codes
75989 appears as a Column 2 code in 14 active edits. Reported with one of these Column 1 codes on the same date of service, 75989 is the code that denies.
| Column 1 code | Short description | Modifier indicator | |
|---|---|---|---|
10030 | Img gid flu coll drg sft tis | 1 | Check pair |
26990 | Drainage of pelvis lesion | 1 | Check pair |
32551 | Insertion of chest tube | 1 | Check pair |
32554 | Aspirate pleura w/o imaging | 1 | Check pair |
32555 | Aspirate pleura w/ imaging | 1 | Check pair |
32556 | Insert cath pleura w/o image | 1 | Check pair |
32557 | Insert cath pleura w/ image | 1 | Check pair |
33017 | Prcrd drg 6yr+ w/o cgen car | 1 | Check pair |
33018 | Prcrd drg 0-5yr or w/anomly | 1 | Check pair |
33019 | Perq prcrd drg insj cath ct | 1 | Check pair |
47490 | Incision of gallbladder | 1 | Check pair |
49405 | Image cath fluid colxn visc | 1 | Check pair |
49406 | Image cath fluid peri/retro | 1 | Check pair |
49407 | Image cath fluid trns/vgnl | 1 | Check pair |
Data: CMS CY2026 Physician Fee Schedule RVU file (October release, RVU26D) and Medicare NCCI PTP practitioner edits v32.3 (2026 Q4). Verify against the official files before billing or contracting decisions.