A7048 — Vacuum drainage collection unit and tubing kit, including all supplies needed for collection unit change, for use with implanted catheter, each
A7048 is a HCPCS Level II code for vacuum drainage collection unit and tubing kit, including all supplies needed for collection unit change, for use with implanted catheter, each. It belongs to the Transportation, Medical & Surgical Supplies, Administrative section. Whether Medicare pays it depends on the coverage rule below.
Medicare coverage: Carrier judgment
Coverage is decided by your Medicare contractor, not by national policy. Whether this is paid depends on the LCD for your jurisdiction and on what the documentation supports.
From the coverage field of the CMS Alpha-Numeric HCPCS File, release 2026Q3-Jul. This states Medicare’s position on the code, not on your particular claim.
Physician fee schedule statusX
Statutory exclusion. The item or service is not within the statutory definition of 'physician services', so the fee schedule never pays it.
Global period: XXX
Want the dollar amount for your locality? The fee calculator applies your GPCI and the current conversion factor.
Medically Unlikely Edits — units per day
The most units of A7048 Medicare will pay on one date of service. Bill more on a single line and it is denied. The limit is not the same in every setting, so the row that matters is the one matching the claim you are building.
- practitioner
- 2 units MAI 3 — Date of Service Edit: Clinical · Clinical: Data
- outpatient
- 2 units MAI 3 — Date of Service Edit: Clinical · Clinical: CMS Workgroup
- DME supplier
- 0 — never payable MAI 3 — Date of Service Edit: Clinical · CMS Policy
The adjudication indicator decides whether exceeding the limit is worth appealing at all: MAI 1 is a line edit you can support with documentation, MAI 3 is a date-of-service edit that is also appealable, and MAI 2 is absolute — no documentation overrides it. CMS MUE 2026Q3.
The CMS record for A7048
- Long descriptor
- Vacuum drainage collection unit and tubing kit, including all supplies needed for collection unit change, for use with implanted catheter, each
- Short descriptor
- Vacuum drain bottle/tube kit
- Added
- January 1, 2015
- BETOS
- D1F
- Pricing indicator
- 38 — DMEPOS
The official wording. This is what the code means.
CMS's 28-character form, which is what shows up on a remittance advice.
When CMS introduced the code.
Berenson-Eggers Type of Service — CMS's own analytic grouping.
Orthotics, prosthetics, prosthetic devices and vision services. Price subject to floors and ceilings.
Codes adjacent to A7048
HCPCS has no hierarchy — related items simply sit next to each other in the numbering. If A7048 is not quite right, the correct code is very often within a few positions of it.
- A7040One way chest drain valve
- A7041Water seal drainage container and tubing for use with implanted chest tube
- A7042Implanted pleural catheter, eachterminated
- A7043Vacuum drainage bottle and tubing for use with implanted catheterterminated
- A7044Oral interface used with positive airway pressure device, each
- A7045Exhalation port with or without swivel used with accessories for positive airway devices, replacement only
- A7046Water chamber for humidifier, used with positive airway pressure device, replacement, each
- A7047Oral interface used with respiratory suction pump, each
- A7049Expiratory positive airway pressure intranasal resistance valve
- A7501Tracheostoma valve, including diaphragm, each
- A7502Replacement diaphragm/faceplate for tracheostoma valve, each
- A7503Filter holder or filter cap, reusable, for use in a tracheostoma heat and moisture exchange system, each
- A7504Filter for use in a tracheostoma heat and moisture exchange system, each
- A7505Housing, reusable without adhesive, for use in a heat and moisture exchange system and/or with a tracheostoma valve, each
- A7506Adhesive disc for use in a heat and moisture exchange system and/or with tracheostoma valve, any type each
- A7507Filter holder and integrated filter without adhesive, for use in a tracheostoma heat and moisture exchange system, each
Questions about A7048
What is HCPCS code A7048?
A7048 is a HCPCS Level II code for vacuum drainage collection unit and tubing kit, including all supplies needed for collection unit change, for use with implanted catheter, each. It sits in the Transportation, Medical & Surgical Supplies, Administrative section.
Does Medicare cover A7048?
The CMS HCPCS file marks A7048 as "Carrier judgment". Coverage is decided by your Medicare contractor, not by national policy. Whether this is paid depends on the LCD for your jurisdiction and on what the documentation supports.
How is A7048 paid under the physician fee schedule?
A7048 carries PFS status code X. Statutory exclusion. The item or service is not within the statutory definition of 'physician services', so the fee schedule never pays it.