CPT code 31536: Laryngeal biopsy, with operating scope2026 Medicare rate & RVUs in New Mexico

In New Mexico, Medicare pays $178.41 for 31536 in a facility. There’s no office rate.

Check a contract rate as a % of Medicare · 31536 nationwide

Medicare allowed amount for participating (non-QP) physicians, before deductible, coinsurance and claim adjustments. Not a patient’s bill or a hospital charge.

What 31536 covers

An otolaryngologist uses a direct laryngoscope with an operating telescope or microscope to inspect the larynx and take tissue from a lesion for examination. Common indications include a suspicious vocal fold or laryngeal mucosal abnormality, such as a persistent lesion requiring histologic diagnosis. The procedure is commonly performed in an operating room, often under general anesthesia; the specimen is sent for pathology review.

Report this code when the operative scope is used and tissue is sampled for biopsy, rather than when the primary service is diagnostic visualization alone or definitive lesion excision. The operative note should identify the laryngeal site, lesion, biopsy performed, and use of the scope. CMS assigns a 0-day global period, including same-day preoperative and postoperative care. Related endoscopies performed together are subject to endoscopy-family pricing. Modifier 50 is inappropriate. Medicare does not pay an assistant at surgery, and co-surgeons and team surgery are not permitted.

This summary was written with AI assistance from CMS physician fee schedule data and checked against the CMS billing rules shown here. Rates on this page come directly from CMS files.

How New Mexico compares for 31536

Across 109 of 109 payment localities, the facility rate for 31536 runs from $164.45 in Arkansas to $232.53 in Alaska. New Mexico pays $178.41. The RVUs are the same everywhere; the geographic indexes change the dollars.

Every other payment area

31536 rates by state

Office rate range in each state. Select a state to see its payment localities.

See 31536 in every payment locality

How the 31536 rate is calculated

Each of 31536’s three RVUs is multiplied by a geographic index (GPCI) for the payment locality, added up, and multiplied by the conversion factor. Drag the indexes or enter a ZIP to see what moves the rate.

Payment rules and modifiers for 31536

The CMS indicators that decide how 31536 is paid alongside other services.

What modifiers do to the payment

When to use modifier 51

Codes related to 31536

Related codes aren’t interchangeable: bill the code that matches the service performed.

How 31536 has changed in New Mexico

Price 31536 for an earlier date of service

Where the New Mexico rate applies

New Mexico is a Medicare payment area, not a city. Our Census mapping connects it to 528 cities and communities in New Mexico. Some span more than one payment area; confirm with the service ZIP.

• Abeytas
• Abiquiu
• Acomita Lake
• Adelino
• Agua Fria
• Alamillo
• Alamo
• Alamogordo

Browse all communities in New Mexico

Where these rates come from

FeeBase calculates base physician payments from CMS work, practice-expense and malpractice RVUs, adjusted by each locality’s geographic indexes and the conversion factor. Services without a published rate are labeled, never given a made-up amount. Amounts are Medicare allowed amounts before claim adjustments: not a patient’s bill or a commercial rate.

CMS RVU26D · effective Oct 1, 2026 through the day before Jan 1, 2027

Open CMS sourceHow we calculate rates