CPT code 32561: Pleural fibrinolysis, initial day2026 Medicare rate & RVUs in Tennessee

In Tennessee, Medicare pays $94.27 for 32561 in the office and $56.92 when it’s performed in a hospital or facility.

Check a contract rate as a % of Medicare · 32561 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 32561 covers

A physician or other qualified practitioner instills a fibrinolytic agent, such as alteplase, through a chest tube or pleural catheter to help break down fibrin in a loculated pleural collection. This treatment may be used for a complex effusion or empyema when fluid is divided by fibrinous septations. It is performed in settings where the patient can receive care through the pleural drain; the code describes the instillation, not placement of the tube or catheter.

Report 32561 for the initial treatment day. For a later treatment day, use the subsequent-day code 32562 rather than reporting another initial-day service. Documentation should identify the pleural indication, the fibrinolytic administered, the catheter route, and the treatment date. The service has a 0-day global period, so same-day preoperative and postoperative care is included. When multiple procedures occur in the same session, the highest-valued is paid in full and the others at 50%. Modifier 50 is inappropriate. An assistant at surgery may be paid; 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 Tennessee compares for 32561

Across 109 of 109 payment localities, the office rate for 32561 runs from $91.62 in Arkansas to $126.32 in San Benito County, CA. Tennessee pays $94.27. The RVUs are the same everywhere; the geographic indexes change the dollars.

Every other payment area

32561 rates by state

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

See 32561 in every payment locality

How the 32561 rate is calculated

Each of 32561’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 32561

The CMS indicators that decide how 32561 is paid alongside other services.

What modifiers do to the payment

When to use modifier 51

Codes related to 32561

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

How 32561 has changed in Tennessee

Price 32561 for an earlier date of service

Where the Tennessee rate applies

Tennessee is a Medicare payment area, not a city. Our Census mapping connects it to 504 cities and communities in Tennessee. Some span more than one payment area; confirm with the service ZIP.

• Adams
• Adamsville
• Alamo
• Alcoa
• Alexandria
• Algood
• Allardt
• Altamont

Browse all communities in Tennessee

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