CPT code 32601: Diagnostic thoracoscopy, without biopsy2026 Medicare rate & RVUs

Medicare pays $288.25 for 32601 nationally in a facility.

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

What 32601 covers

A thoracic surgeon uses a scope inserted through the chest wall to inspect the pleural space and visible thoracic structures for diagnostic evaluation. This may be performed in a hospital operating room when imaging or other evaluation has not established the cause of a pleural or intrathoracic finding. The service is limited to diagnostic inspection; tissue sampling or a therapeutic procedure calls for the code describing that work instead.

Choose this code when the operative report supports thoracoscopic examination without biopsy or a more definitive procedure. Document the reason for the examination and the findings. The CMS global period is 0 days, so same-day preoperative and postoperative care is included. When multiple procedures are performed in the same session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and the others are subject to the standard 50% reduction. Modifier 50 is inappropriate for this code. Assistant-at-surgery payment requires documented medical necessity; 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.

Where 32601 pays more and less

The same RVUs, adjusted for each area’s costs. Open a locality for its calculation, history and nearby areas.

109 of 109 payment localities

32601 rates by state

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

How the 32601 rate is calculated

Each of 32601’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 32601

The CMS indicators that decide how 32601 is paid alongside other services.

What modifiers do to the payment

When to use modifier 51

32601 compared with similar codes

How to choose

32609Pleural biopsyThoracoscopic approach

Use 32609 when the thoracoscopic service includes pleural tissue sampling; use 32601 for diagnostic inspection without biopsy.

32608Thoracoscopic biopsyPulmonary nodule or mass

32608 applies when a lung nodule is biopsied thoracoscopically. Inspection without nodule tissue sampling is the distinction for 32601.

32668Thoracoscopic wedgeEach additional diagnostic resection

32668 describes a thoracoscopic wedge resection for diagnosis, not inspection alone. Report the resection code when lung tissue is removed in a wedge.

Codes related to 32601

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

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