CPT code 32608: Thoracoscopic biopsy, pulmonary nodule or mass2026 Medicare rate & RVUs

Medicare pays $353.05 for 32608 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 32608 covers

This service involves using a thoracoscope to locate and sample a nodule or mass in the lung. Thoracic surgeons commonly perform it in the operating room when imaging has identified a lung lesion that needs tissue diagnosis. The biopsy specimen is submitted for examination; this code describes sampling the lung lesion, not removing it by wedge resection.

Select this code when the operative report supports biopsy of a pulmonary nodule or mass, rather than biopsy of an infiltrate, pleura, or mediastinal structure. Document the target and the biopsy performed. CMS assigns a 0-day global period, 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 other procedures are subject to the standard 50% multiple-procedure reduction. Modifier 50 is inappropriate for this descriptor and anatomy. Assistant-at-surgery payment requires documented medical necessity; co-surgeon and team-surgery payment 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 32608 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

32608 rates by state

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

How the 32608 rate is calculated

Each of 32608’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 32608

The CMS indicators that decide how 32608 is paid alongside other services.

What modifiers do to the payment

When to use modifier 51

32608 compared with similar codes

How to choose

32607Lung biopsyInfiltrate, thoracoscopic

32608 is for biopsy of a pulmonary nodule or mass; 32607 is for biopsy of a lung infiltrate.

32609Pleural biopsyThoracoscopic approach

32608 samples a lung nodule or mass, while 32609 describes thoracoscopic biopsy of pleura.

32601Diagnostic thoracoscopyWithout biopsy

32601 describes diagnostic thoracoscopy; 32608 is the more specific service when the surgeon biopsies a pulmonary nodule or mass.

32668Thoracoscopic wedgeEach additional diagnostic resection

Choose 32668 when the surgeon performs a diagnostic wedge resection. Code 32608 describes biopsy sampling rather than wedge resection.

Codes related to 32608

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