CPT code 32652: Thoracoscopic decortication, total pulmonary decortication2026 Medicare rate & RVUs

Medicare pays $1,569.84 for 32652 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 32652 covers

During video-assisted thoracic surgery, the surgeon removes an organized fibrous peel from the lung surface to free a restricted lung and permit expansion. This total decortication is commonly performed for organized empyema, fibrothorax, or trapped lung. A parietal pleurectomy, when performed as part of the operation, is included. Thoracic surgeons typically perform the procedure in an operating room, generally in a hospital facility.

Choose this code when the operative work constitutes total pulmonary decortication, rather than the partial decortication represented by 32651. The operative report should describe the pleural disease, the extent of peel removal, and the lung’s release or expansion. CMS assigns a 90-day global period, including the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care. In a same-session multiple-procedure claim, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and other procedures are subject to the standard reduction. For bilateral surgery, modifier 50 is paid at 150%. Assistant-at-surgery payment may be made; co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation, and team surgery is 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 32652 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

32652 rates by state

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

How the 32652 rate is calculated

Each of 32652’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 32652

32652 has a 90-day global period: related visits in that window are included in the surgery payment.

What modifiers do to the payment

When to use modifier 50

32652 compared with similar codes

How to choose

32651Thoracoscopic decorticationPartial decortication

32651 describes partial pulmonary decortication; 32652 is for total decortication. Base selection on the extent documented in the operative report.

32656Thoracoscopic pleurectomyParietal pleura removal

32656 is for thoracoscopic pleurectomy. Use 32652 when the procedure is total pulmonary decortication, including parietal pleurectomy when performed.

32653Thoracoscopy removalForeign body or fibrin

32653 addresses removal of foreign material or fibrin from the pleural cavity, rather than total removal of an organized peel restricting the lung.

Codes related to 32652

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