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CPT code 32800: Lung hernia repair2026 Medicare rate & RVUs

Repair a lung hernia when lung tissue protrudes through a chest-wall defect, typically after thoracic surgery or trauma, and requires operative correction.

CMS RVU26DEffective Oct 1, 2026109 payment localities100 Medicare services in 2024

Medicare pays $917.19 for 32800 nationally in a facility.

Medicare rate · 32800

Lung hernia repair

Office or facility?

Work RVUs
15.32
Total RVUs
27.46
Global days
090

National rate · 2026

$917.19

Facility setting, before claim adjustments.

See every locality for 32800 →Billed by an NP, PA or therapist? →

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

Your location

Medicare pays by the payment locality where the service is performed.

On this page 10 sections
  1. Medicare rate
  2. What 32800 covers
  3. By payment locality
  4. Rate map
  5. How it’s calculated
  6. Payment rules
  7. Similar codes
  8. Related codes
  9. Billing questions
  10. Sources

What 32800 covers

A lung hernia occurs when lung tissue protrudes through a defect in the chest wall, such as an intercostal space weakened by prior thoracic surgery or trauma. A thoracic surgeon repairs the defect and returns the protruding lung to its usual position. The operation is generally performed in a hospital operating room; lung hernias may present as a bulge that becomes more apparent with coughing or straining.

Report 32800 when the operative service is repair of the lung hernia, not simply treatment of a chest-wall injury or closure of a separate fistula. The operative report should identify the herniation and describe its surgical correction. CMS assigns a 90-day global period, including the day-before preoperative visit and related postoperative care for 90 days. For other procedures performed in the same session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and other procedures are subject to the standard multiple-procedure reduction. Modifier 50 is inappropriate. 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 32800 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

32800 office and facility rates by payment locality
Payment localityOfficeFacility
AlabamaUnavailable$827.39
AlaskaUnavailable$1,134.33
ArizonaUnavailable$890.31
ArkansasUnavailable$816.47
Atlanta, GAUnavailable$948.63
Austin, TXUnavailable$919.96
Bakersfield, CAUnavailable$904.19
Baltimore area, MDUnavailable$975.74
Beaumont, TXUnavailable$883.10
Brazoria, TXUnavailable$890.92

32800 rates by state

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

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Local rates. Clear comparisons.

Hover or focus a tile to see its rate range. Select it to open the state’s fee schedule.

View every state and territory as a table
32800 office rate range by state
State / territoryOffice rate rangeLocalities
AKNo published base rate1
ALNo published base rate1
ARNo published base rate1
AZNo published base rate1
CANo published base rate29
CONo published base rate1
CTNo published base rate1
DCNo published base rate1
DENo published base rate1
FLNo published base rate3
GANo published base rate2
GUNo published base rate1
HINo published base rate1
IANo published base rate1
IDNo published base rate1
ILNo published base rate4
INNo published base rate1
KSNo published base rate1
KYNo published base rate1
LANo published base rate2
MANo published base rate2
MDNo published base rate3
MENo published base rate2
MINo published base rate2
MNNo published base rate1
MONo published base rate3
MSNo published base rate1
MTNo published base rate1
NCNo published base rate1
NDNo published base rate1
NENo published base rate1
NHNo published base rate1
NJNo published base rate2
NMNo published base rate1
NVNo published base rate1
NYNo published base rate5
OHNo published base rate1
OKNo published base rate1
ORNo published base rate2
PANo published base rate2
PRNo published base rate1
RINo published base rate1
SCNo published base rate1
SDNo published base rate1
TNNo published base rate1
TXNo published base rate8
UTNo published base rate1
VANo published base rate2
VINo published base rate1
VTNo published base rate1
WANo published base rate2
WINo published base rate1
WVNo published base rate1
WYNo published base rate1

How the 32800 rate is calculated

Each of 32800’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.

How the rate is built · 32800

RVUs × geographic indexes × conversion factor

Office or facility?

Work15.32

15.32 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI

Practice expense8.35

8.35 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI

Malpractice3.79

3.79 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI

Adjusted RVUs

27.4600

Conversion factor

$33.4009

Medicare rate

$917.19

Every GPCI starts at 1.000, the national rate. Enter a ZIP or drag a slider.

Payment rules and modifiers for 32800

32800 has a 90-day global period: related visits in that window are included in the surgery payment.

CMS payment indicators · 32800

Lung hernia repair

RuleCMS valueWhat it means
Global period090Major surgery: the day before, the day of, and 90 days after are included.
Multiple procedures2Standard reduction: highest-valued procedure at 100%, others at 50%.
Bilateral (modifier 50)0The 150% bilateral adjustment doesn’t apply.
Assistant at surgery (80/81/82/AS)2Paid.
Co-surgeons (62)1Permitted with supporting documentation.
Team surgery (66)0Not permitted.
Professional/technical0Physician service: no professional/technical split.
Split (54/55/56)0.10/0.76/0.14Share of the payment for pre-op, the procedure itself, and post-op care.

Global surgery period · 32800

Lung hernia repair

90-day global period ends

Dec 30, 2026

Covers Sep 30, 2026 through Dec 30, 2026 (92 days, including the day before surgery).

Visit on Oct 31, 2026

Day 30 of the 90-day post-op period: related follow-up care is included in the surgical payment.

  • 24Unrelated E/M visit by the same physician
  • 79Unrelated procedure (starts its own global period)
  • 58Staged, more extensive, or therapy procedure that was planned
  • 78Unplanned return to the operating room for a related complication
SurgeryVisit
Sep 23, 2026Jan 10, 2027

Pre-op dayGlobal period

What modifiers do to the payment

Modifier 51 · payment effect

With and without the modifier

32800 without 51 · national facility

$917.19

Lung hernia repair

32800-51 · Second procedure: 50%

$458.60

When this isn’t the highest-valued procedure in the session, Medicare pays 50% of its fee schedule amount (the highest is paid at 100%).

When to use modifier 51

32800 compared with similar codes

Compare codes · National

4 codes, side by side

Office or facility?

  • 32800

    Lung hernia repair15.32 wRVU

    Not priced

  • 32820

    Chest wall reconstruction, major reconstruction21.95 wRVU

    Not priced

  • 32810

    Chest closure, after drainage or thoracic procedure14.58 wRVU

    Not priced

  • 32815

    Fistula closure, bronchial fistula48.78 wRVU

    Not priced

How to choose

32820Chest wall reconstructionMajor reconstruction
32800 is for repair of a lung hernia. 32820 describes chest-wall reconstruction after injury or surgery; distinguish the codes by the operation documented.
32810Chest closureAfter drainage or thoracic procedure
32810 concerns closing the chest wall after drainage. It is not the code for correcting lung tissue protruding through a chest-wall defect.
32815Fistula closureBronchial fistula
32815 is for closure of a bronchial fistula. Choose 32800 when the operative target is a lung hernia rather than a fistulous connection.

Codes related to 32800

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

Codes related to 32800
CodeHow it relatesNational office range
Used instead
32820Chest wall reconstruction, major reconstructionConsider when the operation reconstructs an injured chest wall rather than repairing a lung hernia.No office rate

32800 billing questions

When should 32800 be selected instead of chest-wall reconstruction?

Use 32800 when the operation repairs a lung hernia: lung tissue has protruded through a chest-wall defect and is surgically corrected. A chest-wall reconstruction code such as 32820 describes a different operative service and should not be chosen solely because the hernia involves the chest wall.

Does 32800 include postoperative visits?

Yes. Its 90-day global period includes the day-before preoperative visit and related postoperative care during the 90 days after surgery.

Can modifier 50 be reported for a bilateral lung hernia?

No. CMS identifies bilateral adjustment as inappropriate for this code. Report the service according to the operation performed rather than appending modifier 50.

How are other procedures performed in the same session paid?

Under the standard multiple-procedure reduction, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and other procedures performed in that session are subject to a 50% reduction.

Can an assistant or co-surgeon be reported?

Assistant-at-surgery payment may be made. Co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation, while team surgery is not permitted.

What documentation supports reporting 32800?

The operative report should document lung tissue protruding through a chest-wall defect and the surgical repair performed. A record describing only chest-wall injury, drainage-site closure, or bronchial fistula closure does not establish this service.

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

Show the CMS file lines behind this rate
RVUs for 32800PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv, line 3,783 (RVU26D)

Open CMS sourceHow we calculate rates

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