CPT code 32997: Lung lavage, whole-lung lavage2026 Medicare rate & RVUs

Medicare pays $300.27 for 32997 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 32997 covers

Total lung lavage washes an entire lung to remove accumulated material from the air spaces, most commonly in a patient with pulmonary alveolar proteinosis. In a controlled operating-room setting, the lung being treated is isolated while the other lung is ventilated; warmed saline is introduced and drained in repeated cycles. A thoracic surgeon or pulmonologist typically performs the lavage with anesthesia support. The procedure treats a whole lung rather than a focal lesion or an individual airway.

Report the service when the operative record supports therapeutic lavage of the entire lung, including the indication, side treated, lung-isolation approach, and lavage performed. For bilateral treatment, CMS recognizes modifier 50 and pays the bilateral procedure at 150%. When multiple procedures are performed in the same session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and the others at 50%. The 0-day global period includes same-day preoperative and postoperative care. Medicare does not pay an assistant at surgery for this code; 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 32997 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

32997 rates by state

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

How the 32997 rate is calculated

Each of 32997’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 32997

The CMS indicators that decide how 32997 is paid alongside other services.

What modifiers do to the payment

When to use modifier 50

32997 compared with similar codes

How to choose

32999Unlisted lung procedureLungs and pleura

Use 32997 when the service is whole-lung lavage. Consider 32999 only when the lung or pleural procedure performed is not accurately represented by a specific listed code.

32960Therapeutic pneumothoraxIntrapleural air introduction

32960 describes therapeutic pneumothorax. It does not represent saline washing and drainage of an entire lung.

32994Lung tumor ablationPercutaneous cryoablation

32994 describes percutaneous cryoablation of a pulmonary tumor. It targets a focal tumor rather than washing an entire lung.

32998Lung tumor ablationPercutaneous, radiofrequency

32998 describes percutaneous radiofrequency ablation of a pulmonary tumor. Use 32997 for therapeutic whole-lung lavage, not focal tumor ablation.

Codes related to 32997

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