CPT code 38209: Stem cell washing, harvested cell product2026 Medicare rate & RVUs in Texas

CMS doesn’t publish an office rate for 38209 in Texas.

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

What 38209 covers

38209 identifies washing of harvested stem cells. It concerns processing the harvested cell product, rather than collecting cells from a donor or patient. The code is distinct from codes for cryopreservation, thawing, depletion of specified cell components, and concentration of a harvested stem cell product. These neighboring codes identify separate services; washing is not the same as T-cell, red blood cell, or platelet depletion.

Medicare assigns 38209 status I, meaning Medicare does not accept this code and uses a different code to report and pay for the service. Codes 38205 and 38206 identify allogeneic and autologous stem cell harvest, respectively; codes 38207 and 38208 identify cryopreservation and thawing. Codes 38210, 38212, 38213, and 38215 identify T-cell depletion, red blood cell depletion, platelet depletion, and concentration. This code identifies washing, rather than those other processing services.

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 38209 pays more and less in Texas

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

8 of 8 payment localities

How the 38209 rate is calculated

Each of 38209’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 38209

38209 has no global surgery period, no multiple-procedure, bilateral or assistant-at-surgery adjustment, and no professional/technical split. What changes the payment is where the service happens: the place of service on the claim decides whether Medicare pays the office or the facility rate.

38209 compared with similar codes

How to choose

38208Stem cell thawingBefore clinical use

38208 identifies thawing preserved stem cells. 38209 identifies washing harvested stem cells.

38210T-cell depletionHarvest processing

38210 identifies T-cell depletion; 38209 identifies washing, not removal of a specified cell population.

38205Stem cell collectionAllogeneic, blood-derived

38205 identifies allogeneic stem cell harvest. 38209 identifies washing a harvested stem cell product.

Codes related to 38209

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