CPT code 38212: RBC depletion, stem-cell harvest2026 Medicare rate & RVUs in California

CMS doesn’t publish an office rate for 38212 in California.

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

What 38212 covers

Red blood cell depletion is a post-collection manipulation of a hematopoietic stem-cell harvest: processing reduces red cells in the collected cellular product while retaining cells intended for transplantation. It identifies preparation of the harvest, not collection itself. It is distinct from processing directed at T cells, tumor cells, platelets, or product volume. Cellular-processing laboratory or blood-bank personnel perform this work as part of transplant product preparation.

Medicare classifies 38212 as status I under the Physician Fee Schedule: it is not valid for Medicare reporting, and Medicare uses a different code to report and pay for this service. The code is specific to red-cell depletion, so it should not be substituted for codes describing another harvest manipulation or for codes describing stem-cell collection. Reporting to Medicare must use the different Medicare code for this service.

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 38212 pays more and less in California

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

29 of 29 payment localities

How the 38212 rate is calculated

Each of 38212’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 38212

38212 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.

38212 compared with similar codes

How to choose

38210T-cell depletionHarvest processing

Use 38210 for T-cell depletion of the harvest. Code 38212 concerns red blood cell depletion.

38211Tumor-cell depletionStem cell harvest processing

Use 38211 for tumor-cell depletion. Code 38212 concerns red blood cell depletion.

38213Platelet depletionStem cell harvest processing

Use 38213 for platelet depletion of the harvest. Code 38212 concerns red blood cell depletion.

38214Volume depletionStem cell harvest

Use 38214 for reducing the harvest's volume. Code 38212 concerns red blood cell depletion.

Codes related to 38212

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