CPT code 38227: CAR-T preparation, before administration2026 Medicare rate & RVUs in California

CMS doesn’t publish an office rate for 38227 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 38227 covers

Code 38227 identifies receipt and preparation of a CAR-T cell product for administration. This is the product-handling stage after cell collection and preparation for transport, and before administration. It differs from harvesting blood-derived T lymphocytes (38225), preparing T lymphocytes for transport (38226), and administering autologous immune effector cellular therapy (38228). The work is associated with cellular therapy treatment, where the product is received and readied for treatment.

Medicare assigns this code physician fee schedule status B. The code is bundled: Medicare never pays it separately, and its payment is included in payment for other services. It represents a receipt-and-preparation service, not a medication quantity measured by dose. Its role is product preparation before administration.

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 38227 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 38227 rate is calculated

Each of 38227’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 38227

38227 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.

38227 compared with similar codes

How to choose

38225CAR-T cell collectionBlood-derived T lymphocytes

Use 38225 for harvesting blood-derived T lymphocytes for cell-therapy development. Code 38227 covers receipt and preparation of the product for administration.

38226CAR T-cell preparationFor transduction

Code 38226 covers preparing T lymphocytes for transport during cell-therapy development. Code 38227 covers receipt and preparation of the product for administration.

38228CAR T-cell administrationAutologous cells

Code 38228 reports administration of autologous immune effector cellular therapy. Code 38227 identifies receipt and preparation beforehand.

38208Stem cell thawingBefore clinical use

Code 38208 concerns thawing preserved stem cells. Code 38227 concerns receipt and preparation of a CAR-T cell product for administration.

Codes related to 38227

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