CPT code 38900: Sentinel node mapping, intraoperative identification2026 Medicare rate & RVUs in South Dakota

In South Dakota, Medicare pays $131.87 for 38900 in the office and $109.83 when it’s performed in a hospital or facility.

Check a contract rate as a % of Medicare · 38900 nationwide

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

What 38900 covers

This add-on describes the surgeon’s intraoperative identification of sentinel lymph node(s), the first node or nodes expected to receive lymphatic drainage from a tumor site. It is commonly used during breast cancer or melanoma surgery. The surgeon may inject nonradioactive dye and identify the draining node(s) for removal; the node excision itself is represented by the applicable primary procedure code.

Report 38900 only with a primary procedure, such as an open sentinel node biopsy, and document the tumor site, mapping or identification performed, and the associated operation. The code includes injection of nonradioactive dye when performed, so that injection is not separately represented by 38900. CMS treats this as an add-on paid within the primary procedure’s global period. For a bilateral procedure reported with modifier 50, CMS pays 150% of the code’s applicable payment.

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.

How South Dakota compares for 38900

Across 109 of 109 payment localities, the office rate for 38900 runs from $129.23 in Arkansas to $179.70 in Alaska. South Dakota pays $131.87. The RVUs are the same everywhere; the geographic indexes change the dollars.

Every other payment area

38900 rates by state

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

See 38900 in every payment locality

How the 38900 rate is calculated

Each of 38900’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 38900

The CMS indicators that decide how 38900 is paid alongside other services.

What modifiers do to the payment

When to use modifier 50

Codes related to 38900

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

How 38900 has changed in South Dakota

Price 38900 for an earlier date of service

Where the South Dakota rate applies

South Dakota is a Medicare payment area, not a city. Our Census mapping connects it to 485 cities and communities in South Dakota. Some span more than one payment area; confirm with the service ZIP.

• Aberdeen
• Agar
• Agency Village
• Akaska
• Albee
• Alcester
• Alexandria
• Allen

Browse all communities in South Dakota

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