CPT code 39401: Mediastinoscopy, mediastinal tissue biopsy2026 Medicare rate & RVUs in North Carolina

In North Carolina, Medicare pays $271.89 for 39401 in a facility. There’s no office rate.

Check a contract rate as a % of Medicare · 39401 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 39401 covers

A thoracic surgeon typically performs this procedure in an operating room, advancing a mediastinoscope through an incision at the base of the neck to reach and biopsy a mediastinal mass or other mediastinal tissue. The approach provides access to tissue behind the sternum for diagnostic evaluation, including in patients being assessed for a mediastinal lesion. The biopsy is part of the reported service.

Choose this code for mediastinal tissue or mass biopsy; use the lymph-node biopsy code when the sampled targets are mediastinal lymph nodes. The operative report should identify the mediastinal target and document the scope-guided biopsy. The 0-day global period includes same-day preoperative and postoperative care. When multiple procedures occur in the same session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and other procedures are subject to the standard 50% reduction. Modifier 50 is inappropriate for this service. Medicare does not pay an assistant at surgery, and 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.

How North Carolina compares for 39401

Across 109 of 109 payment localities, the facility rate for 39401 runs from $259.08 in Wisconsin to $365.95 in Alaska. North Carolina pays $271.89. The RVUs are the same everywhere; the geographic indexes change the dollars.

Every other payment area

39401 rates by state

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

See 39401 in every payment locality

How the 39401 rate is calculated

Each of 39401’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 39401

The CMS indicators that decide how 39401 is paid alongside other services.

What modifiers do to the payment

When to use modifier 51

Codes related to 39401

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

How 39401 has changed in North Carolina

Price 39401 for an earlier date of service

Where the North Carolina rate applies

North Carolina is a Medicare payment area, not a city. Our Census mapping connects it to 785 cities and communities in North Carolina. Some span more than one payment area; confirm with the service ZIP.

• Aberdeen
• Advance
• Ahoskie
• Alamance
• Albemarle
• Alexis
• Alliance
• Altamahaw

Browse all communities in North Carolina

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