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CPT code 44100: Bowel biopsy, percutaneous needle sampling2026 Medicare rate & RVUs

Percutaneous needle sampling of bowel tissue is reported when a physician obtains a diagnostic specimen without excising a bowel segment.

CMS RVU26DEffective Oct 1, 2026109 payment localities

Medicare pays $91.52 for 44100 nationally in a facility.

Medicare rate · 44100

Bowel biopsy, percutaneous needle sampling

Office or facility?

Work RVUs
1.96
Total RVUs
2.74
Global days
000

National rate · 2026

$91.52

Facility setting, before claim adjustments.

See every locality for 44100 →Billed by an NP, PA or therapist? →

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

Your location

Medicare pays by the payment locality where the service is performed.

On this page 10 sections
  1. Medicare rate
  2. What 44100 covers
  3. By payment locality
  4. Rate map
  5. How it’s calculated
  6. Payment rules
  7. Similar codes
  8. Related codes
  9. Billing questions
  10. Sources

What 44100 covers

Code 44100 represents tissue sampling of bowel with a needle passed percutaneously through the abdominal wall. A physician uses it when a bowel target requires needle biopsy for diagnosis and the service is not an endoscopic mucosal biopsy or removal of an intestinal segment. It is a narrowly defined surgical procedure, typically performed by a procedural physician in a hospital or procedure setting; the specimen is sent for pathology.

Report it for the needle biopsy itself, with the procedure note identifying the target, percutaneous route, sampling technique, and tissue obtained. Do not substitute this code for colonoscopic biopsy or an excisional bowel procedure; those describe different access or extent. CMS assigns a 0-day global period, so same-day preoperative and postoperative care is included. When other procedures occur in the same session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and remaining procedures are subject to the standard 50% multiple-procedure reduction. Modifier 50 is inappropriate. Assistant-at-surgery payment is barred, and co-surgeon and team-surgery billing 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.

Where 44100 pays more and less

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

109 of 109 payment localities

44100 office and facility rates by payment locality
Payment localityOfficeFacility
AlabamaUnavailable$86.09
AlaskaUnavailable$122.34
ArizonaUnavailable$89.92
ArkansasUnavailable$85.43
Atlanta, GAUnavailable$93.43
Austin, TXUnavailable$91.95
Bakersfield, CAUnavailable$91.85
Baltimore area, MDUnavailable$95.62
Beaumont, TXUnavailable$89.31
Brazoria, TXUnavailable$90.33

44100 rates by state

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

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Local rates. Clear comparisons.

Hover or focus a tile to see its rate range. Select it to open the state’s fee schedule.

View every state and territory as a table
44100 office rate range by state
State / territoryOffice rate rangeLocalities
AKNo published base rate1
ALNo published base rate1
ARNo published base rate1
AZNo published base rate1
CANo published base rate29
CONo published base rate1
CTNo published base rate1
DCNo published base rate1
DENo published base rate1
FLNo published base rate3
GANo published base rate2
GUNo published base rate1
HINo published base rate1
IANo published base rate1
IDNo published base rate1
ILNo published base rate4
INNo published base rate1
KSNo published base rate1
KYNo published base rate1
LANo published base rate2
MANo published base rate2
MDNo published base rate3
MENo published base rate2
MINo published base rate2
MNNo published base rate1
MONo published base rate3
MSNo published base rate1
MTNo published base rate1
NCNo published base rate1
NDNo published base rate1
NENo published base rate1
NHNo published base rate1
NJNo published base rate2
NMNo published base rate1
NVNo published base rate1
NYNo published base rate5
OHNo published base rate1
OKNo published base rate1
ORNo published base rate2
PANo published base rate2
PRNo published base rate1
RINo published base rate1
SCNo published base rate1
SDNo published base rate1
TNNo published base rate1
TXNo published base rate8
UTNo published base rate1
VANo published base rate2
VINo published base rate1
VTNo published base rate1
WANo published base rate2
WINo published base rate1
WVNo published base rate1
WYNo published base rate1

How the 44100 rate is calculated

Each of 44100’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.

How the rate is built · 44100

RVUs × geographic indexes × conversion factor

Office or facility?

Work1.96

1.96 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI

Practice expense0.57

0.57 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI

Malpractice0.21

0.21 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI

Adjusted RVUs

2.7400

Conversion factor

$33.4009

Medicare rate

$91.52

Every GPCI starts at 1.000, the national rate. Enter a ZIP or drag a slider.

Payment rules and modifiers for 44100

The CMS indicators that decide how 44100 is paid alongside other services.

CMS payment indicators · 44100

Bowel biopsy, percutaneous needle sampling

RuleCMS valueWhat it means
Global period000Same-day global: pre- and post-op care on the day of the procedure is included.
Multiple procedures2Standard reduction: highest-valued procedure at 100%, others at 50%.
Bilateral (modifier 50)0The 150% bilateral adjustment doesn’t apply.
Assistant at surgery (80/81/82/AS)1Not paid (statutory restriction).
Co-surgeons (62)0Not permitted.
Team surgery (66)0Not permitted.
Professional/technical0Physician service: no professional/technical split.

What modifiers do to the payment

Modifier 51 · payment effect

With and without the modifier

44100 without 51 · national facility

$91.52

Bowel biopsy, percutaneous needle sampling

44100-51 · Second procedure: 50%

$45.76

When this isn’t the highest-valued procedure in the session, Medicare pays 50% of its fee schedule amount (the highest is paid at 100%).

When to use modifier 51

44100 compared with similar codes

Compare codes · National

4 codes, side by side

Office or facility?

  • 44100

    Bowel biopsy, percutaneous needle sampling1.96 wRVU

    Not priced

  • 45380

    Colonoscopy with biopsy, single or multiple forceps biopsies3.47 wRVU

    $479.97

  • 44110

    Intestinal excision, single lesion13.69 wRVU

    Not priced

  • 44120

    Small-bowel resection, single resection with anastomosis20.3 wRVU

    Not priced

How to choose

45380Colonoscopy with biopsySingle or multiple forceps biopsies
Use 44100 for percutaneous needle sampling of bowel. Use 45380 when the biopsy is taken through a colonoscope during colonoscopy.
44110Intestinal excisionSingle lesion
44100 obtains tissue by needle. 44110 describes excision of an intestinal lesion, a more extensive removal rather than needle sampling.
44120Small-bowel resectionSingle resection with anastomosis
44120 describes resection of small bowel. Choose it when a bowel segment is removed, not when tissue is sampled percutaneously with a needle.

Codes related to 44100

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

Codes related to 44100
CodeHow it relatesNational office range
Used instead
45380Colonoscopy with biopsy, single or multiple forceps biopsiesColonoscopy with biopsy when tissue is sampled through the colonoscope.$423.81–$640.93
44110Intestinal excision, single lesionDescribes excision of an intestinal lesion rather than needle tissue sampling.No office rate
44120Small-bowel resection, single resection with anastomosisDescribes small-bowel resection when a segment is removed rather than sampled by needle.No office rate
Often billed with
88305Tissue pathology exam, level IV specimenMay represent the pathology examination of submitted biopsy tissue.$63.46–$92.44

44100 billing questions

How does 44100 differ from a colonoscopic biopsy?

44100 describes needle sampling through the abdominal wall. A biopsy taken through a colonoscope is reported with the applicable endoscopic biopsy code, such as 45380 for colonoscopy.

Does 44100 include the pathology examination?

The code represents obtaining the bowel tissue, not its histologic examination. The pathology service may be reported separately at the level supported by the specimen and examination.

What documentation supports reporting 44100?

Document the bowel target, percutaneous needle approach, sampling performed, and tissue obtained. The record should distinguish needle sampling from endoscopic biopsy or surgical excision.

Is same-day postoperative care included?

Yes. The CMS global period is 0 days, and same-day preoperative and postoperative care is included.

How are other procedures in the same session paid?

The highest-valued procedure is paid in full; other procedures in that session are subject to the standard multiple-procedure reduction, with payment at 50%.

Can modifier 50 or an assistant surgeon be reported?

Modifier 50 is inappropriate for this code. CMS does not pay an assistant at surgery, and co-surgeon and team-surgery billing are not permitted.

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

Show the CMS file lines behind this rate
RVUs for 44100PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv, line 5,332 (RVU26D)

Open CMS sourceHow we calculate rates

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