CPT code 88300: Gross pathology, gross examination only2026 Medicare rate & RVUs

Medicare pays $16.37 for 88300 nationally in the office. Local office rates run $14.21–$22.11.

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

What 88300 covers

A pathologist examines and documents a specimen’s visible features without preparing or reviewing tissue microscopically. This service may be performed in a hospital or pathology laboratory for material submitted for gross-only assessment, such as a removed device or foreign material. The specimen type and requested service must support gross examination alone; a specimen requiring histologic evaluation belongs at the appropriate microscopic surgical pathology level.

Report 88300 for each separately identified specimen that receives this gross-only service, supported by the accession record and a report documenting the examination. CMS recognizes separately priced professional and technical components: modifier 26 identifies the pathologist’s interpretation, modifier TC identifies the technical service, and no modifier represents the global service. The professional component reflects the pathologist’s work; the technical component reflects the equipment and staff involved.

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 88300 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

88300 rates by state

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

How the 88300 rate is calculated

Each of 88300’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 88300

The CMS indicators that decide how 88300 is paid alongside other services.

What modifiers do to the payment

When to use modifier 26

88300 compared with similar codes

How to choose

88302Tissue pathologyLevel II specimen

88300 covers gross examination alone. 88302 is used for specified specimens receiving the corresponding microscopic surgical pathology service.

88329Pathology consultGross examination only

88329 describes a pathology consultation during surgery. Use 88300 for a gross-only examination that is not an intraoperative consultation.

88331Frozen sectionFirst block, one specimen

88331 reports an intraoperative consultation involving frozen-section evaluation. 88300 is for gross-only examination without that intraoperative service.

Codes related to 88300

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