CPT code 88321: Slide consultation, outside-prepared slides2026 Medicare rate & RVUs
A pathologist reviews slides prepared by another laboratory and issues a consultation report, commonly for an outside second opinion on biopsy or resection findings.
Medicare pays $93.86 for 88321 nationally in the office and $67.47 in a hospital or facility. Local office rates run $87.31–$121.86.
Medicare rate · 88321
Slide consultation, outside-prepared slides
- Work RVUs
- 1.59
- Total RVUs
- 2.81
- Global days
- XXX
National rate · 2026
$93.86
Office setting, before claim adjustments.
See every locality for 88321 →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.
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On this page 10 sections
What 88321 covers
A pathologist examines slides that another laboratory has already prepared and provides an interpretive consultation report. A common situation is a treating clinician requesting an outside review of biopsy or resection slides before deciding on diagnosis or treatment. The service is performed by a pathologist in a hospital, reference laboratory, or other pathology practice; it is not the preparation of new slides from submitted tissue.
Select this code when the consultation is based on slides prepared elsewhere. The report should identify the material reviewed and document the pathologist’s interpretation and conclusions. Use a different consultation code when the referred material requires preparation or when the service involves a broader review of records and specimens. This code represents the slide-review consultation, rather than the original laboratory’s tissue examination or a stain service.
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 88321 pays more and less
The same RVUs, adjusted for each area’s costs. Open a locality for its calculation, history and nearby areas.
109 payment localities
$87.31 to $121.86
109 of 109 payment localities
88321 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.
$87.31
$121.86
Color shows the midpoint of each state’s locality range.
View every state and territory as a table
| State / territory | Office rate range | Localities |
|---|---|---|
| AK | $121.86 | 1 |
| AL | $88.04 | 1 |
| AR | $87.31 | 1 |
| AZ | $92.33 | 1 |
| CA | $97.36–$115.59 | 29 |
| CO | $96.44 | 1 |
| CT | $98.37 | 1 |
| DC | $103.83 | 1 |
| DE | $93.42 | 1 |
| FL | $93.34–$99.01 | 3 |
| GA | $90.16–$95.10 | 2 |
| GU | $98.13 | 1 |
| HI | $98.13 | 1 |
| IA | $89.18 | 1 |
| ID | $89.55 | 1 |
| IL | $91.83–$97.45 | 4 |
| IN | $89.85 | 1 |
| KS | $89.01 | 1 |
| KY | $89.39 | 1 |
| LA | $89.34–$91.91 | 2 |
| MA | $96.27–$103.23 | 2 |
| MD | $94.66–$103.83 | 3 |
| ME | $89.90–$92.65 | 2 |
| MI | $90.82–$94.12 | 2 |
| MN | $93.32 | 1 |
| MO | $88.50–$92.02 | 3 |
| MS | $87.91 | 1 |
| MT | $93.85 | 1 |
| NC | $90.44 | 1 |
| ND | $92.47 | 1 |
| NE | $89.44 | 1 |
| NH | $95.14 | 1 |
| NJ | $99.74–$103.51 | 2 |
| NM | $91.14 | 1 |
| NV | $93.50 | 1 |
| NY | $91.24–$106.52 | 5 |
| OH | $90.53 | 1 |
| OK | $89.23 | 1 |
| OR | $93.01–$98.37 | 2 |
| PA | $90.58–$96.84 | 2 |
| PR | $94.24 | 1 |
| RI | $95.88 | 1 |
| SC | $90.59 | 1 |
| SD | $92.30 | 1 |
| TN | $89.28 | 1 |
| TX | $90.23–$95.92 | 8 |
| UT | $91.31 | 1 |
| VA | $92.52–$103.83 | 2 |
| VI | $94.24 | 1 |
| VT | $92.32 | 1 |
| WA | $96.02–$104.80 | 2 |
| WI | $90.63 | 1 |
| WV | $89.83 | 1 |
| WY | $93.25 | 1 |
How the 88321 rate is calculated
Each of 88321’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 · 88321
RVUs × geographic indexes × conversion factor
Work1.59
1.59 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI
Practice expense1.15
1.15 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI
Malpractice0.07
0.07 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI
Adjusted RVUs
2.8100
Conversion factor
$33.4009
Medicare rate
$93.86
Every GPCI starts at 1.000, the national rate. Enter a ZIP or drag a slider.
Payment rules and modifiers for 88321
88321 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.
Place of service · 88321
Which rate does Medicare pay?
The POS code on the claim line (CMS-1500 box 24B).
POS 11 · non-facility rate · national
$93.86
- Non-facility (office)
- $93.86
- Facility
- $67.47
Higher because the practice carries its own overhead.
88321 compared with similar codes
Compare codes · National
4 codes, side by side
How to choose
- 88323Pathology consultationReferred material, slides prepared
- Choose 88321 for slides prepared by another laboratory. Choose 88323 when the referred material requires preparation for the consultation.
- 88325Pathology consultationComprehensive record review
- 88321 centers on review of outside-prepared slides; 88325 describes a comprehensive review of records and specimens.
- 88329Pathology consultGross examination only
- 88329 is for a pathology consultation during surgery. 88321 is for a consultation report based on slides prepared elsewhere.
88321 billing questions
How does this differ from 88323?
Use 88321 when the slides were already prepared elsewhere. Code 88323 is for consultation when the referred material requires preparation.
Does 88321 include preparing new slides?
No. The service is the pathologist’s review and report on slides prepared by another laboratory.
When would 88325 be a better fit?
88325 describes a more comprehensive consultation involving review of records and specimens. 88321 is focused on the referred slides.
What documentation supports reporting 88321?
Document the slides reviewed, their outside source, the consultation request, and the pathologist’s findings and conclusions in the report.
Can the original tissue examination report support 88321 by itself?
No. The record should show a separate consultation based on the outside-prepared slides and include the consulting pathologist’s report.
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
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