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Billing code 31502: Tracheostomy exchangeMedicare rate & RVUs

Report this service when a clinician exchanges a tracheostomy tube before the tract has matured, such as during an early postoperative tube change.

CMS RVU26DEffective Oct 1, 2026109 payment localities8.4K Medicare services in 2024

Medicare pays $30.39 for 31502 nationally in a facility.

Medicare rate · 31502

Tracheostomy exchange

Swap in your local Medicare rate.

Work RVUs
0.63
Total RVUs
0.91
Global days
000

National rate · 2026

$30.39

Facility setting, before claim adjustments.

See every locality for 31502 → · 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.

On this page 10 sections
  1. Medicare rate
  2. What 31502 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 31502 covers

This service covers exchanging a tracheostomy tube while the tract is still immature, when the opening may not yet provide a stable passage for reinsertion. It is typically performed by an otolaryngologist, surgeon, or other clinician managing the airway, often at the bedside in a hospital or other facility. The clinical context is an existing tracheostomy requiring a tube change—not creation of a new tracheostomy or emergency endotracheal intubation.

Report the service when the record supports that the tube was changed before the tract was established, including the reason for the exchange and the airway procedure performed. The CMS global period is 0 days, so same-day preoperative and postoperative care is included. If multiple procedures are performed in the same session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and the others are subject to the standard 50% reduction. Modifier 50 is inappropriate for this single midline airway service. Medicare does not pay an assistant at surgery for this code, 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.

Where 31502 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

31502 office and facility rates by payment locality
Payment localityOfficeFacility
AlabamaUnavailable$28.40
Alaska*Unavailable$40.15
ArizonaUnavailable$29.80
ArkansasUnavailable$28.16
AtlantaUnavailable$31.10
AustinUnavailable$30.52
BakersfieldUnavailable$30.39
Baltimore/Surr. CntysUnavailable$31.85
BeaumontUnavailable$29.60
BrazoriaUnavailable$29.92

31502 rates by state

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

MEWIVTNHMTNDMNMINYMARIWAIDWYSDIAILINOHPANJCTORNVUTCONEMOKYWVVAMDDECAAZNMKSOKARTNNCSCDCTXLAMSALGAFLAKHI

Explore a state

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
31502 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 31502 rate is calculated

Each of 31502’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 · 31502

RVUs × geographic indexes × conversion factor

Swap in your local Medicare rate.

Work 0.63Practice expense 0.20Malpractice 0.08

0.9100 adjusted RVUs×$33.4009 conversion factor=$30.39

All indexes start at 1.000 (the national rate). Enter a ZIP or drag a slider.

Payment rules and modifiers for 31502

The CMS indicators that decide how 31502 is paid alongside other services.

CMS payment indicators · 31502

Tracheostomy exchange

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

31502 without 51 · national facility

$30.39

Tracheostomy exchange

31502-51 · Second procedure: 50%

$15.20

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

31502 compared with similar codes

Compare codes

31502 vs 31500 vs 31600 vs 31603: national Medicare rates

Swap in your local Medicare rate.

  • 31502
    Tracheostomy exchange · 0.63 wRVU
    —
  • 31500
    Emergency intubation · 2.93 wRVU
    —
  • 31600
    Tracheostomy · 5.42 wRVU
    —
  • 31603
    Emergency tracheostomy · 5.85 wRVU
    —

How to choose

31500Emergency intubation
31500 describes emergency endotracheal intubation. Use 31502 for an exchange of an existing tracheostomy tube before the tract is established.
31600Tracheostomy
31600 is for creating a planned tracheostomy; 31502 is for changing the tube in an existing tracheostomy before its tract has matured.
31603Emergency tracheostomy
31603 describes emergency transtracheal airway access. It is not a tube exchange through an existing tracheostomy opening.

Codes related to 31502

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

Codes related to 31502
CodeHow it relatesNational office range
Used instead
31500Emergency intubationEmergency endotracheal intubation provides airway access by a different route rather than exchanging a tracheostomy tube.No office rate
31600TracheostomyCreates a planned tracheostomy; this code concerns changing a tube in an existing immature tract.No office rate
31603Emergency tracheostomyProvides emergency transtracheal airway access rather than exchanging an existing tracheostomy tube.No office rate

31502 billing questions

How is this different from emergency endotracheal intubation?

This code is for exchanging an existing tracheostomy tube before the tract has matured. Emergency endotracheal intubation establishes an airway through the mouth or nose instead.

Does the record need to identify the tract as immature?

Yes. Document that the tube exchange occurred before the tract was established, along with the reason for the change and the procedure performed.

Is same-day postoperative care separately reported?

No. The 0-day global period includes same-day preoperative and postoperative care.

Can an assistant, co-surgeon, or surgical team be reported?

Medicare does not pay an assistant at surgery for this code. Co-surgeons and team surgery are not permitted.

Can modifier 50 be used?

No. The service concerns a single midline airway, so modifier 50 is inappropriate.

What happens when another procedure is performed in the same session?

Under the standard multiple-procedure reduction, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and the other procedures are subject to a 50% reduction.

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 31502PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv, line 3,574 (RVU26D)

Open CMS sourceHow we calculate rates

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