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Billing code 31638: Airway stent revisionMedicare rate & RVUs

Bronchoscopic revision adjusts a previously placed tracheal or bronchial stent when its position or function needs correction.

CMS RVU26DEffective Oct 1, 2026109 payment localities346 Medicare services in 2024

Medicare pays $219.11 for 31638 nationally in a facility.

Medicare rate · 31638

Airway stent revision

Swap in your local Medicare rate.

Work RVUs
4.76
Total RVUs
6.56
Global days
000

National rate · 2026

$219.11

Facility setting, before claim adjustments.

See every locality for 31638 → · 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 31638 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 31638 covers

A pulmonologist or thoracic surgeon uses a bronchoscope to revise a stent already placed in the trachea or a bronchus. The service may be needed when a stent has migrated or no longer maintains the intended airway position or patency. It is commonly performed in a hospital procedural or operating-room setting. The key distinction is revision of an existing airway stent, rather than initial stent placement or airway dilation alone.

Report the service when the procedure note identifies the existing stent, its airway location, the reason for revision, and the work performed. The code has a 0-day global period, so same-day preoperative and postoperative care is included. When related endoscopies are performed together, CMS endoscopy-family pricing applies rather than treating each as an independent full procedure. Medicare does not pay an assistant-at-surgery claim for this service; 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 31638 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

31638 office and facility rates by payment locality
Payment localityOfficeFacility
AlabamaUnavailable$206.64
Alaska*Unavailable$294.27
ArizonaUnavailable$215.43
ArkansasUnavailable$205.12
AtlantaUnavailable$223.51
AustinUnavailable$220.16
BakersfieldUnavailable$220.09
Baltimore/Surr. CntysUnavailable$228.67
BeaumontUnavailable$214.00
BrazoriaUnavailable$216.46

31638 rates by state

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

MEWIVTNHMTNDMNMINYMARIWAIDWYSDIAILINOHPANJCTORNVUTCONEMOKYWVVAMDDECAAZNMKSOKARTNNCSCDCTXLAMSALGAFLAKHI

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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
31638 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 31638 rate is calculated

Each of 31638’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 · 31638

RVUs × geographic indexes × conversion factor

Swap in your local Medicare rate.

Work 4.76Practice expense 1.32Malpractice 0.48

6.5600 adjusted RVUs×$33.4009 conversion factor=$219.11

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

Payment rules and modifiers for 31638

The CMS indicators that decide how 31638 is paid alongside other services.

CMS payment indicators · 31638

Airway stent revision

RuleCMS valueWhat it means
Global period000Same-day global: pre- and post-op care on the day of the procedure is included.
Multiple procedures3Endoscopy family rules apply.
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

31638 without 51 · national facility

$219.11

Airway stent revision

31638-51 · Second procedure: 50%

$109.56

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

31638 compared with similar codes

Compare codes

31638 vs 31636 vs 31631 vs 31630: national Medicare rates

Swap in your local Medicare rate.

  • 31638
    Airway stent revision · 4.76 wRVU
    —
  • 31636
    Bronchial stent · 4.19 wRVU
    —
  • 31631
    Airway stent · 4.25 wRVU
    —
  • 31630
    Bronchoscopy · 3.71 wRVU
    —

How to choose

31636Bronchial stent
31636 is for initial placement of an airway stent. Choose 31638 when the bronchoscopist revises a stent that was previously placed.
31631Airway stent
31631 describes airway dilation with stent placement. It is not the revision service for an existing stent.
31630Bronchoscopy
31630 describes bronchoscopic airway dilation without stent placement. Use 31638 when the service revises an existing airway stent.

Codes related to 31638

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

Codes related to 31638
CodeHow it relatesNational office range
Used instead
31636Bronchial stentInitial airway stent placement, rather than revision of a stent already in place.No office rate
31631Airway stentAirway dilation with stent placement, rather than revision of an existing stent.No office rate
31630BronchoscopyAirway dilation without stent placement or revision.No office rate

31638 billing questions

When should this code be chosen instead of 31636?

Use 31638 for revision of an airway stent already in place. Code 31636 describes initial stent placement.

Can this code be reported with another bronchoscopy service on the same date?

Related endoscopies performed together are subject to CMS endoscopy-family pricing. Document each service performed and the distinct clinical work.

Does this code include same-day postoperative care?

Yes. Its 0-day global period includes same-day preoperative and postoperative care.

Can an assistant surgeon or co-surgeon be billed?

Medicare does not pay an assistant-at-surgery claim for this service. Co-surgeon and team-surgery billing are not permitted.

What documentation supports reporting stent revision?

Document the existing stent and its airway location, the reason it required revision, and the bronchoscopic adjustment or other revision 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

Show the CMS file lines behind this rate
RVUs for 31638PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv, line 3,647 (RVU26D)

Open CMS sourceHow we calculate rates

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