Billing code 32100: Chest explorationMedicare rate & RVUs

Medicare pays $777.24 for 32100 nationally in a facility.

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

What 32100 covers

A surgeon opens the chest to inspect the intrathoracic space directly when diagnostic evaluation or operative findings call for exploration. The service is generally performed in a hospital operating room, such as when the surgeon must assess an uncertain chest finding that cannot be resolved through a less invasive approach. The operative report should identify the reason for exploration, the structures examined, and the findings. When the operation instead includes a specific repair, removal, or other defined thoracic procedure, select the code that describes that work.

Report this code for the open exploration itself, with documentation supporting why direct inspection was needed and what was done. Medicare assigns a 90-day global period: the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care are included. When multiple procedures are performed in the same session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and other procedures are subject to the standard 50% multiple-procedure reduction. Do not append modifier 50. Assistant-at-surgery payment may be allowed; co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation, and team surgery is 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 32100 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

32100 rates by state

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

How the 32100 rate is calculated

Each of 32100’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 32100

32100 has a 90-day global period: related visits in that window are included in the surgery payment.

What modifiers do to the payment

When to use modifier 51

32100 compared with similar codes

How to choose

32110Chest exploration

32100 represents open exploration; 32110 is for thoracotomy that includes control of traumatic hemorrhage or repair of a lung tear.

32120Chest re-exploration

32120 is for thoracic re-exploration related to a postoperative complication, rather than general open chest exploration.

32124Thoracotomy

32124 is directed to thoracotomy for biopsy of lung nodules or masses. Use 32100 when the documented service is exploration rather than that specific biopsy procedure.

Codes related to 32100

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