Billing code 32408: Core biopsyMedicare rate & RVUs

Medicare pays $804.29 for 32408 nationally in the office and $130.60 in a hospital or facility. Local office rates run $701.58–$1,115.13.

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

What 32408 covers

A physician, commonly a radiologist or interventional radiologist, passes a core needle through the chest wall to obtain tissue from a lung lesion or mediastinal target. The procedure is commonly performed in a hospital or outpatient imaging setting, often with CT or other imaging used to guide needle placement. Imaging guidance is included in the biopsy service when performed; this code distinguishes a percutaneous core-tissue sample from a bronchoscopic biopsy or a biopsy of the pleura.

Select the code when the documented approach is percutaneous and the specimen is obtained with a core needle from lung or mediastinum. The record should identify the target, approach, and tissue sampling performed; note imaging guidance when used. The 0-day global period includes same-day preoperative and postoperative care. When other procedures are performed in the same session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and other procedures are subject to the standard multiple-procedure reduction. Modifier 50 is inappropriate. Assistant-at-surgery payment is statutorily restricted, and co-surgeon and team-surgery reporting 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 32408 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

32408 rates by state

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

How the 32408 rate is calculated

Each of 32408’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 32408

The CMS indicators that decide how 32408 is paid alongside other services.

What modifiers do to the payment

When to use modifier 51

32408 compared with similar codes

How to choose

32400Pleural biopsy

Choose 32408 for a percutaneous core biopsy of lung or mediastinum; 32400 is for a needle biopsy of pleura.

31628Lung biopsy

31628 is used for transbronchial lung biopsy through a bronchoscope. This code requires a percutaneous approach through the chest wall.

31629Bronchoscopic biopsy

31629 describes needle sampling performed bronchoscopically. Use this code when the core sample is obtained percutaneously from lung or mediastinum.

Codes related to 32408

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