FeeBase
Log inGet started
Menu

CPT code 32815: Fistula closure2026 Medicare rate & RVUs

Reports open surgical closure of a bronchial fistula, typically for a persistent communication causing an airway leak into the pleural space.

CMS RVU26DEffective Oct 1, 2026109 payment localities110 Medicare services in 2024

Medicare pays $2,628.98 for 32815 nationally in a facility.

Medicare rate · 32815

Fistula closure

Office or facility?

Work RVUs
48.78
Total RVUs
78.71
Global days
090

National rate · 2026

$2,628.98

Facility setting, before claim adjustments.

See every locality for 32815 →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.

Your location

Medicare pays by the payment locality where the service is performed.

On this page 10 sections
  1. Medicare rate
  2. What 32815 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 32815 covers

A thoracic surgeon uses this code for an open operation to close a communication from a bronchus, commonly a persistent bronchopleural fistula after lung resection. These repairs are generally performed in a hospital operating room when the airway defect requires surgical closure; they are distinct from closing an open chest-wall drainage site. The operative report should identify the bronchus and fistula, the reason for repair, the surgical approach, and the work performed to achieve closure.

The code has 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 multiple-procedure reduction. Modifier 50 is inappropriate for this code. CMS permits assistant-at-surgery payment; co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation, and team-surgery payment 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 32815 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

32815 office and facility rates by payment locality
Payment localityOfficeFacility
AlabamaUnavailable$2,376.87
AlaskaUnavailable$3,297.10
ArizonaUnavailable$2,551.50
ArkansasUnavailable$2,346.47
Atlanta, GAUnavailable$2,726.00
Austin, TXUnavailable$2,619.45
Bakersfield, CAUnavailable$2,555.51
Baltimore area, MDUnavailable$2,795.52
Beaumont, TXUnavailable$2,546.83
Brazoria, TXUnavailable$2,546.20

32815 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
32815 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 32815 rate is calculated

Each of 32815’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 · 32815

RVUs × geographic indexes × conversion factor

Office or facility?

Work48.78

48.78 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI

Practice expense17.61

17.61 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI

Malpractice12.32

12.32 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI

Adjusted RVUs

78.7100

Conversion factor

$33.4009

Medicare rate

$2,628.98

Every GPCI starts at 1.000, the national rate. Enter a ZIP or drag a slider.

Payment rules and modifiers for 32815

32815 has a 90-day global period: related visits in that window are included in the surgery payment.

CMS payment indicators · 32815

Fistula closure

RuleCMS valueWhat it means
Global period090Major surgery: the day before, the day of, and 90 days after are 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)2Paid.
Co-surgeons (62)1Permitted with supporting documentation.
Team surgery (66)0Not permitted.
Professional/technical0Physician service: no professional/technical split.
Split (54/55/56)0.10/0.76/0.14Share of the payment for pre-op, the procedure itself, and post-op care.

Global surgery period · 32815

Fistula closure

90-day global period ends

Dec 30, 2026

Covers Sep 30, 2026 through Dec 30, 2026 (92 days, including the day before surgery).

Visit on Oct 31, 2026

Day 30 of the 90-day post-op period: related follow-up care is included in the surgical payment.

  • 24Unrelated E/M visit by the same physician
  • 79Unrelated procedure (starts its own global period)
  • 58Staged, more extensive, or therapy procedure that was planned
  • 78Unplanned return to the operating room for a related complication
SurgeryVisit
Sep 23, 2026Jan 10, 2027

Pre-op dayGlobal period

What modifiers do to the payment

Modifier 51 · payment effect

With and without the modifier

32815 without 51 · national facility

$2,628.98

Fistula closure

32815-51 · Second procedure: 50%

$1,314.49

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

32815 compared with similar codes

Compare codes · National

4 codes, side by side

Office or facility?

  • 32815

    Fistula closure48.78 wRVU

    Not priced

  • 32810

    Chest closure14.58 wRVU

    Not priced

  • 32800

    Lung hernia repair15.32 wRVU

    Not priced

  • 32820

    Chest wall reconstruction21.95 wRVU

    Not priced

How to choose

32810Chest closure
Choose 32810 for closure of a chest-wall drainage opening; choose 32815 when the operative target is the bronchial fistula.
32800Lung hernia repair
Code 32800 treats a lung hernia. It does not describe closure of an abnormal bronchial communication.
32820Chest wall reconstruction
Code 32820 addresses chest-wall reconstruction following injury, rather than closure of a bronchial fistula.

Codes related to 32815

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

Codes related to 32815
CodeHow it relatesNational office range
Often billed with
31634BronchoscopyBronchoscopic balloon occlusion can be used to localize an airway leak during evaluation.$1,392.87–$2,264.73
32810Chest closureMay accompany repair when a separate chest-wall drainage opening is also closed.No office rate

32815 billing questions

How is this different from 32810?

Code 32815 is for surgical closure of the bronchial communication. Code 32810 addresses closure of a chest-wall opening created for drainage.

Can modifier 50 be used for a fistula on either side?

No. CMS identifies bilateral adjustment as inappropriate for this code; do not report modifier 50.

Can an assistant surgeon be reported?

CMS allows assistant-at-surgery payment for this procedure. Co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation.

What documentation supports reporting 32815?

Document the bronchial fistula and its location, the clinical reason for repair, the operative approach, and the surgeon’s closure work.

Does the code include related postoperative visits?

Yes. The 90-day global period includes the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care.

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 32815PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv, line 3,786 (RVU26D)

Open CMS sourceHow we calculate rates

Did this answer your question about what 32815 pays?

Tell us what you were actually trying to work out. We’ll answer you directly, or build the page that does.

Fee sheets

Put 32815 and the rest of your codes on one sheet

Build a fee sheet from your own code list at your locality, put your payer contracts beside Medicare, and see what changed each quarter.

Build my fee sheetOr price your code list free →