Billing code 38300: Lymph node drainageMedicare rate & RVUs

Medicare pays $378.43 for 38300 nationally in the office and $216.10 in a hospital or facility. Local office rates run $328.90–$501.73.

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

What 38300 covers

Code 38300 represents an open procedure to drain a lesion involving a lymph node. A physician or surgeon accesses the affected node and drains the lesion; the operative report should make clear that the target was a lymph node lesion and that drainage was performed. This is distinct from taking tissue for diagnosis or excising a node. The service is generally performed in a surgical setting when the lesion requires operative access.

Select the code from the documented target and procedure, not from the shortened CMS label alone. Record the node site, open approach, and drainage performed. Medicare assigns a 10-day global period, so related postoperative visits during that period 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. Medicare does not pay an assistant at surgery for this service, 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 38300 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

38300 rates by state

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

How the 38300 rate is calculated

Each of 38300’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 38300

38300 has a 10-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

38300 compared with similar codes

How to choose

38305Lymph node drainage

The CMS short descriptor is the same for 38300 and 38305. Use the complete billing code descriptor and operative documentation to determine which drainage service was performed.

38500Lymph node biopsy

38300 is for draining a lymph node lesion; 38500 describes open biopsy or excision of a superficial lymph node, not drainage.

38505Lymph node biopsy

38505 is needle sampling of a lymph node. Use 38300 when the documented service is open drainage of a node lesion instead of tissue sampling.

Codes related to 38300

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