$60.90–$93.84
88108 represents cytopathology processing and interpretation; 89220 represents obtaining sputum by aerosol induction.
On this page
CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
89220 Sputum collection Medicare reimbursement rates
Reports aerosol-induced collection of sputum when a diagnostic specimen is needed, such as when a patient cannot produce an adequate sample by coughing. Compare 89220 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities.
Amounts below use the non-QP conversion factor for participating physicians. These are base physician payments before claim-level adjustments, not patient costs or total hospital charges.
What does Medicare pay for 89220?
The service location and office or facility setting determine which base rate applies. These are the supported base rates for the 109 payment areas shown below, using the same CMS release.
Office / nonfacility
$17.96–$30.04
109 of 109 localities have a supported rate.
Lowest: Arkansas
Highest: San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara (San Benito Cnty)
A spread of $12.08 per service.
Facility setting
No supported rate
These are locality ranges, not averages or address-specific quotes. A facility-setting amount covers the physician service; it does not include a hospital’s separate bill. Choose a locality below to inspect its calculation, compare other payment areas, or price a percentage of Medicare.
Where 89220 pays more and less
109 payment localities
$17.96 to $30.04
Specimen collection
About 89220: Aerosol-induced sputum collection
Reports aerosol-induced collection of sputum when a diagnostic specimen is needed, such as when a patient cannot produce an adequate sample by coughing.
This service obtains a sputum specimen through aerosol induction, commonly using nebulized saline to help a patient produce respiratory secretions for diagnostic testing. It is used when a spontaneously expectorated sample is not available or adequate. Clinical staff, such as respiratory therapists or nurses, may perform the collection in an outpatient setting under the responsible practitioner’s direction. The collected specimen may be sent for microbiology or cytopathology testing; those laboratory analyses are distinct from obtaining the sample.
Report 89220 for the induced collection, not for testing or interpreting the specimen. Documentation should identify the aerosol-induced technique and the specimen obtained. CMS classifies this as a technical-component-only service, with interpretation covered by a separate code; do not report modifier 26 on 89220 to represent interpretation. The separate test code depends on the analysis performed, such as culture or cytopathology.
CMS billing rules for 89220
- Professional and technical components
- Technical-component-only code: a separate code covers interpretation.
Where the value comes from
- Work RVU0.00 · 0%
- Practice expense (office) RVU0.62 · 98%
- Malpractice RVU0.01 · 2%
206
Medicare services in 2024 · #4304 by national volume
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.
89220 compared with similar codes
Office rate ranges across all CMS payment localities, from the same CMS release.
87070
No office rateCulture othr specimn aerobic
87070 is a bacterial culture service performed on a specimen. It does not describe aerosol-induced collection.
$2.47–$4.03
89230 concerns sweat collection for testing. Choose 89220 for induced sputum, not a sweat specimen.
See how rates vary across the country
89220 · Office / nonfacility · Non-QP. Choose a state to explore its payment localities. A range means the amount varies within that state.
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.
$17.96
$26.46
Color shows the midpoint of each state’s locality range.
View all state and territory rates as a table
| State / territory | Rate range | Localities |
|---|---|---|
| AK | $22.24 | 1 |
| AL | $18.31 | 1 |
| AR | $17.96 | 1 |
| AZ | $20.35 | 1 |
| CA | $22.88–$30.04 | 29 |
| CO | $22.29 | 1 |
| CT | $22.71 | 1 |
| DC | $24.77 | 1 |
| DE | $20.76 | 1 |
| FL | $20.30–$22.40 | 3 |
| GA | $18.87–$21.44 | 2 |
| GU | $23.74 | 1 |
| HI | $23.74 | 1 |
| IA | $19.08 | 1 |
| ID | $19.21 | 1 |
| IL | $19.43–$21.86 | 4 |
| IN | $19.36 | 1 |
| KS | $18.89 | 1 |
| KY | $18.72 | 1 |
| LA | $18.65–$19.87 | 2 |
| MA | $22.07–$25.02 | 2 |
| MD | $21.26–$24.77 | 3 |
| ME | $19.26–$20.73 | 2 |
| MI | $19.28–$20.55 | 2 |
| MN | $21.41 | 1 |
| MO | $18.18–$20.05 | 3 |
| MS | $18.08 | 1 |
| MT | $21.04 | 1 |
| NC | $19.53 | 1 |
| ND | $20.84 | 1 |
| NE | $19.24 | 1 |
| NH | $21.85 | 1 |
| NJ | $22.98–$24.38 | 2 |
| NM | $19.39 | 1 |
| NV | $21.01 | 1 |
| NY | $19.91–$25.24 | 5 |
| OH | $19.24 | 1 |
| OK | $18.75 | 1 |
| OR | $20.86–$23.26 | 2 |
| PA | $19.33–$21.96 | 2 |
| PR | $21.27 | 1 |
| RI | $21.69 | 1 |
| SC | $19.42 | 1 |
| SD | $20.82 | 1 |
| TN | $19.00 | 1 |
| TX | $19.16–$22.21 | 8 |
| UT | $19.77 | 1 |
| VA | $20.59–$24.77 | 2 |
| VI | $21.27 | 1 |
| VT | $20.67 | 1 |
| WA | $22.06–$25.68 | 2 |
| WI | $19.94 | 1 |
| WV | $18.47 | 1 |
| WY | $20.96 | 1 |
Compare 89220 by payment locality
Find the payment area for your service address, then open its rate page for calculation inputs, release history and the percentage-of-Medicare tool. A city may cross payment-area boundaries; the ZIP lookup above helps resolve the location.
109 of 109 payment localities
| Payment locality | Office | Facility |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Office $18.31 | Facility Unavailable |
| Alaska* | Office $22.24 | Facility Unavailable |
| Arizona | Office $20.35 | Facility Unavailable |
| Arkansas | Office $17.96 | Facility Unavailable |
| Atlanta | Office $21.44 | Facility Unavailable |
| Austin | Office $22.21 | Facility Unavailable |
| Bakersfield | Office $22.90 | Facility Unavailable |
| Baltimore/Surr. Cntys | Office $22.63 | Facility Unavailable |
| Beaumont | Office $19.16 | Facility Unavailable |
| Brazoria | Office $20.78 | Facility Unavailable |
| Chicago | Office $21.58 | Facility Unavailable |
| Chico | Office $22.88 | Facility Unavailable |
| Colorado | Office $22.29 | Facility Unavailable |
| Connecticut | Office $22.71 | Facility Unavailable |
| Dallas | Office $20.91 | Facility Unavailable |
| Dc + Md/Va Suburbs | Office $24.77 | Facility Unavailable |
| Delaware | Office $20.76 | Facility Unavailable |
| Detroit | Office $20.55 | Facility Unavailable |
| East St. Louis | Office $19.72 | Facility Unavailable |
| El Centro | Office $22.88 | Facility Unavailable |
| Fort Lauderdale | Office $21.58 | Facility Unavailable |
| Fort Worth | Office $20.71 | Facility Unavailable |
| Fresno | Office $22.88 | Facility Unavailable |
| Galveston | Office $20.84 | Facility Unavailable |
| Hanford-Corcoran | Office $22.88 | Facility Unavailable |
| Hawaii, Guam | Office $23.74 | Facility Unavailable |
| Houston | Office $21.02 | Facility Unavailable |
| Idaho | Office $19.21 | Facility Unavailable |
| Indiana | Office $19.36 | Facility Unavailable |
| Iowa | Office $19.08 | Facility Unavailable |
| Kansas | Office $18.89 | Facility Unavailable |
| Kentucky | Office $18.72 | Facility Unavailable |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim (Los Angeles/Orange Cnty) | Office $24.72 | Facility Unavailable |
| Madera | Office $22.88 | Facility Unavailable |
| Manhattan | Office $24.59 | Facility Unavailable |
| Merced | Office $22.88 | Facility Unavailable |
| Metropolitan Boston | Office $25.02 | Facility Unavailable |
| Metropolitan Kansas City | Office $19.77 | Facility Unavailable |
| Metropolitan Philadelphia | Office $21.96 | Facility Unavailable |
| Metropolitan St. Louis | Office $20.05 | Facility Unavailable |
| Miami | Office $22.40 | Facility Unavailable |
| Minnesota | Office $21.41 | Facility Unavailable |
| Mississippi | Office $18.08 | Facility Unavailable |
| Modesto | Office $22.88 | Facility Unavailable |
| Montana** | Office $21.04 | Facility Unavailable |
| Napa | Office $27.46 | Facility Unavailable |
| Nebraska | Office $19.24 | Facility Unavailable |
| Nevada** | Office $21.01 | Facility Unavailable |
| New Hampshire | Office $21.85 | Facility Unavailable |
| New Mexico | Office $19.39 | Facility Unavailable |
| New Orleans | Office $19.87 | Facility Unavailable |
| North Carolina | Office $19.53 | Facility Unavailable |
| North Dakota** | Office $20.84 | Facility Unavailable |
| Northern Nj | Office $24.38 | Facility Unavailable |
| Nyc Suburbs/Long Island | Office $25.24 | Facility Unavailable |
| Ohio | Office $19.24 | Facility Unavailable |
| Oklahoma | Office $18.75 | Facility Unavailable |
| Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura | Office $24.69 | Facility Unavailable |
| Portland | Office $23.26 | Facility Unavailable |
| Poughkpsie/N Nyc Suburbs | Office $23.08 | Facility Unavailable |
| Puerto Rico | Office $21.27 | Facility Unavailable |
| Queens | Office $24.96 | Facility Unavailable |
| Redding | Office $22.88 | Facility Unavailable |
| Rest Of California | Office $22.88 | Facility Unavailable |
| Rest Of Florida | Office $20.30 | Facility Unavailable |
| Rest Of Georgia | Office $18.87 | Facility Unavailable |
| Rest Of Illinois | Office $19.43 | Facility Unavailable |
| Rest Of Louisiana | Office $18.65 | Facility Unavailable |
| Rest Of Maine | Office $19.26 | Facility Unavailable |
| Rest Of Maryland | Office $21.26 | Facility Unavailable |
| Rest Of Massachusetts | Office $22.07 | Facility Unavailable |
| Rest Of Michigan | Office $19.28 | Facility Unavailable |
| Rest Of Missouri | Office $18.18 | Facility Unavailable |
| Rest Of New Jersey | Office $22.98 | Facility Unavailable |
| Rest Of New York | Office $19.91 | Facility Unavailable |
| Rest Of Oregon | Office $20.86 | Facility Unavailable |
| Rest Of Pennsylvania | Office $19.33 | Facility Unavailable |
| Rest Of Texas | Office $19.95 | Facility Unavailable |
| Rest Of Washington | Office $22.06 | Facility Unavailable |
| Rhode Island | Office $21.69 | Facility Unavailable |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario | Office $22.98 | Facility Unavailable |
| Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom | Office $24.26 | Facility Unavailable |
| Salinas | Office $24.18 | Facility Unavailable |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad | Office $24.95 | Facility Unavailable |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley (Marin Cnty) | Office $29.35 | Facility Unavailable |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley (San Francisco/San Mateo/Alameda/Contra Costa Cnty) | Office $29.34 | Facility Unavailable |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara (San Benito Cnty) | Office $30.04 | Facility Unavailable |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara (Santa Clara Cnty) | Office $29.99 | Facility Unavailable |
| San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles | Office $23.77 | Facility Unavailable |
| Santa Cruz-Watsonville | Office $25.34 | Facility Unavailable |
| Santa Maria-Santa Barbara | Office $24.33 | Facility Unavailable |
| Santa Rosa-Petaluma | Office $25.61 | Facility Unavailable |
| Seattle (King Cnty) | Office $25.68 | Facility Unavailable |
| South Carolina | Office $19.42 | Facility Unavailable |
| South Dakota** | Office $20.82 | Facility Unavailable |
| Southern Maine | Office $20.73 | Facility Unavailable |
| Stockton | Office $22.88 | Facility Unavailable |
| Suburban Chicago | Office $21.86 | Facility Unavailable |
| Tennessee | Office $19.00 | Facility Unavailable |
| Utah | Office $19.77 | Facility Unavailable |
| Vallejo | Office $27.45 | Facility Unavailable |
| Vermont | Office $20.67 | Facility Unavailable |
| Virgin Islands | Office $21.27 | Facility Unavailable |
| Virginia | Office $20.59 | Facility Unavailable |
| Visalia | Office $22.88 | Facility Unavailable |
| West Virginia | Office $18.47 | Facility Unavailable |
| Wisconsin | Office $19.94 | Facility Unavailable |
| Wyoming** | Office $20.96 | Facility Unavailable |
| Yuba City | Office $22.88 | Facility Unavailable |
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89220 billing questions
When should 89220 be selected instead of a routine sputum collection?
Use it when aerosol induction is used to obtain sputum for diagnostic testing, typically because the patient cannot produce an adequate specimen by coughing.
Does 89220 include sputum culture or cytology?
No. It represents obtaining the induced specimen. The laboratory reports the applicable analysis, such as bacterial culture or cytopathology, under its own code.
Can modifier 26 be appended to 89220?
No. CMS identifies 89220 as technical-component-only, and a separate code covers interpretation.
What documentation supports reporting 89220?
Document that aerosol induction was performed to obtain sputum and identify the specimen collected. A note that only records a spontaneously expectorated sample does not establish this technique.
Is 89220 the same as collecting a sputum sample during bronchoscopy?
No. This code represents aerosol-induced sputum collection. A specimen obtained as part of a bronchoscopic procedure is associated with that procedure instead.
Where these rates come from
FeeBase calculates base physician payments from CMS work, practice-expense, and malpractice RVUs, adjusted by each locality’s geographic indices and the applicable conversion factor. Unavailable or separately priced services are labeled rather than assigned a made-up amount.
Source: RVU26D. Effective 2026-10-01 through the day before 2027-01-01.
11,34089125,,Specimen fat stain,X,,0.00,0.00,,0.00,,0.00,0.00,0.00,9,XXX,0.00,0.00,0.00,9,9,9,9,9,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
11,34189160,,Exam feces for meat fibers,X,,0.00,0.00,,0.00,,0.00,0.00,0.00,9,XXX,0.00,0.00,0.00,9,9,9,9,9,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
11,34289190,,Nasal smear for eosinophils,X,,0.00,0.00,,0.00,,0.00,0.00,0.00,9,XXX,0.00,0.00,0.00,9,9,9,9,9,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
11,34389220,,Sputum specimen collection,A,,0.00,0.62,,0.62,NA,0.01,0.63,0.63,3,XXX,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,0,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
11,34489230,,Collect sweat for test,A,,0.00,0.08,,0.08,NA,0.01,0.09,0.09,3,XXX,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,0,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
11,34589240,,Unlisted misc path test,C,,0.00,0.00,,0.00,,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,XXX,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,0,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
11,34689250,,Cultr oocyte/embryo <4 days,X,,0.00,0.00,,0.00,,0.00,0.00,0.00,9,XXX,0.00,0.00,0.00,9,9,9,9,9,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00