No office rate
32151 identifies removal of a foreign body embedded in lung tissue. Choose 32150 for its separately defined thoracotomy foreign-body removal service based on the operative site and procedure.
On this page
CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
32151 in Visalia
Office / nonfacility
Not available in this setting
Base rate per service
Facility setting
$940.40
Base rate per service
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.
Thoracic surgery
About 32151: Open intrapulmonary foreign body removal
Reports open thoracotomy to remove a foreign object embedded in lung tissue when retrieval requires surgical access rather than bronchoscopic removal.
32151 represents an open chest operation to retrieve a foreign object embedded within lung tissue. A thoracic surgeon typically performs it in a hospital operating room, such as when an aspirated object or penetrating fragment cannot be retrieved through the airway and requires direct lung dissection. The operative report should establish that the object was within the lung, describe the open approach, and document its removal. This is distinct from removing a foreign body elsewhere in the chest or excising a lung lesion.
Report the operation for the lung foreign body removal; the major-surgery global period includes the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care. When other procedures are performed in the same session, CMS pays the highest-valued procedure in full and applies the standard reduction to the others. Modifier 50 is inappropriate. An assistant at surgery may be paid; co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation, and team surgery is not permitted.
CMS billing rules for 32151
- Global period
- Major surgery with a 90-day global period: the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care are included.
- Multiple procedures
- Standard multiple procedure reduction: the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and others at 50% when performed in the same session.
- Bilateral procedures
- Bilateral adjustment does not apply; the descriptor or anatomy makes modifier 50 inappropriate.
- Assistant at surgery
- Assistant at surgery may be paid.
- Co-surgeons
- Co-surgeons paid only with supporting documentation.
- Team surgery
- Team surgery not permitted.
Where the value comes from
- Work RVU16.52 · 57%
- Practice expense (office) RVU8.33 · 29%
- Malpractice RVU4.15 · 14%
16
Medicare services in 2024 · #6032 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.
32151 compared with similar codes
Office rates for Visalia, from the same CMS release.
$339.57
31635 describes bronchoscopic foreign-body removal. Use 32151 when the object is within lung tissue and removal requires an open thoracotomy.
No office rate
32140 is for open removal of lung cysts or bullae. It does not describe retrieval of a foreign body.
The same code, a different location
How does Visalia compare?
32151 across payment areas
Same release and payment basis · bars start at $0
Visalia · This locality
Unavailable
Unavailable
No comparable rate is available in this setting.
Unavailable
No comparable rate is available in this setting.
Unavailable
No comparable rate is available in this setting.
Unavailable
No comparable rate is available in this setting.
Unavailable
No comparable rate is available in this setting.
No comparable rate is available in this setting.
Other payment areas listed in California appear first, followed by selected cross-country examples. The chart compares amounts, not distance.
The code’s RVUs stay the same in these comparisons. Geographic adjustments to work, practice expense and malpractice change the dollar amount. A city name alone may not identify the payment area for a service address.
Compare all 108 other payment areas
Madera
California · 32151
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$940.40
No comparable office rate is available.
Merced
California · 32151
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$940.40
No comparable office rate is available.
Modesto
California · 32151
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$940.40
No comparable office rate is available.
Napa
California · 32151
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$1023.67
No comparable office rate is available.
Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura
California · 32151
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$982.46
No comparable office rate is available.
Redding
California · 32151
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$940.40
No comparable office rate is available.
Rest Of California
California · 32151
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$940.40
No comparable office rate is available.
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario
California · 32151
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$984.89
No comparable office rate is available.
Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom
California · 32151
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$969.52
No comparable office rate is available.
Salinas
California · 32151
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$965.65
No comparable office rate is available.
San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad
California · 32151
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$976.23
No comparable office rate is available.
San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley (Marin Cnty)
California · 32151
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$1060.13
No comparable office rate is available.
San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley (San Francisco/San Mateo/Alameda/Contra Costa Cnty)
California · 32151
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$1055.42
No comparable office rate is available.
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara (San Benito Cnty)
California · 32151
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$1087.98
No comparable office rate is available.
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara (Santa Clara Cnty)
California · 32151
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$1068.72
No comparable office rate is available.
San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles
California · 32151
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$952.36
No comparable office rate is available.
Santa Cruz-Watsonville
California · 32151
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$975.72
No comparable office rate is available.
Santa Maria-Santa Barbara
California · 32151
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$965.95
No comparable office rate is available.
Santa Rosa-Petaluma
California · 32151
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$984.30
No comparable office rate is available.
Stockton
California · 32151
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$940.40
No comparable office rate is available.
Vallejo
California · 32151
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$1016.88
No comparable office rate is available.
Yuba City
California · 32151
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$940.40
No comparable office rate is available.
Dc + Md/Va Suburbs
District of Columbia · 32151
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$1063.61
No comparable office rate is available.
Miami
Florida · 32151
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$1191.97
No comparable office rate is available.
Chicago
Illinois · 32151
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$1153.38
No comparable office rate is available.
Manhattan
New York · 32151
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$1130.24
No comparable office rate is available.
Alaska*
Alaska · 32151
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$1200.36
No comparable office rate is available.
Alabama
Alabama · 32151
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$873.69
No comparable office rate is available.
Arkansas
Arkansas · 32151
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$862.17
No comparable office rate is available.
Arizona
Arizona · 32151
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$940.04
No comparable office rate is available.
Colorado
Colorado · 32151
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$962.70
No comparable office rate is available.
Connecticut
Connecticut · 32151
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$1030.19
No comparable office rate is available.
Delaware
Delaware · 32151
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$954.05
No comparable office rate is available.
Fort Lauderdale
Florida · 32151
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$1084.24
No comparable office rate is available.
Rest Of Florida
Florida · 32151
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$1026.11
No comparable office rate is available.
Atlanta
Georgia · 32151
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$1002.59
No comparable office rate is available.
Rest Of Georgia
Georgia · 32151
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$965.19
No comparable office rate is available.
Hawaii, Guam
Hawaii · 32151
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$948.39
No comparable office rate is available.
Iowa
Iowa · 32151
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$861.39
No comparable office rate is available.
Idaho
Idaho · 32151
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$873.32
No comparable office rate is available.
East St. Louis
Illinois · 32151
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$1086.92
No comparable office rate is available.
Rest Of Illinois
Illinois · 32151
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$1022.46
No comparable office rate is available.
Suburban Chicago
Illinois · 32151
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$1087.01
No comparable office rate is available.
Indiana
Indiana · 32151
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$877.07
No comparable office rate is available.
Kansas
Kansas · 32151
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$873.16
No comparable office rate is available.
Kentucky
Kentucky · 32151
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$925.96
No comparable office rate is available.
New Orleans
Louisiana · 32151
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$971.06
No comparable office rate is available.
Rest Of Louisiana
Louisiana · 32151
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$930.81
No comparable office rate is available.
Metropolitan Boston
Massachusetts · 32151
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$1029.98
No comparable office rate is available.
Rest Of Massachusetts
Massachusetts · 32151
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$964.06
No comparable office rate is available.
Baltimore/Surr. Cntys
Maryland · 32151
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$1030.62
No comparable office rate is available.
Rest Of Maryland
Maryland · 32151
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$966.12
No comparable office rate is available.
Rest Of Maine
Maine · 32151
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$893.97
No comparable office rate is available.
Southern Maine
Maine · 32151
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$914.97
No comparable office rate is available.
Detroit
Michigan · 32151
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$1053.98
No comparable office rate is available.
Rest Of Michigan
Michigan · 32151
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$962.30
No comparable office rate is available.
Minnesota
Minnesota · 32151
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$879.11
No comparable office rate is available.
Metropolitan Kansas City
Missouri · 32151
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$948.47
No comparable office rate is available.
Metropolitan St. Louis
Missouri · 32151
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$955.55
No comparable office rate is available.
Rest Of Missouri
Missouri · 32151
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$926.63
No comparable office rate is available.
Mississippi
Mississippi · 32151
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$893.77
No comparable office rate is available.
Montana**
Montana · 32151
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$968.35
No comparable office rate is available.
North Carolina
North Carolina · 32151
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$899.95
No comparable office rate is available.
North Dakota**
North Dakota · 32151
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$886.29
No comparable office rate is available.
Nebraska
Nebraska · 32151
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$860.98
No comparable office rate is available.
New Hampshire
New Hampshire · 32151
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$962.71
No comparable office rate is available.
Northern Nj
New Jersey · 32151
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$1057.33
No comparable office rate is available.
Rest Of New Jersey
New Jersey · 32151
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$1029.74
No comparable office rate is available.
New Mexico
New Mexico · 32151
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$973.39
No comparable office rate is available.
Nevada**
Nevada · 32151
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$945.76
No comparable office rate is available.
Nyc Suburbs/Long Island
New York · 32151
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$1175.32
No comparable office rate is available.
Poughkpsie/N Nyc Suburbs
New York · 32151
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$1049.00
No comparable office rate is available.
Queens
New York · 32151
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$1115.85
No comparable office rate is available.
Rest Of New York
New York · 32151
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$913.55
No comparable office rate is available.
Ohio
Ohio · 32151
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$945.53
No comparable office rate is available.
Oklahoma
Oklahoma · 32151
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$907.94
No comparable office rate is available.
Portland
Oregon · 32151
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$972.85
No comparable office rate is available.
Rest Of Oregon
Oregon · 32151
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$926.34
No comparable office rate is available.
Metropolitan Philadelphia
Pennsylvania · 32151
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$1016.72
No comparable office rate is available.
Rest Of Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania · 32151
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$938.19
No comparable office rate is available.
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico · 32151
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$969.61
No comparable office rate is available.
Rhode Island
Rhode Island · 32151
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$973.32
No comparable office rate is available.
South Carolina
South Carolina · 32151
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$926.69
No comparable office rate is available.
South Dakota**
South Dakota · 32151
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$876.59
No comparable office rate is available.
Tennessee
Tennessee · 32151
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$879.13
No comparable office rate is available.
Austin
Texas · 32151
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$970.07
No comparable office rate is available.
Beaumont
Texas · 32151
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$933.74
No comparable office rate is available.
Brazoria
Texas · 32151
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$940.04
No comparable office rate is available.
Dallas
Texas · 32151
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$952.80
No comparable office rate is available.
Fort Worth
Texas · 32151
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$951.82
No comparable office rate is available.
Galveston
Texas · 32151
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$947.25
No comparable office rate is available.
Houston
Texas · 32151
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$1023.21
No comparable office rate is available.
Rest Of Texas
Texas · 32151
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$940.99
No comparable office rate is available.
Utah
Utah · 32151
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$937.79
No comparable office rate is available.
Virginia
Virginia · 32151
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$923.14
No comparable office rate is available.
Virgin Islands
United States Virgin Islands · 32151
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$969.61
No comparable office rate is available.
Vermont
Vermont · 32151
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$897.37
No comparable office rate is available.
Rest Of Washington
Washington · 32151
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$957.42
No comparable office rate is available.
Seattle (King Cnty)
Washington · 32151
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$1034.01
No comparable office rate is available.
Wisconsin
Wisconsin · 32151
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$861.02
No comparable office rate is available.
West Virginia
West Virginia · 32151
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$991.92
No comparable office rate is available.
Wyoming**
Wyoming · 32151
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$932.59
No comparable office rate is available.
See how rates vary across the country
32151 · 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.
View all state and territory rates as a table
| State / territory | Rate range | Localities |
|---|---|---|
| AK | No published base rate | 1 |
| AL | No published base rate | 1 |
| AR | No published base rate | 1 |
| AZ | No published base rate | 1 |
| CA | No published base rate | 29 |
| CO | No published base rate | 1 |
| CT | No published base rate | 1 |
| DC | No published base rate | 1 |
| DE | No published base rate | 1 |
| FL | No published base rate | 3 |
| GA | No published base rate | 2 |
| GU | No published base rate | 1 |
| HI | No published base rate | 1 |
| IA | No published base rate | 1 |
| ID | No published base rate | 1 |
| IL | No published base rate | 4 |
| IN | No published base rate | 1 |
| KS | No published base rate | 1 |
| KY | No published base rate | 1 |
| LA | No published base rate | 2 |
| MA | No published base rate | 2 |
| MD | No published base rate | 3 |
| ME | No published base rate | 2 |
| MI | No published base rate | 2 |
| MN | No published base rate | 1 |
| MO | No published base rate | 3 |
| MS | No published base rate | 1 |
| MT | No published base rate | 1 |
| NC | No published base rate | 1 |
| ND | No published base rate | 1 |
| NE | No published base rate | 1 |
| NH | No published base rate | 1 |
| NJ | No published base rate | 2 |
| NM | No published base rate | 1 |
| NV | No published base rate | 1 |
| NY | No published base rate | 5 |
| OH | No published base rate | 1 |
| OK | No published base rate | 1 |
| OR | No published base rate | 2 |
| PA | No published base rate | 2 |
| PR | No published base rate | 1 |
| RI | No published base rate | 1 |
| SC | No published base rate | 1 |
| SD | No published base rate | 1 |
| TN | No published base rate | 1 |
| TX | No published base rate | 8 |
| UT | No published base rate | 1 |
| VA | No published base rate | 2 |
| VI | No published base rate | 1 |
| VT | No published base rate | 1 |
| WA | No published base rate | 2 |
| WI | No published base rate | 1 |
| WV | No published base rate | 1 |
| WY | No published base rate | 1 |
Where does this rate apply?
Visalia is a Medicare payment area. Our Census mapping connects it to 70 cities and communities in California, including the examples shown here.
Some communities span more than one payment area. Follow a city link to compare all of its mapped areas, or check the service-location ZIP above for an address-level starting point.
Use this rate
What is a percentage of Medicare worth?
Turn a percentage into dollars for 32151 in Visalia. This uses the base rate on this page, so the locality and release stay consistent.
Reference amount per service
$1034.44
$940.40 × 110% = $1034.44
A contract may specify another Medicare year or additional adjustments. This is percentage arithmetic on the displayed base rate, not a claim adjudication.
Working with a whole code list?
Compare an offer across your annual code mix, including an older Medicare schedule or flat per-code rates.
How this local rate is calculated
Each RVU component is multiplied by its own geographic practice cost index (GPCI). The three adjusted components are added, then multiplied by the conversion factor. These are the inputs used for 32151 in Visalia.
PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv
3,697
- Code
- 32151
- Physician work
- 16.52
- Practice expense
- 8.33
- Malpractice
- 4.15
GPCI2026.csv
34
- Locality
- Visalia
- Physician work
- 1.017
- Practice expense
- 1.096
- Malpractice
- 0.536
| Component | RVU | Locality factor | Adjusted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Physician work | 16.52 | × 1.017 | 16.8008 |
| Practice expense | 8.33 | × 1.096 | 9.1297 |
| Malpractice | 4.15 | × 0.536 | 2.2244 |
| Total RVUs | 28.1549 | ||
| Conversion factor | × 33.4009 | ||
Facility rate, Visalia$940.40
Open 32151 in the RVU calculator →
Explore RVUs, geographic factors and the full formula
Facility
| Component | RVU | Local GPCI |
|---|---|---|
| Work | 16.52 | 1.017 |
| Practice expense | 8.33 | 1.096 |
| Malpractice | 4.15 | 0.536 |
(16.52 × 1.017 + 8.33 × 1.096 + 4.15 × 0.536) × $33.4009 = $940.40
The office and facility calculations use their respective practice-expense RVUs. The facility amount here is the physician fee, not a separate hospital or facility bill.
How this rate has changed
32151 · Office / nonfacility
Rate unavailable
Effective 2026-10-01
A rate is unavailable in one of these releases, so a change cannot be calculated.
One bar per available release, ordered by effective date. Missing rates remain gaps. These comparisons hold the code, setting and locality identifiers constant; they do not isolate which policy or input caused a change.
What changed, release by release
Explore release dates and calculate this code in an earlier period →
Each row uses the accepted CMS release effective on that date and the same contractor and locality identifiers. Missing rates stay visible. Historical boundaries may differ; verify the service address for an older claim.
Inspect every release and its CMS source
| Effective from | Office / nonfacility | Facility | CMS release |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-10-01 | Not available in this setting | $940.40 | RVU26D |
| 2026-07-01 | Not available in this setting | $940.40 | RVU26C |
| 2026-04-01 | Not available in this setting | $940.40 | RVU26B |
| 2026-01-01 | Not available in this setting | $940.40 | RVU26A |
| 2025-10-01 | Not available in this setting | $944.92 | RVU25D |
| 2025-07-01 | Not available in this setting | $944.92 | RVU25C |
| 2025-04-01 | Not available in this setting | $944.92 | RVU25B |
| 2025-01-01 | Not available in this setting | $944.92 | RVU25A |
32151 billing questions
How is 32151 distinguished from 32150?
32151 is for a foreign body embedded within lung tissue. Use 32150 for the distinct thoracotomy service described by that code, rather than selecting 32151 solely because the operation involves the chest.
Can 32151 be reported when a foreign body is removed by bronchoscopy?
No. 32151 describes open thoracotomy removal from lung tissue; bronchoscopic foreign body removal is represented by 31635 when that service is performed.
Is modifier 50 appropriate for removal from both lungs?
No. CMS identifies bilateral adjustment as inappropriate for this code. Report the service based on the documented operation, not by appending modifier 50.
What postoperative care is included?
The 90-day global period includes the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care.
May an assistant or co-surgeon be reported?
An assistant at surgery may be paid. Co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation; team surgery is not permitted.
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.
3,69432140,,Removal of lung lesion(s),A,,16.24,8.28,NA,8.28,,4.08,28.60,28.60,0,090,0.10,0.76,0.14,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,69532141,,Remove/treat lung lesions,A,,26.50,9.84,NA,9.84,,6.58,42.92,42.92,0,090,0.10,0.76,0.14,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,69632150,,Removal of lung lesion(s),A,,16.40,8.73,NA,8.73,,4.08,29.21,29.21,0,090,0.10,0.76,0.14,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,69732151,,Remove lung foreign body,A,,16.52,8.33,NA,8.33,,4.15,29.00,29.00,0,090,0.10,0.76,0.14,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,6983215F,,Pt immunity to hep a docd,I,,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
3,69932160,,Open chest heart massage,A,,12.77,7.25,NA,7.25,,3.10,23.12,23.12,0,090,0.10,0.76,0.14,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,7003216F,,Pt immunity to hep b docd,I,,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
3101112,CA,67,SANTA ROSA-PETALUMA,1.030,1.228,0.536
3201112,CA,68,STOCKTON,1.017,1.096,0.536
3301112,CA,53,VALLEJO,1.063,1.318,0.459
3401112,CA,69,VISALIA,1.017,1.096,0.536
3501112,CA,70,YUBA CITY,1.017,1.096,0.536
3601112,CA,75,REST OF CALIFORNIA,1.017,1.096,0.536
3704112,CO,01,COLORADO,1.012,1.064,0.781