$226.54
31515 is for aspiration under direct visualization; 31525 is a direct diagnostic examination when aspiration is not the service.
On this page
CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
31515 Airway aspiration Medicare reimbursement rates in Alabama
Direct laryngoscopy, with or without tracheoscopy, to aspirate material from the upper airway when suctioning requires direct visualization. Compare 31515 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in Alabama.
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 31515 in Alabama?
Alabama has 1 payment locality in this comparison. Use the service location to choose the applicable amount. These are the supported base rates for the payment area shown below, using the same CMS release.
Office / nonfacility
$205.45
1 of 1 localities have a supported rate.
Payment area: Alabama
One mapped payment locality.
Facility setting
$93.51
1 of 1 localities have a supported rate.
Payment area: Alabama
One mapped payment locality.
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.
Laryngoscopy
About 31515: Direct laryngoscopy with airway aspiration
Direct laryngoscopy, with or without tracheoscopy, to aspirate material from the upper airway when suctioning requires direct visualization.
An otolaryngologist or other physician with airway expertise uses a laryngoscope to view the larynx and, when needed, the trachea while aspirating material from the airway. The service is appropriate when suctioning under direct visualization is the purpose of the procedure, rather than a diagnostic examination alone or extraction of a foreign body. It may be performed in an operating room or another setting equipped for airway procedures.
Report the service when the record supports direct visualization and aspiration, including the airway examined and the material or clinical reason for suctioning. The code has a 0-day global period, so same-day preoperative and postoperative care is included. When multiple procedures are performed in the same session, Medicare pays the highest-valued procedure in full and reduces the others to 50%. Modifier 50 is inappropriate. Medicare does not pay an assistant at surgery for this service; co-surgeons and team surgery are not permitted.
CMS billing rules for 31515
- Global period
- Minor procedure with a 0-day global period: same-day preoperative and postoperative care is 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
- Statutory restriction: assistant at surgery is not paid.
- Co-surgeons
- Co-surgeons not permitted.
- Team surgery
- Team surgery not permitted.
Where the value comes from
- Work RVU1.76 · 26%
- Practice expense (office) RVU4.85 · 71%
- Malpractice RVU0.26 · 4%
149
Medicare services in 2024 · #4566 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.
31515 compared with similar codes
Office rates for Alabama, from the same CMS release.
No office rate
31520 is diagnostic direct laryngoscopy for a newborn. Select 31515 for the aspiration service, not solely because the patient is a newborn.
No office rate
31530 describes operative laryngoscopy for removal of a laryngeal foreign body. Use 31515 when the service is airway aspiration rather than foreign-body extraction.
$79.19
31505 is an indirect diagnostic laryngoscopy; 31515 involves direct visualization for aspiration.
Compare 31515 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.
1 of 1 payment localities
Alabama →
Office / nonfacility
$205.45
Facility
$93.51
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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 31515 in Alabama.
PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv
3,581
- Code
- 31515
- Physician work
- 1.76
- Practice expense
- 4.85
- Malpractice
- 0.26
GPCI2026.csv
4
- Locality
- Alabama
- Physician work
- 1.000
- Practice expense
- 0.875
- Malpractice
- 0.566
| Component | RVU | Locality factor | Adjusted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Physician work | 1.76 | × 1.000 | 1.7600 |
| Practice expense | 4.85 | × 0.875 | 4.2437 |
| Malpractice | 0.26 | × 0.566 | 0.1472 |
| Total RVUs | 6.1509 | ||
| Conversion factor | × 33.4009 | ||
Office / nonfacility rate, Alabama$205.45
Explore RVUs, geographic factors and the full formula
Office / nonfacility
| Component | RVU | Local GPCI |
|---|---|---|
| Work | 1.76 | 1 |
| Practice expense | 4.85 | 0.875 |
| Malpractice | 0.26 | 0.566 |
(1.76 × 1 + 4.85 × 0.875 + 0.26 × 0.566) × $33.4009 = $205.45
Facility
| Component | RVU | Local GPCI |
|---|---|---|
| Work | 1.76 | 1 |
| Practice expense | 1.02 | 0.875 |
| Malpractice | 0.26 | 0.566 |
(1.76 × 1 + 1.02 × 0.875 + 0.26 × 0.566) × $33.4009 = $93.51
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.
31515 billing questions
How is this different from diagnostic laryngoscopy?
Choose 31515 when the laryngoscopy is performed to aspirate material under direct visualization. A diagnostic laryngoscopy is selected when examination, rather than airway aspiration, is the service.
Does the code include the laryngoscopic visualization?
Yes. The direct visualization is part of the aspiration service; document the airway examined and the aspiration performed.
Can modifier 50 be reported?
No. CMS identifies bilateral adjustment as inappropriate for this code.
What happens when another procedure is performed in the same session?
Under the standard multiple-procedure reduction, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and the other procedure or procedures are paid at 50%.
Can an assistant or co-surgeon be billed?
Medicare does not pay an assistant at surgery for this service. Co-surgeons and team surgery are not permitted.
What global-period services are included?
The 0-day global period includes same-day preoperative and 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 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.
3,57831511,,Remove foreign body larynx,A,,2.11,3.90,,1.08,,0.30,6.31,3.49,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,3,0,1,0,0,9,31505,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,57931512,,Removal of larynx lesion,A,,2.02,4.18,,1.06,,0.29,6.49,3.37,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,3,0,0,0,0,9,31505,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,58031513,,Injection into vocal cord,A,,2.05,1.06,NA,1.06,,0.29,3.40,3.40,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,3,0,0,0,0,9,31505,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,58131515,,Laryngoscopy for aspiration,A,,1.76,4.85,,1.02,,0.26,6.87,3.04,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,58231520,,Dx laryngoscopy newborn,A,,2.50,1.17,NA,1.17,,0.37,4.04,4.04,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,0,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,58331525,,Dx laryngoscopy excl nb,A,,2.56,4.58,,1.18,,0.38,7.52,4.12,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,58431526,,Dx laryngoscopy w/oper scope,A,,2.51,1.17,NA,1.17,,0.37,4.05,4.05,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
1ADDENDUM E. FINAL CY 2026 GEOGRAPHIC PRACTICE COST INDICES (GPCIs) BY STATE AND MEDICARE LOCALITY,,,,,,
2,,,,,,
3Medicare Administrative Contractor (MAC),State,Locality Number,Locality Name,2026 PW GPCI (with 1.0 Floor)***,2026 PE GPCI,2026 MP GPCI
410112,AL,00,ALABAMA,1.000,0.875,0.566
502102,AK,01,ALASKA*,1.500,1.065,0.551
603102,AZ,00,ARIZONA,1.000,0.969,0.856
707102,AR,13,ARKANSAS,1.000,0.859,0.515