No office rate
The CMS short descriptor is the same for 38300 and 38305. Use the complete CPT descriptor and operative documentation to determine which drainage service was performed.
On this page
CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
38300 Lymph node drainage Medicare reimbursement rates in Alabama
Report open drainage when a physician surgically drains a lesion involving a lymph node, rather than sampling or removing the node. Compare 38300 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 38300 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
$334.44
1 of 1 localities have a supported rate.
Payment area: Alabama
One mapped payment locality.
Facility setting
$192.40
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.
Lymphatic surgery
About 38300: Open drainage of lymph node lesion
Report open drainage when a physician surgically drains a lesion involving a lymph node, rather than sampling or removing the node.
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.
CMS billing rules for 38300
- Global period
- Minor procedure with a 10-day global period: related postoperative visits for 10 days 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
- 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 RVU2.30 · 20%
- Practice expense (office) RVU8.42 · 74%
- Malpractice RVU0.61 · 5%
19
Medicare services in 2024 · #5946 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.
38300 compared with similar codes
Office rates for Alabama, from the same CMS release.
$329.40
38300 is for draining a lymph node lesion; 38500 describes open biopsy or excision of a superficial lymph node, not drainage.
$153.77
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.
Compare 38300 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
$334.44
Facility
$192.40
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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 38300 in Alabama.
PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv
4,735
- Code
- 38300
- Physician work
- 2.30
- Practice expense
- 8.42
- Malpractice
- 0.61
GPCI2026.csv
4
- Locality
- Alabama
- Physician work
- 1.000
- Practice expense
- 0.875
- Malpractice
- 0.566
| Component | RVU | Locality factor | Adjusted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Physician work | 2.30 | × 1.000 | 2.3000 |
| Practice expense | 8.42 | × 0.875 | 7.3675 |
| Malpractice | 0.61 | × 0.566 | 0.3453 |
| Total RVUs | 10.0128 | ||
| Conversion factor | × 33.4009 | ||
Office / nonfacility rate, Alabama$334.44
Explore RVUs, geographic factors and the full formula
Office / nonfacility
| Component | RVU | Local GPCI |
|---|---|---|
| Work | 2.3 | 1 |
| Practice expense | 8.42 | 0.875 |
| Malpractice | 0.61 | 0.566 |
(2.3 × 1 + 8.42 × 0.875 + 0.61 × 0.566) × $33.4009 = $334.44
Facility
| Component | RVU | Local GPCI |
|---|---|---|
| Work | 2.3 | 1 |
| Practice expense | 3.56 | 0.875 |
| Malpractice | 0.61 | 0.566 |
(2.3 × 1 + 3.56 × 0.875 + 0.61 × 0.566) × $33.4009 = $192.40
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.
38300 billing questions
How is 38300 different from 38305?
The CMS short descriptors supplied for both codes are identical. Check the complete CPT descriptors and the documented procedure to select between them; the shortened label alone does not establish the distinction.
Can 38300 be reported for a lymph node biopsy?
No. This code describes drainage of a lymph node lesion, not tissue sampling. For a node sampled or removed for diagnosis, consider the applicable lymph node biopsy or excision code.
Are postoperative visits separately payable?
Related postoperative visits during the 10-day global period are included in the procedure.
Can modifier 50 be used for bilateral drainage?
No. CMS identifies bilateral adjustment as inapplicable and modifier 50 as inappropriate for this code.
Can an assistant surgeon or co-surgeon be billed?
Medicare does not pay an assistant at surgery for 38300. Co-surgeons and team surgery are also not permitted under the CMS rules provided.
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.
4,73238241,,Transplt autol hct/donor,R,,2.93,1.33,NA,1.33,,0.20,4.46,4.46,0,XXX,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,0,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
4,73338242,,Transplt allo lymphocytes,A,,2.06,0.97,NA,0.97,,0.14,3.17,3.17,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,0,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
4,73438243,,Transplj hematopoietic boost,A,,2.08,0.82,NA,0.82,,0.14,3.04,3.04,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,0,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
4,73538300,,Drainage lymph node lesion,A,,2.30,8.42,,3.56,,0.61,11.33,6.47,0,010,0.10,0.80,0.10,2,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
4,73638305,,Drainage lymph node lesion,A,,6.51,6.46,NA,6.46,,1.74,14.71,14.71,0,090,0.11,0.73,0.16,2,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
4,73738308,,Incision of lymph channels,A,,6.64,5.25,NA,5.25,,1.51,13.40,13.40,0,090,0.11,0.73,0.16,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
4,73838380,,Thoracic duct procedure,A,,8.25,5.94,NA,5.94,,1.33,15.52,15.52,0,090,0.11,0.73,0.16,2,0,2,1,0,9,,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