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CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01

32150 Lung lesion removal Medicare reimbursement rates in Alaska

Reports open removal of a lung lesion through thoracotomy, such as excision of a localized nodule when operative treatment rather than biopsy is performed. Compare 32150 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in Alaska.

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 32150 in Alaska?

Alaska 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

No supported rate

Facility setting

$1207.29

1 of 1 localities have a supported rate.

Payment area: Alaska*

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.

Find 32150 in your payment locality →

Thoracic surgery

About 32150: Open thoracotomy lung lesion removal

Reports open removal of a lung lesion through thoracotomy, such as excision of a localized nodule when operative treatment rather than biopsy is performed.

A thoracic surgeon removes a lung lesion through an open chest incision, commonly when a localized nodule or mass requires operative excision. The procedure is performed in an operating room, generally in a hospital setting. The operative approach and the work on the lung should support that an open removal service was performed, rather than diagnostic exploration or sampling alone.

Report the service for the documented lesion-removal procedure; the operative report should identify the lesion, its location, the approach, and the work completed. This major surgery code includes the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care. 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 50% multiple-procedure reduction. Modifier 50 is inappropriate. Assistant-at-surgery payment may be available; co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation, and team surgery is not permitted.

CMS billing rules for 32150

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 RVU16.40 · 56%
  • Practice expense (office) RVU8.73 · 30%
  • Malpractice RVU4.08 · 14%

259

Medicare services in 2024 · #4107 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.

32150 compared with similar codes

Office rates for Alaska, from the same CMS release.

32100

Chest exploration

Open thoracic exploration

No office rate

32100 is for limited thoracotomy with lung or pleural biopsy. Use 32150 when the open procedure removes a lung lesion rather than sampling it for diagnosis.

32140

Bullectomy

Open thoracotomy approach

No office rate

32140 is associated with removal of lung cysts or bullae. Select the code that matches the specific lung condition and operative service documented.

32141

Lung lesion excision

Open thoracotomy

No office rate

Both codes are nearby open thoracotomy services involving lung lesions. Compare the operative details with each code’s defined service rather than relying on a general lesion label.

32666

Lung wedge resection

Therapeutic, initial resection

No office rate

32666 describes thoracoscopic wedge resection. Use it for a thoracoscopic approach, rather than the open thoracotomy service represented by 32150.

Compare 32150 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

Office and facility base rates · shared scale starting at $0

  • Alaska* →

    Office / nonfacility

    Unavailable

    Facility

    $1207.29

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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 32150 in Alaska*.

PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv

3,696

Code
32150
Physician work
16.40
Practice expense
8.73
Malpractice
4.08

GPCI2026.csv

5

Locality
Alaska*
Physician work
1.500
Practice expense
1.065
Malpractice
0.551
Facility calculation for 32150 in Alaska*
ComponentRVULocality factorAdjusted
Physician work16.40× 1.50024.6000
Practice expense8.73× 1.0659.2974
Malpractice4.08× 0.5512.2481
Total RVUs36.1455
Conversion factor× 33.4009

Facility rate, Alaska*$1207.29

Values as parsed from CMS release RVU26D, effective 2026-10-01. The amount is rounded to the nearest cent only at the end.
Explore RVUs, geographic factors and the full formula

Facility

Facility calculation inputs
ComponentRVULocal GPCI
Work16.41.5
Practice expense8.731.065
Malpractice4.080.551

(16.4 × 1.5 + 8.73 × 1.065 + 4.08 × 0.551) × $33.4009 = $1207.29

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.

32150 billing questions

How does this differ from a lung biopsy code?

Use this code when the operative service removes a lung lesion. A limited thoracotomy for diagnostic sampling is a different service; the operative report should support removal rather than biopsy alone.

Can a thoracoscopic lung resection be reported with this code?

No. This code describes an open thoracotomy approach. A thoracoscopic resection is reported with the code matching the thoracoscopic procedure performed.

Does the code include postoperative visits?

Yes. The 90-day global period includes the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care.

How are multiple procedures in the same session paid?

The highest-valued procedure is paid in full, and other procedures are subject to the standard multiple-procedure reduction.

Can an assistant or co-surgeon be reported?

Assistant-at-surgery payment may be made. Co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation; team surgery is not permitted.

Should modifier 50 be used for lesions on both sides?

No. The CMS bilateral adjustment does not apply, and modifier 50 is inappropriate for this code.

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.

RVUs for 32150PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv, line 3,696 (RVU26D)
Geographic factors for Alaska*GPCI2026.csv, line 5 (RVU26D)
Open CMS sourceHow this rate is calculatedBuild a fee sheet