No office rate
32505 reports the initial therapeutic wedge resection during open thoracotomy; 32506 reports an additional resection in the same lobe.
On this page
CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
32506 Lung wedge resection Medicare reimbursement rates in California
Reports an additional therapeutic lung wedge resection in the same lobe during open thoracotomy, alongside the initial wedge resection service. Compare 32506 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in California.
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 32506 in California?
California has 29 payment localities in this comparison. Use the service location to choose the applicable amount. These are the supported base rates for the 29 payment areas shown below, using the same CMS release.
Office / nonfacility
No supported rate
Facility setting
$133.65–$149.45
29 of 29 localities have a supported rate.
Lowest: Chico
Highest: San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara (San Benito Cnty)
A spread of $15.80 per service.
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 32506 pays more and less in California
Thoracic surgery
About 32506: Additional therapeutic lung wedge resection
Reports an additional therapeutic lung wedge resection in the same lobe during open thoracotomy, alongside the initial wedge resection service.
Code 32506 represents an additional therapeutic wedge excision of lung tissue performed through an open thoracotomy. A thoracic surgeon may remove additional lung tissue to treat another lesion or nodule in the same lobe during the operation. The service is performed in an operating room, typically in a hospital setting, and is distinct from a diagnostic wedge that leads to an anatomic lung resection.
Report 32506 with the initial therapeutic wedge resection code, 32505, when the operative documentation supports an additional resection in the same lobe. The operative report should identify the therapeutic intent, the additional tissue removed, and the lobe involved. This is an add-on code: it is billed only with a primary procedure and its payment falls within that procedure’s global period.
CMS billing rules for 32506
- Global period
- Add-on code: billed only together with a primary procedure and paid within that procedure's global period.
Where the value comes from
- Work RVU2.93 · 69%
- Practice expense (office) RVU0.58 · 14%
- Malpractice RVU0.72 · 17%
206
Medicare services in 2024 · #4301 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.
32506 compared with similar codes
Office rates for California, from the same CMS release.
No office rate
Use 32507 for a diagnostic wedge followed by an anatomic lung resection, rather than an additional therapeutic wedge reported with 32505.
No office rate
32667 is the thoracoscopic add-on for an additional wedge resection in the same lobe; 32506 describes the open thoracotomy service.
Compare 32506 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.
29 of 29 payment localities
| Payment locality | Office | Facility |
|---|---|---|
| Bakersfield | Office Unavailable | Facility $135.60 |
| Chico | Office Unavailable | Facility $133.65 |
| El Centro | Office Unavailable | Facility $133.77 |
| Fresno | Office Unavailable | Facility $133.65 |
| Hanford-Corcoran | Office Unavailable | Facility $133.65 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim (Los Angeles/Orange Cnty) | Office Unavailable | Facility $140.76 |
| Madera | Office Unavailable | Facility $133.65 |
| Merced | Office Unavailable | Facility $133.65 |
| Modesto | Office Unavailable | Facility $133.65 |
| Napa | Office Unavailable | Facility $141.78 |
| Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura | Office Unavailable | Facility $138.49 |
| Redding | Office Unavailable | Facility $133.65 |
| Rest Of California | Office Unavailable | Facility $133.65 |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario | Office Unavailable | Facility $141.37 |
| Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom | Office Unavailable | Facility $136.81 |
| Salinas | Office Unavailable | Facility $136.24 |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad | Office Unavailable | Facility $137.00 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley (Marin Cnty) | Office Unavailable | Facility $145.52 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley (San Francisco/San Mateo/Alameda/Contra Costa Cnty) | Office Unavailable | Facility $144.70 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara (San Benito Cnty) | Office Unavailable | Facility $149.45 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara (Santa Clara Cnty) | Office Unavailable | Facility $146.11 |
| San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles | Office Unavailable | Facility $134.48 |
| Santa Cruz-Watsonville | Office Unavailable | Facility $136.35 |
| Santa Maria-Santa Barbara | Office Unavailable | Facility $136.08 |
| Santa Rosa-Petaluma | Office Unavailable | Facility $137.48 |
| Stockton | Office Unavailable | Facility $133.65 |
| Vallejo | Office Unavailable | Facility $140.60 |
| Visalia | Office Unavailable | Facility $133.65 |
| Yuba City | Office Unavailable | Facility $133.65 |
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32506 billing questions
Which primary code must accompany 32506?
Report 32506 with 32505 for the initial therapeutic wedge resection. The operative record should support the additional resection in the same lobe.
Can 32506 be used for a diagnostic wedge?
No. Code 32506 describes an additional therapeutic wedge resection. Code 32507 is the relevant comparison when a diagnostic wedge is followed by an anatomic lung resection.
What documentation supports an additional unit?
Document each additional therapeutic wedge resection, its location in the same lobe, and the reason for removal. The note should distinguish the additional resection from the initial service.
Is 32506 paid separately from the primary procedure’s global period?
No. CMS identifies 32506 as an add-on code paid within the primary procedure’s global period.
How does 32506 differ from a thoracoscopic wedge code?
Code 32506 is for an additional wedge resection during open thoracotomy. Thoracoscopic wedge resection services are reported with the corresponding thoracoscopy codes.
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.
3,72232503,,Resect apical lung tumor,A,,30.95,11.93,NA,11.93,,7.81,50.69,50.69,0,090,0.10,0.76,0.14,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,72332504,,Resect apical lung tum/chest,A,,35.63,12.85,NA,12.85,,8.99,57.47,57.47,0,090,0.10,0.76,0.14,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,72432505,,Wedge resect of lung initial,A,,15.36,7.62,NA,7.62,,3.81,26.79,26.79,0,090,0.10,0.76,0.14,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,72532506,,Wedge resect of lung add-on,A,,2.93,0.58,NA,0.58,,0.72,4.23,4.23,0,ZZZ,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,72632507,,Wedge resect of lung diag,A,,2.93,0.58,NA,0.58,,0.72,4.23,4.23,0,ZZZ,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,7273250F,,Nonprim loc anat bx site tum,M,,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
3,72832540,,Removal of lung lesion,A,,29.59,11.87,NA,11.87,,7.45,48.91,48.91,0,090,0.10,0.76,0.14,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00