$509.04–$640.93
Use 44100 for percutaneous needle sampling of bowel. Use 45380 when the biopsy is taken through a colonoscope during colonoscopy.
On this page
CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
44100 Bowel biopsy Medicare reimbursement rates in California
Percutaneous needle sampling of bowel tissue is reported when a physician obtains a diagnostic specimen without excising a bowel segment. Compare 44100 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 44100 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
$91.20–$103.88
29 of 29 localities have a supported rate.
Lowest: Chico
Highest: San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara (San Benito Cnty)
A spread of $12.68 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 44100 pays more and less in California
Digestive system surgery
About 44100: Percutaneous needle bowel biopsy
Percutaneous needle sampling of bowel tissue is reported when a physician obtains a diagnostic specimen without excising a bowel segment.
Code 44100 represents tissue sampling of bowel with a needle passed percutaneously through the abdominal wall. A physician uses it when a bowel target requires needle biopsy for diagnosis and the service is not an endoscopic mucosal biopsy or removal of an intestinal segment. It is a narrowly defined surgical procedure, typically performed by a procedural physician in a hospital or procedure setting; the specimen is sent for pathology.
Report it for the needle biopsy itself, with the procedure note identifying the target, percutaneous route, sampling technique, and tissue obtained. Do not substitute this code for colonoscopic biopsy or an excisional bowel procedure; those describe different access or extent. CMS assigns a 0-day global period, so same-day preoperative and postoperative care is included. When other procedures occur in the same session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and remaining procedures are subject to the standard 50% multiple-procedure reduction. Modifier 50 is inappropriate. Assistant-at-surgery payment is barred, and co-surgeon and team-surgery billing are not permitted.
CMS billing rules for 44100
- 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 RVU1.96 · 72%
- Practice expense (office) RVU0.57 · 21%
- Malpractice RVU0.21 · 8%
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.
44100 compared with similar codes
Office rates for California, from the same CMS release.
No office rate
44100 obtains tissue by needle. 44110 describes excision of an intestinal lesion, a more extensive removal rather than needle sampling.
No office rate
44120 describes resection of small bowel. Choose it when a bowel segment is removed, not when tissue is sampled percutaneously with a needle.
Compare 44100 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 $91.85 |
| Chico | Office Unavailable | Facility $91.20 |
| El Centro | Office Unavailable | Facility $91.24 |
| Fresno | Office Unavailable | Facility $91.20 |
| Hanford-Corcoran | Office Unavailable | Facility $91.20 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim (Los Angeles/Orange Cnty) | Office Unavailable | Facility $95.33 |
| Madera | Office Unavailable | Facility $91.20 |
| Merced | Office Unavailable | Facility $91.20 |
| Modesto | Office Unavailable | Facility $91.20 |
| Napa | Office Unavailable | Facility $98.25 |
| Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura | Office Unavailable | Facility $94.17 |
| Redding | Office Unavailable | Facility $91.20 |
| Rest Of California | Office Unavailable | Facility $91.20 |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario | Office Unavailable | Facility $93.49 |
| Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom | Office Unavailable | Facility $93.72 |
| Salinas | Office Unavailable | Facility $93.32 |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad | Office Unavailable | Facility $94.00 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley (Marin Cnty) | Office Unavailable | Facility $101.75 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley (San Francisco/San Mateo/Alameda/Contra Costa Cnty) | Office Unavailable | Facility $101.51 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara (San Benito Cnty) | Office Unavailable | Facility $103.88 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara (Santa Clara Cnty) | Office Unavailable | Facility $102.91 |
| San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles | Office Unavailable | Facility $92.02 |
| Santa Cruz-Watsonville | Office Unavailable | Facility $93.73 |
| Santa Maria-Santa Barbara | Office Unavailable | Facility $93.26 |
| Santa Rosa-Petaluma | Office Unavailable | Facility $94.57 |
| Stockton | Office Unavailable | Facility $91.20 |
| Vallejo | Office Unavailable | Facility $97.90 |
| Visalia | Office Unavailable | Facility $91.20 |
| Yuba City | Office Unavailable | Facility $91.20 |
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44100 billing questions
How does 44100 differ from a colonoscopic biopsy?
44100 describes needle sampling through the abdominal wall. A biopsy taken through a colonoscope is reported with the applicable endoscopic biopsy code, such as 45380 for colonoscopy.
Does 44100 include the pathology examination?
The code represents obtaining the bowel tissue, not its histologic examination. The pathology service may be reported separately at the level supported by the specimen and examination.
What documentation supports reporting 44100?
Document the bowel target, percutaneous needle approach, sampling performed, and tissue obtained. The record should distinguish needle sampling from endoscopic biopsy or surgical excision.
Is same-day postoperative care included?
Yes. The CMS global period is 0 days, and same-day preoperative and postoperative care is included.
How are other procedures in the same session paid?
The highest-valued procedure is paid in full; other procedures in that session are subject to the standard multiple-procedure reduction, with payment at 50%.
Can modifier 50 or an assistant surgeon be reported?
Modifier 50 is inappropriate for this code. CMS does not pay an assistant at surgery, and co-surgeon and team-surgery billing are 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.
5,32944025,,Incision of large bowel,A,,16.10,7.50,NA,7.50,,3.93,27.53,27.53,0,090,0.09,0.81,0.10,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
5,33044050,,Reduce bowel obstruction,A,,15.13,7.39,NA,7.39,,3.87,26.39,26.39,0,090,0.09,0.81,0.10,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
5,33144055,,Correct malrotation of bowel,A,,24.99,9.92,NA,9.92,,6.34,41.25,41.25,0,090,0.09,0.81,0.10,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
5,33244100,,Biopsy of bowel,A,,1.96,0.57,NA,0.57,,0.21,2.74,2.74,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
5,33344110,,Excise intestine lesion(s),A,,13.69,7.00,NA,7.00,,3.18,23.87,23.87,0,090,0.09,0.81,0.10,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
5,33444111,,Excision of bowel lesion(s),A,,16.11,7.57,NA,7.57,,3.43,27.11,27.11,0,090,0.09,0.81,0.10,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
5,33544120,,Removal of small intestine,A,,20.30,8.62,NA,8.62,,5.10,34.02,34.02,0,090,0.09,0.81,0.10,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00