No office rate
Use this code for total pulmonary decortication, which releases the lung by removing a restrictive peel. Code 32215 describes pleurectomy through an open thoracotomy.
On this page
CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
32215 Pleurectomy Medicare reimbursement rates in Florida
Open thoracotomy with removal of pleural tissue, commonly performed to manage recurrent pneumothorax or selected pleural disease. Compare 32215 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in Florida.
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 32215 in Florida?
Florida has 3 payment localities in this comparison. Use the service location to choose the applicable amount. These are the supported base rates for the 3 payment areas shown below, using the same CMS release.
Office / nonfacility
No supported rate
Facility setting
$826.08–$956.84
3 of 3 localities have a supported rate.
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 32215 pays more and less in Florida
Thoracic surgery
About 32215: Open thoracotomy with pleurectomy
Open thoracotomy with removal of pleural tissue, commonly performed to manage recurrent pneumothorax or selected pleural disease.
The surgeon enters the chest through a thoracotomy and removes pleural tissue. This open operation may be used in selected cases of recurrent spontaneous pneumothorax or pleural disease; the operative indication and extent of removal determine whether this service is appropriate. Thoracic surgeons typically perform it in a hospital operating room. It is distinct from lung decortication, which removes a restrictive peel from the lung surface.
Report the code when the operative record supports an open thoracotomy with pleurectomy, including the side and extent of the work. CMS assigns a 90-day global period, which includes the day-before preoperative visit and related postoperative care during that period. When multiple procedures occur in the same session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and other procedures are subject to the standard 50% reduction. For bilateral surgery, modifier 50 is paid at 150%. Assistant-at-surgery payment may be available; co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation, and team surgery is not permitted.
CMS billing rules for 32215
- 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 procedure with modifier 50 is paid at 150%.
- 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 RVU12.72 · 54%
- Practice expense (office) RVU7.55 · 32%
- Malpractice RVU3.19 · 14%
42
Medicare services in 2024 · #5465 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.
32215 compared with similar codes
Office rates for Florida, from the same CMS release.
No office rate
Code 32225 is for partial pulmonary decortication. It is not the code for removing pleural tissue through thoracotomy.
No office rate
Code 32650 describes thoracoscopic pleurodesis. Code 32215 is an open thoracotomy with pleurectomy, so the approach and work differ.
Compare 32215 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.
3 of 3 payment localities
Fort Lauderdale →
Office / nonfacility
Unavailable
Facility
$872.95
Miami →
Office / nonfacility
Unavailable
Facility
$956.84
Rest Of Florida →
Office / nonfacility
Unavailable
Facility
$826.08
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32215 billing questions
How is pleurectomy different from pulmonary decortication?
Pleurectomy removes pleural tissue through thoracotomy. Decortication removes a restrictive peel from the lung surface; choose the code that matches the work documented in the operative report.
Does the 90-day global period include postoperative care?
Yes. CMS includes the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care in the global period.
How does CMS apply the multiple-procedure reduction?
For procedures performed in the same session, CMS pays the highest-valued procedure in full and reduces the others to 50%.
How is bilateral pleurectomy reported?
For bilateral surgery, report modifier 50; CMS pays the bilateral procedure at 150%.
Can an assistant surgeon or co-surgeon be reported?
Assistant-at-surgery payment may be available. Co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation, while team surgery is 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.
3,7013218F,,Rna tstng hep c docd done,I,,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
3,70232200,,Drain open lung lesion,A,,18.21,10.41,NA,10.41,,4.58,33.20,33.20,0,090,0.10,0.76,0.14,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,7033220F,,Hep c quant rna tstng docd,I,,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
3,70432215,,Treat chest lining,A,,12.72,7.55,NA,7.55,,3.19,23.46,23.46,0,090,0.10,0.76,0.14,2,1,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,70532220,,Release of lung,A,,25.98,13.61,NA,13.61,,6.47,46.06,46.06,0,090,0.10,0.76,0.14,2,1,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,70632225,,Partial release of lung,A,,16.33,8.27,NA,8.27,,4.07,28.67,28.67,0,090,0.10,0.76,0.14,2,1,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,7073230F,,Note hring tst w/in 6 mon,I,,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