No office rate
Choose 32810 for closure of a chest-wall drainage opening; choose 32815 when the operative target is the bronchial fistula.
On this page
CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
32815 Fistula closure Medicare reimbursement rates in Georgia
Reports open surgical closure of a bronchial fistula, typically for a persistent communication causing an airway leak into the pleural space. Compare 32815 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in Georgia.
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 32815 in Georgia?
Georgia has 2 payment localities in this comparison. Use the service location to choose the applicable amount. These are the supported base rates for the 2 payment areas shown below, using the same CMS release.
Office / nonfacility
No supported rate
Facility setting
$2644.47–$2726.00
2 of 2 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.
Thoracic surgery
About 32815: Operative bronchial fistula closure
Reports open surgical closure of a bronchial fistula, typically for a persistent communication causing an airway leak into the pleural space.
A thoracic surgeon uses this code for an open operation to close a communication from a bronchus, commonly a persistent bronchopleural fistula after lung resection. These repairs are generally performed in a hospital operating room when the airway defect requires surgical closure; they are distinct from closing an open chest-wall drainage site. The operative report should identify the bronchus and fistula, the reason for repair, the surgical approach, and the work performed to achieve closure.
The code has a 90-day global period: the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care 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 for this code. CMS permits assistant-at-surgery payment; co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation, and team-surgery payment is not permitted.
CMS billing rules for 32815
- 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 RVU48.78 · 62%
- Practice expense (office) RVU17.61 · 22%
- Malpractice RVU12.32 · 16%
110
Medicare services in 2024 · #4806 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.
32815 compared with similar codes
Office rates for Georgia, from the same CMS release.
32800
No office rateLung hernia repair
Code 32800 treats a lung hernia. It does not describe closure of an abnormal bronchial communication.
No office rate
Code 32820 addresses chest-wall reconstruction following injury, rather than closure of a bronchial fistula.
Compare 32815 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.
2 of 2 payment localities
Atlanta →
Office / nonfacility
Unavailable
Facility
$2726.00
Rest Of Georgia →
Office / nonfacility
Unavailable
Facility
$2644.47
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32815 billing questions
How is this different from 32810?
Code 32815 is for surgical closure of the bronchial communication. Code 32810 addresses closure of a chest-wall opening created for drainage.
Can modifier 50 be used for a fistula on either side?
No. CMS identifies bilateral adjustment as inappropriate for this code; do not report modifier 50.
Can an assistant surgeon be reported?
CMS allows assistant-at-surgery payment for this procedure. Co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation.
What documentation supports reporting 32815?
Document the bronchial fistula and its location, the clinical reason for repair, the operative approach, and the surgeon’s closure work.
Does the code include related postoperative visits?
Yes. The 90-day global period includes the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care.
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.
3,78332800,,Repair lung hernia,A,,15.32,8.35,NA,8.35,,3.79,27.46,27.46,0,090,0.10,0.76,0.14,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,7843280F,,Hgb lvl 11-12.9 g/dl,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
3,78532810,,Close chest after drainage,A,,14.58,7.92,NA,7.92,,3.66,26.16,26.16,0,090,0.10,0.76,0.14,2,0,2,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,78632815,,Close bronchial fistula,A,,48.78,17.61,NA,17.61,,12.32,78.71,78.71,0,090,0.10,0.76,0.14,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,7873281F,,Hgb lvl <11 g/dl,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
3,78832820,,Reconstruct injured chest,A,,21.95,11.90,NA,11.90,,5.49,39.34,39.34,0,090,0.10,0.76,0.14,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,7893284F,,Iop red >=15% pre-ntrv lvl,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