No office rate
32608 is for biopsy of a pulmonary nodule or mass; 32607 is for biopsy of a lung infiltrate.
On this page
CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
32608 Thoracoscopic biopsy Medicare reimbursement rates in Indiana
Reports surgical thoracoscopy to obtain biopsy tissue from a pulmonary nodule or mass when a diagnostic sample is needed. Compare 32608 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in Indiana.
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 32608 in Indiana?
Indiana 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
$318.94
1 of 1 localities have a supported rate.
Payment area: Indiana
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.
Thoracic surgery
About 32608: Thoracoscopic pulmonary nodule biopsy
Reports surgical thoracoscopy to obtain biopsy tissue from a pulmonary nodule or mass when a diagnostic sample is needed.
This service involves using a thoracoscope to locate and sample a nodule or mass in the lung. Thoracic surgeons commonly perform it in the operating room when imaging has identified a lung lesion that needs tissue diagnosis. The biopsy specimen is submitted for examination; this code describes sampling the lung lesion, not removing it by wedge resection.
Select this code when the operative report supports biopsy of a pulmonary nodule or mass, rather than biopsy of an infiltrate, pleura, or mediastinal structure. Document the target and the biopsy performed. CMS assigns a 0-day global period, so same-day preoperative and postoperative care is 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 50% multiple-procedure reduction. Modifier 50 is inappropriate for this descriptor and anatomy. Assistant-at-surgery payment requires documented medical necessity; co-surgeon and team-surgery payment are not permitted.
CMS billing rules for 32608
- 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
- Assistant at surgery is paid only with documentation of medical necessity.
- Co-surgeons
- Co-surgeons not permitted.
- Team surgery
- Team surgery not permitted.
Where the value comes from
- Work RVU6.67 · 63%
- Practice expense (office) RVU2.23 · 21%
- Malpractice RVU1.67 · 16%
810
Medicare services in 2024 · #3133 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.
32608 compared with similar codes
Office rates for Indiana, from the same CMS release.
No office rate
32608 samples a lung nodule or mass, while 32609 describes thoracoscopic biopsy of pleura.
No office rate
32601 describes diagnostic thoracoscopy; 32608 is the more specific service when the surgeon biopsies a pulmonary nodule or mass.
No office rate
Choose 32668 when the surgeon performs a diagnostic wedge resection. Code 32608 describes biopsy sampling rather than wedge resection.
Compare 32608 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
Indiana →
Office / nonfacility
Unavailable
Facility
$318.94
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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 32608 in Indiana.
PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv
3,744
- Code
- 32608
- Physician work
- 6.67
- Practice expense
- 2.23
- Malpractice
- 1.67
GPCI2026.csv
52
- Locality
- Indiana
- Physician work
- 1.000
- Practice expense
- 0.927
- Malpractice
- 0.486
| Component | RVU | Locality factor | Adjusted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Physician work | 6.67 | × 1.000 | 6.6700 |
| Practice expense | 2.23 | × 0.927 | 2.0672 |
| Malpractice | 1.67 | × 0.486 | 0.8116 |
| Total RVUs | 9.5488 | ||
| Conversion factor | × 33.4009 | ||
Facility rate, Indiana$318.94
Explore RVUs, geographic factors and the full formula
Facility
| Component | RVU | Local GPCI |
|---|---|---|
| Work | 6.67 | 1 |
| Practice expense | 2.23 | 0.927 |
| Malpractice | 1.67 | 0.486 |
(6.67 × 1 + 2.23 × 0.927 + 1.67 × 0.486) × $33.4009 = $318.94
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.
32608 billing questions
When should 32608 be chosen over 32607?
Use 32608 for biopsy of a pulmonary nodule or mass. Code 32607 describes biopsy of a lung infiltrate.
How does 32608 differ from a diagnostic wedge resection?
32608 represents biopsy sampling of a nodule or mass. When the surgeon performs a diagnostic wedge resection, consider 32668 instead.
Is same-day preoperative or postoperative care included?
Yes. The 0-day global period includes same-day preoperative and postoperative care.
Can modifier 50 be used for nodules in both lungs?
No. Modifier 50 is inappropriate for this descriptor and anatomy; document the biopsy site or sites and the procedure performed.
When is assistant-at-surgery payment allowed?
CMS allows assistant-at-surgery payment only when the record documents medical necessity. Co-surgeon and team-surgery payment are not permitted.
How are other procedures performed in the same session paid?
The highest-valued procedure is paid in full, and other procedures are subject to the standard multiple-procedure reduction.
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.
3,74132604,,Thoracoscopy wbx sac,A,,8.55,2.65,NA,2.65,,2.15,13.35,13.35,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,0,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,74232606,,Thoracoscopy w/bx med space,A,,8.18,2.60,NA,2.60,,2.05,12.83,12.83,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,0,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,74332607,,Thoracoscopy w/bx infiltrate,A,,5.36,1.97,NA,1.97,,1.33,8.66,8.66,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,0,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,74432608,,Thoracoscopy w/bx nodule,A,,6.67,2.23,NA,2.23,,1.67,10.57,10.57,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,0,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,74532609,,Thoracoscopy w/bx pleura,A,,4.47,1.73,NA,1.73,,0.95,7.15,7.15,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,0,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,7463260F,,Pt cat/pn cat/hist grd docd,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
3,74732650,,Thoracoscopy w/pleurodesis,A,,10.56,6.35,NA,6.35,,2.56,19.47,19.47,0,090,0.10,0.76,0.14,2,1,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
4906102,IL,12,EAST ST. LOUIS,1.000,0.920,2.014
5006102,IL,15,SUBURBAN CHICAGO,1.007,1.027,1.772
5106102,IL,99,REST OF ILLINOIS,1.000,0.913,1.563
5208102,IN,00,INDIANA,1.000,0.927,0.486
5305102,IA,00,IOWA,1.000,0.915,0.397
5405202,KS,00,KANSAS,1.000,0.904,0.504
5515102,KY,00,KENTUCKY,1.000,0.889,0.915