No office rate
32151 identifies removal of a foreign body embedded in lung tissue. Choose 32150 for its separately defined thoracotomy foreign-body removal service based on the operative site and procedure.
On this page
CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
32151 Lung foreign body removal Medicare reimbursement rates in Missouri
Reports open thoracotomy to remove a foreign object embedded in lung tissue when retrieval requires surgical access rather than bronchoscopic removal. Compare 32151 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in Missouri.
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 32151 in Missouri?
Missouri 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
$926.63–$955.55
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 32151 pays more and less in Missouri
Thoracic surgery
About 32151: Open intrapulmonary foreign body removal
Reports open thoracotomy to remove a foreign object embedded in lung tissue when retrieval requires surgical access rather than bronchoscopic removal.
32151 represents an open chest operation to retrieve a foreign object embedded within lung tissue. A thoracic surgeon typically performs it in a hospital operating room, such as when an aspirated object or penetrating fragment cannot be retrieved through the airway and requires direct lung dissection. The operative report should establish that the object was within the lung, describe the open approach, and document its removal. This is distinct from removing a foreign body elsewhere in the chest or excising a lung lesion.
Report the operation for the lung foreign body removal; the major-surgery global period includes the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care. When other procedures are performed in the same session, CMS pays the highest-valued procedure in full and applies the standard reduction to the others. Modifier 50 is inappropriate. An assistant at surgery may be paid; co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation, and team surgery is not permitted.
CMS billing rules for 32151
- 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 RVU16.52 · 57%
- Practice expense (office) RVU8.33 · 29%
- Malpractice RVU4.15 · 14%
16
Medicare services in 2024 · #6032 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.
32151 compared with similar codes
Office rates for Missouri, from the same CMS release.
$295.97–$314.38
31635 describes bronchoscopic foreign-body removal. Use 32151 when the object is within lung tissue and removal requires an open thoracotomy.
No office rate
32140 is for open removal of lung cysts or bullae. It does not describe retrieval of a foreign body.
Compare 32151 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
Metropolitan Kansas City →
Office / nonfacility
Unavailable
Facility
$948.47
Metropolitan St. Louis →
Office / nonfacility
Unavailable
Facility
$955.55
Rest Of Missouri →
Office / nonfacility
Unavailable
Facility
$926.63
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32151 billing questions
How is 32151 distinguished from 32150?
32151 is for a foreign body embedded within lung tissue. Use 32150 for the distinct thoracotomy service described by that code, rather than selecting 32151 solely because the operation involves the chest.
Can 32151 be reported when a foreign body is removed by bronchoscopy?
No. 32151 describes open thoracotomy removal from lung tissue; bronchoscopic foreign body removal is represented by 31635 when that service is performed.
Is modifier 50 appropriate for removal from both lungs?
No. CMS identifies bilateral adjustment as inappropriate for this code. Report the service based on the documented operation, not by appending modifier 50.
What postoperative care is included?
The 90-day global period includes the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care.
May an assistant or co-surgeon be reported?
An assistant at surgery may be paid. Co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation; 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.
3,69432140,,Removal of lung lesion(s),A,,16.24,8.28,NA,8.28,,4.08,28.60,28.60,0,090,0.10,0.76,0.14,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,69532141,,Remove/treat lung lesions,A,,26.50,9.84,NA,9.84,,6.58,42.92,42.92,0,090,0.10,0.76,0.14,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,69632150,,Removal of lung lesion(s),A,,16.40,8.73,NA,8.73,,4.08,29.21,29.21,0,090,0.10,0.76,0.14,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,69732151,,Remove lung foreign body,A,,16.52,8.33,NA,8.33,,4.15,29.00,29.00,0,090,0.10,0.76,0.14,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,6983215F,,Pt immunity to hep a 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
3,69932160,,Open chest heart massage,A,,12.77,7.25,NA,7.25,,3.10,23.12,23.12,0,090,0.10,0.76,0.14,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,7003216F,,Pt immunity to hep b 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