No office rate
32560 describes agent instillation through a chest tube or catheter; 32650 describes pleurodesis performed thoracoscopically.
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CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
32560 Chemical pleurodesis Medicare reimbursement rates in New Jersey
Reports instillation of a pleurodesis agent through a chest tube or catheter to treat conditions such as recurrent pneumothorax or pleural effusion. Compare 32560 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in New Jersey.
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 32560 in New Jersey?
New Jersey 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
$299.07–$314.85
2 of 2 localities have a supported rate.
Facility setting
$72.20–$73.86
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.
Pulmonary procedure
About 32560: Pleurodesis agent instillation through catheter
Reports instillation of a pleurodesis agent through a chest tube or catheter to treat conditions such as recurrent pneumothorax or pleural effusion.
A clinician instills an agent through an existing chest tube or pleural catheter to promote adhesion of the pleural layers and reduce recurrent fluid or air accumulation. Common situations include recurrent pneumothorax and recurrent pleural effusion, including effusion associated with malignancy. Thoracic surgeons and pulmonologists commonly perform the service in a hospital or other facility setting.
Select this code for the pleurodesis instillation, not simply for placing the drain. Documentation should identify the indication, agent, route through the chest tube or catheter, and treated side. The 0-day global period includes same-day preoperative and postoperative care. 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. Modifier 50 is inappropriate for this service. Assistant-at-surgery services are not paid, and co-surgeons and team surgery are not permitted.
CMS billing rules for 32560
- 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 RVU1.50 · 18%
- Practice expense (office) RVU6.54 · 79%
- Malpractice RVU0.23 · 3%
1.2K
Medicare services in 2024 · #2867 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.
32560 compared with similar codes
Office rates for New Jersey, from the same CMS release.
$108.18–$112.53
32561 is for intrapleural fibrinolytic treatment, not instillation of an agent to create pleural adhesion.
$98.22–$102.23
32562 reports a subsequent-day fibrinolytic treatment; it is not a subsequent-day code for pleurodesis.
No office rate
32551 reports chest tube insertion. Use 32560 for the pleurodesis agent instilled through a tube or catheter.
Compare 32560 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
Northern Nj →
Office / nonfacility
$314.85
Facility
$73.86
Rest Of New Jersey →
Office / nonfacility
$299.07
Facility
$72.20
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32560 billing questions
When should 32560 be selected instead of thoracoscopic pleurodesis?
Use 32560 when the pleurodesis agent is instilled through a chest tube or catheter. Thoracoscopic pleurodesis uses an operative thoracoscopic approach and is reported with 32650.
Does 32560 include placement of the chest tube?
The service is the agent instillation through a chest tube or catheter. If a drain is placed during the encounter, document that procedure separately and assess its reporting under the applicable coding rules.
Can modifier 50 be reported for bilateral treatment?
No. Modifier 50 is inappropriate for this service under the CMS facts for this code.
What documentation supports 32560?
Record the clinical indication, the agent instilled, use of a chest tube or catheter as the route, and the side treated.
How does the 0-day global period affect same-day care?
Same-day preoperative and postoperative care is included in the procedure's 0-day global period.
How are other procedures 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.
3,73432555,,Aspirate pleura w/ imaging,A,,2.21,6.88,,0.38,,0.22,9.31,2.81,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,1,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,73532556,,Insert cath pleura w/o image,A,,2.44,22.37,,0.54,,0.37,25.18,3.35,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,1,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,73632557,,Insert cath pleura w/ image,A,,3.04,16.03,,0.50,,0.33,19.40,3.87,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,1,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,73732560,,Treat pleurodesis w/agent,A,,1.50,6.54,,0.32,,0.23,8.27,2.05,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,73832561,,Lyse chest fibrin init day,A,,1.36,1.52,,0.29,,0.15,3.03,1.80,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,0,2,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,73932562,,Lyse chest fibrin subq day,A,,1.21,1.41,,0.27,,0.13,2.75,1.61,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,0,2,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,74032601,,Thoracoscopy diagnostic,A,,5.36,1.96,NA,1.96,,1.31,8.63,8.63,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,0,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00