No office rate
Choose 32035 when the documented empyema drainage includes rib resection. Code 32036 describes open-flap drainage.
On this page
CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
32035 Thoracostomy Medicare reimbursement rates in New Mexico
Reports surgical opening of the chest with rib resection to provide drainage for empyema, rather than drainage by chest tube alone. Compare 32035 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in New Mexico.
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 32035 in New Mexico?
New Mexico 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
$723.80
1 of 1 localities have a supported rate.
Payment area: New Mexico
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 32035: Thoracostomy with rib resection for empyema
Reports surgical opening of the chest with rib resection to provide drainage for empyema, rather than drainage by chest tube alone.
The surgeon removes a portion of a rib while creating an opening into the chest to drain empyema, a collection of infected material in the pleural space. This is a more extensive operation than placing a chest tube and is typically performed by a thoracic surgeon in a facility operating room for a patient who needs surgical drainage.
Report the code when the operative documentation supports both the thoracostomy and rib resection for empyema. A tube placed for pleural drainage alone, or an open-flap drainage approach, represents a different service. Medicare assigns a 90-day global period, which includes the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care. 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. Bilateral reporting with modifier 50 is paid at 150%. An assistant at surgery may be paid; co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation, and team surgery is not permitted.
CMS billing rules for 32035
- 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 RVU11.01 · 51%
- Practice expense (office) RVU8.01 · 37%
- Malpractice RVU2.76 · 13%
37
Medicare services in 2024 · #5537 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.
32035 compared with similar codes
Office rates for New Mexico, from the same CMS release.
No office rate
Code 32551 describes chest tube insertion and does not represent the rib-resection thoracostomy reported with 32035.
Compare 32035 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
New Mexico →
Office / nonfacility
Unavailable
Facility
$723.80
Need rates for a whole code list?
Fee-sheet and API access are in early access. Tell us which codes and locations your team needs.
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 32035 in New Mexico.
PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv
3,684
- Code
- 32035
- Physician work
- 11.01
- Practice expense
- 8.01
- Malpractice
- 2.76
GPCI2026.csv
77
- Locality
- New Mexico
- Physician work
- 1.000
- Practice expense
- 0.917
- Malpractice
- 1.201
| Component | RVU | Locality factor | Adjusted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Physician work | 11.01 | × 1.000 | 11.0100 |
| Practice expense | 8.01 | × 0.917 | 7.3452 |
| Malpractice | 2.76 | × 1.201 | 3.3148 |
| Total RVUs | 21.6699 | ||
| Conversion factor | × 33.4009 | ||
Facility rate, New Mexico$723.80
Explore RVUs, geographic factors and the full formula
Facility
| Component | RVU | Local GPCI |
|---|---|---|
| Work | 11.01 | 1 |
| Practice expense | 8.01 | 0.917 |
| Malpractice | 2.76 | 1.201 |
(11.01 × 1 + 8.01 × 0.917 + 2.76 × 1.201) × $33.4009 = $723.80
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.
32035 billing questions
What documentation supports reporting this code?
The operative report should describe empyema drainage through a thoracostomy that includes rib resection. Documentation of chest tube placement alone does not support this service.
How does this differ from an open-flap thoracostomy?
This code represents thoracostomy with rib resection for empyema. Code 32036 describes an open-flap drainage approach, such as an Eloesser flap.
Can this code be used for routine chest tube placement?
No. A chest tube placed without the rib-resection operation is a different service; consider the applicable tube thoracostomy code instead.
What postoperative care is included?
The 90-day global period includes the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care.
How are assistants and co-surgeons handled?
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.
3,68131830,,Revise windpipe scar,A,,4.50,9.51,,4.76,,0.65,14.66,9.91,0,090,0.10,0.76,0.14,2,0,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,68231899,,Unlisted px trachea bronchi,C,,0.00,0.00,,0.00,,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,YYY,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,0,0,1,1,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,6833200F,,Barium swallow test not req,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
3,68432035,,Thoracostomy w/rib resection,A,,11.01,8.01,NA,8.01,,2.76,21.78,21.78,0,090,0.10,0.76,0.14,2,1,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,68532036,,Thoracostomy w/flap drainage,A,,11.99,8.18,NA,8.18,,3.02,23.19,23.19,0,090,0.10,0.76,0.14,2,1,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,68632096,,Open wedge/bx lung infiltr,A,,13.41,6.14,NA,6.14,,3.33,22.88,22.88,0,090,0.10,0.76,0.14,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,68732097,,Open wedge/bx lung nodule,A,,13.41,6.32,NA,6.32,,3.32,23.05,23.05,0,090,0.10,0.76,0.14,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
7414312,NH,40,NEW HAMPSHIRE,1.000,1.041,0.875
7512402,NJ,01,NORTHERN NJ,1.063,1.160,1.068
7612402,NJ,99,REST OF NEW JERSEY,1.040,1.092,1.097
7704212,NM,05,NEW MEXICO,1.000,0.917,1.201
7813202,NY,01,MANHATTAN,1.064,1.162,1.586
7913202,NY,02,NYC SUBURBS/LONG ISLAND,1.064,1.189,1.857
8013202,NY,03,POUGHKPSIE/N NYC SUBURBS,1.045,1.095,1.210