No office rate
38525 reports open biopsy or excision of deep axillary node(s). Use 38900 for intraoperative mapping and identification, with the appropriate primary procedure.
On this page
CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
38900 Sentinel node mapping Medicare reimbursement rates in Oklahoma
Report intraoperative sentinel lymph node mapping when the surgeon identifies sentinel nodes during cancer surgery, commonly for breast cancer or melanoma. Compare 38900 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in Oklahoma.
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 38900 in Oklahoma?
Oklahoma 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
$135.88
1 of 1 localities have a supported rate.
Payment area: Oklahoma
One mapped payment locality.
Facility setting
$116.20
1 of 1 localities have a supported rate.
Payment area: Oklahoma
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.
Surgical oncology
About 38900: Intraoperative sentinel node mapping
Report intraoperative sentinel lymph node mapping when the surgeon identifies sentinel nodes during cancer surgery, commonly for breast cancer or melanoma.
This add-on describes the surgeon’s intraoperative identification of sentinel lymph node(s), the first node or nodes expected to receive lymphatic drainage from a tumor site. It is commonly used during breast cancer or melanoma surgery. The surgeon may inject nonradioactive dye and identify the draining node(s) for removal; the node excision itself is represented by the applicable primary procedure code.
Report 38900 only with a primary procedure, such as an open sentinel node biopsy, and document the tumor site, mapping or identification performed, and the associated operation. The code includes injection of nonradioactive dye when performed, so that injection is not separately represented by 38900. CMS treats this as an add-on paid within the primary procedure’s global period. For a bilateral procedure reported with modifier 50, CMS pays 150% of the code’s applicable payment.
CMS billing rules for 38900
- Global period
- Add-on code: billed only together with a primary procedure and paid within that procedure's global period.
- Bilateral procedures
- Bilateral procedure with modifier 50 is paid at 150%.
Where the value comes from
- Work RVU2.44 · 56%
- Practice expense (office) RVU1.31 · 30%
- Malpractice RVU0.59 · 14%
50.8K
Medicare services in 2024 · #775 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.
38900 compared with similar codes
Office rates for Oklahoma, from the same CMS release.
$339.62
38500 reports open biopsy or excision of superficial lymph node(s); it does not describe the mapping service represented by 38900.
$75.35
38792 describes injection of radioactive tracer for sentinel node identification. Code 38900 describes intraoperative identification and includes nonradioactive dye injection when performed.
Compare 38900 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
Oklahoma →
Office / nonfacility
$135.88
Facility
$116.20
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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 38900 in Oklahoma.
PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv
4,772
- Code
- 38900
- Physician work
- 2.44
- Practice expense
- 1.31
- Malpractice
- 0.59
GPCI2026.csv
86
- Locality
- Oklahoma
- Physician work
- 1.000
- Practice expense
- 0.893
- Malpractice
- 0.777
| Component | RVU | Locality factor | Adjusted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Physician work | 2.44 | × 1.000 | 2.4400 |
| Practice expense | 1.31 | × 0.893 | 1.1698 |
| Malpractice | 0.59 | × 0.777 | 0.4584 |
| Total RVUs | 4.0683 | ||
| Conversion factor | × 33.4009 | ||
Office / nonfacility rate, Oklahoma$135.88
Explore RVUs, geographic factors and the full formula
Office / nonfacility
| Component | RVU | Local GPCI |
|---|---|---|
| Work | 2.44 | 1 |
| Practice expense | 1.31 | 0.893 |
| Malpractice | 0.59 | 0.777 |
(2.44 × 1 + 1.31 × 0.893 + 0.59 × 0.777) × $33.4009 = $135.88
Facility
| Component | RVU | Local GPCI |
|---|---|---|
| Work | 2.44 | 1 |
| Practice expense | 0.65 | 0.893 |
| Malpractice | 0.59 | 0.777 |
(2.44 × 1 + 0.65 × 0.893 + 0.59 × 0.777) × $33.4009 = $116.20
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.
38900 billing questions
Is 38900 reported for each sentinel node removed?
Report it for the intraoperative mapping service, not once for every node identified or excised. The node removal is reported with the applicable primary procedure.
Can 38900 be billed by itself?
No. It is an add-on code and must be reported with a primary procedure, such as an open lymph node biopsy.
Is injection of blue dye separately reported with 38900?
The code includes injection of nonradioactive dye when performed. Document the mapping and dye use in the operative report.
How does 38900 differ from 38792?
38900 describes intraoperative identification of sentinel node(s). Code 38792 describes injection of radioactive tracer for sentinel node identification.
How is bilateral mapping reported?
When the procedure is bilateral and reported with modifier 50, CMS pays 150% of the applicable payment for 38900.
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.
4,76938790,,Inject for lymphatic x-ray,A,,1.26,0.81,NA,0.81,,0.20,2.27,2.27,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,1,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
4,77038792,,Ra tracer id of sentinl node,A,,0.63,1.76,,0.12,,0.07,2.46,0.82,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,1,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
4,77138794,,Access thoracic lymph duct,A,,4.50,2.71,NA,2.71,,0.53,7.74,7.74,0,090,0.11,0.73,0.16,2,0,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
4,77238900,,Io map of sent lymph node,A,,2.44,1.31,,0.65,,0.59,4.34,3.68,0,ZZZ,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,1,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
4,77338999,,Unlistd px hemic/lymphtc sys,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
4,77439000,,Exploration of chest,A,,7.38,5.66,NA,5.66,,1.69,14.73,14.73,0,090,0.09,0.84,0.07,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
4,77539010,,Exploration of chest,A,,12.86,6.82,NA,6.82,,3.14,22.82,22.82,0,090,0.09,0.84,0.07,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
8311502,NC,00,NORTH CAROLINA,1.000,0.933,0.639
8403302,ND,01,NORTH DAKOTA**,1.000,1.000,0.406
8515202,OH,00,OHIO,1.000,0.913,1.008
8604312,OK,00,OKLAHOMA,1.000,0.893,0.777
8702302,OR,01,PORTLAND,1.016,1.111,0.744
8802302,OR,99,REST OF OREGON,1.000,0.996,0.703
8912502,PA,01,METROPOLITAN PHILADELPHIA,1.018,1.041,1.193