No office rate
32851 is for transplantation of one donor lung without bypass. 32853 is for transplantation of both lungs without bypass.
On this page
CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
32853 Lung transplant Medicare reimbursement rates in Texas
Reports transplantation of both donor lungs into one recipient without cardiopulmonary bypass during the transplant operation. Compare 32853 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in Texas.
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 32853 in Texas?
Texas has 8 payment localities in this comparison. Use the service location to choose the applicable amount. These are the supported base rates for the 8 payment areas shown below, using the same CMS release.
Office / nonfacility
No 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 32853 pays more and less in Texas
Transplant surgery
About 32853: Bilateral lung transplant without bypass
Reports transplantation of both donor lungs into one recipient without cardiopulmonary bypass during the transplant operation.
A thoracic transplant surgeon removes the recipient’s diseased lungs and implants donor lungs on both sides of the chest, without cardiopulmonary bypass. The operation is generally performed in a hospital operating room as treatment for end-stage lung disease, such as advanced pulmonary fibrosis or emphysema. The code describes the bilateral recipient transplant, not donor-organ removal or donor-lung preparation.
Select this code when the operative record supports transplantation of both lungs and confirms that cardiopulmonary bypass was not used. The record should identify the recipient procedures and the transplant approach. CMS assigns a 90-day global period, including 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 50% reduction. The code is priced as bilateral, so modifier 50 does not increase payment. Assistant-at-surgery payment may be available; co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation, and team surgery is permitted.
CMS billing rules for 32853
- 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
- The code is already priced as bilateral; modifier 50 does not increase payment.
- Assistant at surgery
- Assistant at surgery may be paid.
- Co-surgeons
- Co-surgeons paid only with supporting documentation.
- Team surgery
- Team surgery permitted.
Where the value comes from
- Work RVU82.37 · 65%
- Practice expense (office) RVU23.94 · 19%
- Malpractice RVU20.60 · 16%
314
Medicare services in 2024 · #3960 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.
32853 compared with similar codes
Office rates for Texas, from the same CMS release.
No office rate
Both codes describe bilateral lung transplantation; 32854 applies when cardiopulmonary bypass is used, while 32853 applies when it is not.
32856
No office ratePrepare donor lung double
32856 describes backbench preparation of a double-lung donor allograft before implantation; 32853 describes the recipient’s bilateral transplant operation.
Compare 32853 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.
8 of 8 payment localities
| Payment locality | Office | Facility |
|---|---|---|
| Austin | Office Unavailable | Facility $4212.35 |
| Beaumont | Office Unavailable | Facility $4118.09 |
| Brazoria | Office Unavailable | Facility $4102.35 |
| Dallas | Office Unavailable | Facility $4162.77 |
| Fort Worth | Office Unavailable | Facility $4163.72 |
| Galveston | Office Unavailable | Facility $4136.97 |
| Houston | Office Unavailable | Facility $4514.03 |
| Rest Of Texas | Office Unavailable | Facility $4131.39 |
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32853 billing questions
How does this differ from 32854?
32853 describes bilateral lung transplantation without cardiopulmonary bypass. Use 32854 when the bilateral transplant is performed with bypass.
Should modifier 50 be appended?
No. The code is already priced as bilateral, and modifier 50 does not increase payment.
Does the transplant code include donor-lung preparation?
The transplant code describes the recipient operation. Code 32856 identifies backbench preparation of a double-lung allograft; document that preparation separately when it is performed.
What postoperative care is included in the global period?
The 90-day global includes the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care.
Can an assistant or co-surgeon be reported?
Assistant-at-surgery payment may be available. Co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation; team surgery is permitted.
What if another procedure is performed in the same session?
Under the standard multiple procedure rule, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and other procedures are paid at 50%.
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.
3,79032850,,Donor pneumonectomy,X,,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
3,79132851,,Lung transplant single,A,,58.15,18.51,NA,18.51,,14.61,91.27,91.27,0,090,0.10,0.76,0.14,2,0,2,1,2,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,79232852,,Lung transplant with bypass,A,,63.86,20.44,NA,20.44,,15.33,99.63,99.63,0,090,0.10,0.76,0.14,2,0,2,1,2,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,79332853,,Lung transplant double,A,,82.37,23.94,NA,23.94,,20.60,126.91,126.91,0,090,0.10,0.76,0.14,2,2,2,1,2,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,79432854,,Lung transplant with bypass,A,,87.75,24.82,NA,24.82,,22.00,134.57,134.57,0,090,0.10,0.76,0.14,2,2,2,1,2,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,79532855,,Prepare donor lung single,C,,0.00,0.00,,0.00,,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,XXX,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3,79632856,,Prepare donor lung double,C,,0.00,0.00,,0.00,,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,XXX,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00