Billing code 50328: Kidney graft prepMedicare rate & RVUs in Texas
Reports backbench preparation of a living-donor kidney graft’s artery before transplantation, including work to prepare or reconstruct arterial inflow.
CMS doesn’t publish an office rate for 50328 in Texas.
Medicare allowed amount for participating (non-QP) physicians, before deductible, coinsurance and claim adjustments. Not a patient’s bill or a hospital charge.
On this page 9 sections
What 50328 covers
A transplant surgeon performs this backbench service on a kidney obtained from a living donor, after procurement and before the graft is implanted in the recipient. The work focuses on preparing the graft’s artery for the vascular connection needed at transplantation, with or without arterial reconstruction. It is distinct from removing the donor kidney and from implanting the kidney in the recipient.
Report the code when the operative record supports arterial preparation of a living-donor renal graft. Documentation should identify the living-donor graft and describe the arterial work performed, including any reconstruction. When other procedures are performed in the same session, CMS applies the standard multiple procedure reduction: the highest-valued procedure is paid in full, and the others are paid at 50%.
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.
Where 50328 pays more and less in Texas
The same RVUs, adjusted for each area’s costs. Open a locality for its calculation, history and nearby areas.
8 of 8 payment localities
| Payment locality | Office | Facility |
|---|---|---|
| Austin | Unavailable | $168.55 |
| Beaumont | Unavailable | $165.51 |
| Brazoria | Unavailable | $164.36 |
| Dallas | Unavailable | $166.85 |
| Fort Worth | Unavailable | $166.95 |
| Galveston | Unavailable | $165.79 |
| Houston | Unavailable | $181.53 |
| Rest Of Texas | Unavailable | $165.83 |
How the 50328 rate is calculated
Each of 50328’s three RVUs is multiplied by a geographic index (GPCI) for the payment locality, added up, and multiplied by the conversion factor. Drag the indexes or enter a ZIP to see what moves the rate.
How the rate is built · 50328
RVUs × geographic indexes × conversion factor
Swap in your local Medicare rate.
Work 3.41Practice expense 0.82Malpractice 0.86
All indexes start at 1.000 (the national rate). Enter a ZIP or drag a slider.
Payment rules and modifiers for 50328
The CMS indicators that decide how 50328 is paid alongside other services.
CMS payment indicators · 50328
Kidney graft prep
| Rule | CMS value | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Global period | XXX | The global surgery concept doesn’t apply. |
| Multiple procedures | 2 | Standard reduction: highest-valued procedure at 100%, others at 50%. |
| Bilateral (modifier 50) | 0 | The 150% bilateral adjustment doesn’t apply. |
| Assistant at surgery (80/81/82/AS) | 2 | Paid. |
| Co-surgeons (62) | 1 | Permitted with supporting documentation. |
| Team surgery (66) | 0 | Not permitted. |
| Professional/technical | 0 | Physician service: no professional/technical split. |
What modifiers do to the payment
Modifier 51 · payment effect
With and without the modifier
50328 without 51 · national facility
$170.01
Kidney graft prep
50328-51 · Second procedure: 50%
$85.01
When this isn’t the highest-valued procedure in the session, Medicare pays 50% of its fee schedule amount (the highest is paid at 100%).
50328 compared with similar codes
Compare codes
50328 vs 50327 vs 50325 vs 50360: national Medicare rates
Swap in your local Medicare rate.
How to choose
- 50327Graft preparation
- Choose 50328 for arterial preparation of a living-donor graft; 50327 describes the corresponding arterial work for a cadaver-donor graft.
- 50325Prep donor renal graft
- Both concern living-donor graft backbench preparation, but 50325 addresses venous preparation rather than arterial preparation.
- 50360Kidney transplant
- 50360 describes implantation of a kidney in the recipient without recipient nephrectomy; 50328 describes backbench arterial preparation of the living-donor graft.
50328 billing questions
How does this differ from 50327?
Both codes describe backbench arterial preparation, but 50328 is for a living-donor renal graft and 50327 is for a cadaver-donor graft.
Is this the donor nephrectomy or the recipient transplant?
No. This code covers preparation of the living-donor graft’s artery before implantation; it does not describe removing the kidney from the donor or implanting it in the recipient.
What operative documentation supports reporting it?
The record should establish that the graft came from a living donor and describe the arterial preparation or reconstruction performed on the backbench.
How is it paid when other procedures occur in the same session?
CMS pays the highest-valued procedure in full and pays the other procedures at 50% under 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 indexes and the conversion factor. Services without a published rate are labeled, never given a made-up amount. Amounts are Medicare allowed amounts before claim adjustments: not a patient’s bill or a commercial rate.
CMS RVU26D · effective Oct 1, 2026 through the day before Jan 1, 2027
Show the CMS file lines behind this rate
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