No office rate
60520 describes thymectomy using a transcervical approach. Choose 60522 when the operation also includes radical mediastinal tumor resection.
On this page
CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
60522 Thymus removal Medicare reimbursement rates in Virginia
Report this code when partial or total thymus removal is performed together with radical resection of a mediastinal tumor during the same operation. Compare 60522 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in Virginia.
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 60522 in Virginia?
Virginia 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
No supported rate
Facility setting
$1238.82–$1424.66
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.
Thoracic surgery
About 60522: Thymectomy with radical mediastinal tumor resection
Report this code when partial or total thymus removal is performed together with radical resection of a mediastinal tumor during the same operation.
This operation removes part or all of the thymus as part of a radical resection of a mediastinal tumor. A thoracic or cardiothoracic surgeon typically performs it in a hospital operating room, for example when treating a thymic tumor that requires removal of surrounding mediastinal tumor tissue. The defining feature is the combined tumor resection, not simply the amount of thymus removed or the surgical approach.
Report the code once for the combined operation. The operative report should support removal of thymic tissue and the radical mediastinal tumor resection. The service has a 90-day global period, including the day-before preoperative visit and related postoperative care during that period. When other procedures are performed in the same session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and others are subject to the standard multiple procedure reduction. Assistant-at-surgery payment may be available; co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation. CMS does not permit team-surgery reporting for this code, and modifier 50 is not appropriate for this single-organ service.
CMS billing rules for 60522
- 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 adjustment does not apply; the descriptor or anatomy makes modifier 50 inappropriate.
- 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 RVU22.89 · 59%
- Practice expense (office) RVU10.38 · 27%
- Malpractice RVU5.66 · 15%
85
Medicare services in 2024 · #5000 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.
60522 compared with similar codes
Office rates for Virginia, from the same CMS release.
No office rate
60521 describes thymectomy performed with sternotomy or thoracotomy. The defining feature for 60522 is radical mediastinal tumor resection with thymectomy.
No office rate
39220 is for mediastinal tumor excision without thymectomy. Use 60522 when thymus removal is part of the radical tumor resection.
Compare 60522 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
Dc + Md/Va Suburbs →
Office / nonfacility
Unavailable
Facility
$1424.66
Virginia →
Office / nonfacility
Unavailable
Facility
$1238.82
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60522 billing questions
When should I choose this code over 60520 or 60521?
Use this code when the thymus is removed as part of a radical mediastinal tumor resection. Codes 60520 and 60521 describe thymectomy without that added tumor-resection feature and distinguish approach.
Can the mediastinal tumor resection be billed separately?
Do not separately report tumor-removal work that is part of the combined operation represented by this code. The operative report should establish that the thymectomy and radical tumor resection were performed together.
What documentation supports reporting this code?
The operative report should describe the thymic tissue removed and the mediastinal tumor resection, including its extent. It should make clear that the service involved more than thymectomy alone.
What postoperative care is included?
The 90-day global period includes the day-before preoperative visit and related postoperative care for 90 days after surgery.
Can an assistant or co-surgeon be reported?
Assistant-at-surgery payment may be available. Co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation; CMS does not permit team-surgery reporting for this code.
Should modifier 50 be used?
No. Modifier 50 is not appropriate for this thymus-removal service.
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.
6,71760512,,Autotransplant parathyroid,A,,4.33,1.08,NA,1.08,,0.91,6.32,6.32,0,ZZZ,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
6,71860520,,Removal of thymus gland,A,,16.73,8.63,NA,8.63,,4.07,29.43,29.43,0,090,0.09,0.82,0.09,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
6,71960521,,Removal of thymus gland,A,,18.70,8.99,NA,8.99,,4.68,32.37,32.37,0,090,0.09,0.82,0.09,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
6,72060522,,Removal of thymus gland,A,,22.89,10.38,NA,10.38,,5.66,38.93,38.93,0,090,0.09,0.82,0.09,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
6,72160540,,Explore adrenal gland,A,,17.57,8.72,NA,8.72,,3.98,30.27,30.27,0,090,0.09,0.82,0.09,2,1,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
6,72260545,,Explore adrenal gland,A,,20.41,9.87,NA,9.87,,4.88,35.16,35.16,0,090,0.09,0.82,0.09,2,1,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
6,72360600,,Remove carotid body lesion,A,,24.46,6.59,NA,6.59,,5.60,36.65,36.65,0,090,0.09,0.82,0.09,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00