38221 Dx bone marrow biopsies
What 38221 is
CMS fee schedule short descriptor: Dx bone marrow biopsies.
Full CPT long descriptions are licensed by the American Medical Association and are not published on this site; the short descriptor above is the one CMS prints in its own fee schedule file. See About CPT.
Medicare payment for 38221 (CY2026)
| Work RVU | Practice expense RVU | Malpractice RVU | Total | Medicare rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Non-facility (office) | 1.25 | 3.64 | 0.11 | 5.00 | $167.00 |
| Facility (hospital, ASC) | 1.25 | 0.37 | 0.11 | 1.73 | $57.78 |
National rates: total RVUs x the CY2026 conversion factor of 33.4009 (non-QP), before geographic adjustment. Actual Medicare payment is 80% of the rate shown after the deductible; the patient or secondary payer owes the 20% coinsurance.
Status: Active - payable under the Physician Fee Schedule. Global period: Global concept does not apply.
Medically Unlikely Edit (MUE)
Medicare caps 38221 at 1 unit per date of service for practitioner claims (MAI 3 - date of service edit (clinical): units above the MUE may pay with documentation on appeal), rationale: Code Descriptor / CPT Instruction. Units above the cap are denied unless the edit's adjudication rules allow an appeal with documentation.
Billed with 38221? These codes are bundled into it
38221 is a Column 1 code in 50 active NCCI PTP edits. When one of these Column 2 codes is reported on the same date of service, it is denied as bundled - unless the edit's modifier indicator is 1 and documentation supports a distinct service with an NCCI-associated modifier.
| Column 2 code | Short description | Modifier indicator | |
|---|---|---|---|
01112 | Anes bone marrow aspir&/bx | 0 - no modifier bypass | Check pair |
01120 | Anes px on bony pelvis | 0 - no modifier bypass | Check pair |
0213T | Njx paravert w/us cer/thor | 1 - modifier may bypass | Check pair |
0216T | Njx paravert w/us lumb/sac | 1 - modifier may bypass | Check pair |
0232T | Njx platelet plasma | 1 - modifier may bypass | Check pair |
0481T | Njx autol wbc concentrate | 1 - modifier may bypass | Check pair |
0708T | Id ca immntx prep & 1st njx | 1 - modifier may bypass | Check pair |
0709T | Id ca immntx each addl njx | 1 - modifier may bypass | Check pair |
10005 | Fna bx w/us gdn 1st les | 1 - modifier may bypass | Check pair |
10007 | Fna bx w/fluor gdn 1st les | 1 - modifier may bypass | Check pair |
10009 | Fna bx w/ct gdn 1st les | 1 - modifier may bypass | Check pair |
10011 | Fna bx w/mr gdn 1st les | 1 - modifier may bypass | Check pair |
10021 | Fna bx w/o img gdn 1st les | 1 - modifier may bypass | Check pair |
20220 | Bone biopsy trocar/ndl supfc | 1 - modifier may bypass | Check pair |
36000 | Place needle in vein | 1 - modifier may bypass | Check pair |
36410 | Vnpnxr 3yr/> phy/qhp dx/ther | 1 - modifier may bypass | Check pair |
36591 | Draw blood off venous device | 0 - no modifier bypass | Check pair |
36592 | Collect blood from picc | 0 - no modifier bypass | Check pair |
38220 | Dx bone marrow aspirations | 1 - modifier may bypass | Check pair |
61650 | Evasc prlng admn rx agnt 1st | 1 - modifier may bypass | Check pair |
62324 | Njx interlaminar crv/thrc | 1 - modifier may bypass | Check pair |
62325 | Njx interlaminar crv/thrc | 1 - modifier may bypass | Check pair |
62326 | Njx interlaminar lmbr/sac | 1 - modifier may bypass | Check pair |
62327 | Njx interlaminar lmbr/sac | 1 - modifier may bypass | Check pair |
64415 | Njx aa&/strd brch plxs img | 1 - modifier may bypass | Check pair |
64416 | Njx aa&/strd brch pl nfs img | 1 - modifier may bypass | Check pair |
64417 | Njx aa&/strd ax nerve img | 1 - modifier may bypass | Check pair |
64450 | Njx aa&/strd other pn/branch | 1 - modifier may bypass | Check pair |
64454 | Njx aa&/strd gnclr nrv brnch | 1 - modifier may bypass | Check pair |
64473 | Lwr xtr fscl pln blk uni njx | 1 - modifier may bypass | Check pair |
Showing 30 of 50 column 2 codes. Use the pair checker for any specific combination.
38221 is bundled into these codes
38221 appears as a Column 2 code in 67 active edits. Reported with one of these Column 1 codes on the same date of service, 38221 is the code that denies.
| Column 1 code | Short description | Modifier indicator | |
|---|---|---|---|
0263T | Im b1 mrw cel ther cmpl | 0 | Check pair |
0264T | Im b1 mrw cel ther xcl hrvst | 0 | Check pair |
0265T | Im b1 mrw cel ther hrvst onl | 0 | Check pair |
20225 | Bone biopsy trocar/ndl deep | 1 | Check pair |
20240 | Bone biopsy open superficial | 1 | Check pair |
20245 | Bone biopsy open deep | 1 | Check pair |
20250 | Biopsy vrt bdy open thoracic | 1 | Check pair |
20251 | Biopsy vrt bdy open lmbr/crv | 1 | Check pair |
20900 | Removal of bone for graft | 1 | Check pair |
20902 | Removal of bone for graft | 1 | Check pair |
20937 | Sp bone agrft morsel add-on | 1 | Check pair |
20938 | Sp bone agrft struct add-on | 1 | Check pair |
22100 | Remove part of neck vertebra | 1 | Check pair |
22101 | Remove part thorax vertebra | 1 | Check pair |
22102 | Remove part lumbar vertebra | 1 | Check pair |
Data: CMS CY2026 Physician Fee Schedule RVU file (October release, RVU26D) and Medicare NCCI PTP practitioner edits v32.3 (2026 Q4). Verify against the official files before billing or contracting decisions.