88387 Macroscopic xm dsj&prep tiss
What 88387 is
CMS fee schedule short descriptor: Macroscopic xm dsj&prep tiss.
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 88387 (CY2026)
| Work RVU | Practice expense RVU | Malpractice RVU | Total | Medicare rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Non-facility (office) | 0.60 | 0.36 | 0.02 | 0.98 | $32.73 |
| Facility (hospital, ASC) | 0.60 | 0.36 | 0.02 | 0.98 | $32.73 |
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 88387 at 2 units 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: Clinical: Data. Units above the cap are denied unless the edit's adjudication rules allow an appeal with documentation.
Billed with 88387? These codes are bundled into it
88387 is a Column 1 code in 2 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|
88300 | Surgical path gross | 1 - modifier may bypass | Check pair |
96523 | Irrig drug delivery device | 0 - no modifier bypass | Check pair |
88387 is bundled into these codes
88387 appears as a Column 2 code in 111 active edits. Reported with one of these Column 1 codes on the same date of service, 88387 is the code that denies.
| Column 1 code | Short description | Modifier indicator | |
|---|---|---|---|
0018M | 1 | Check pair | |
0086U | 1 | Check pair | |
0140U | 1 | Check pair | |
0141U | 1 | Check pair | |
0142U | 1 | Check pair | |
0321U | 1 | Check pair | |
81560 | Trnsplj pd lvr&bwl cd154+cll | 1 | Check pair |
87003 | Small animal inoculation | 1 | Check pair |
87015 | Specimen infect agnt concntj | 1 | Check pair |
87040 | Blood culture for bacteria | 1 | Check pair |
87045 | Feces culture aerobic bact | 1 | Check pair |
87046 | Stool cultr aerobic bact ea | 1 | Check pair |
87070 | Culture othr specimn aerobic | 1 | Check pair |
87071 | Culture aerobic quant other | 1 | Check pair |
87073 | Culture bacteria anaerobic | 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.