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    v1.0.30
    OpenPayerBilling CodesEndoscopy Procedures on the Trachea and BronchiCPT cpt-31622-diagnostic-bronchoscopy-airway-visualization
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    CPT 31622: Diagnostic Rigid or Flexible Bronchoscopy

    Medicare pays $292 on average nationally for this procedure.

    CPT code 31622 describes a diagnostic rigid or flexible bronchoscopy procedure to visualize the airways and evaluate suspected lung disease, optionally using fluoroscopic guidance and including bronchial washings to collect cellular samples; the service is a diagnostic endoscopic airway evaluation typically performed in an outpatient endoscopy suite, ambulatory surgery center, or hospital-based procedure room under appropriate sedation or anesthesia.

    For related coverage guidance, see recent payer policy updates: Automated Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring for Diagnosis of Hypertension in Patients with Elevated Office Blood Pressure, Cardiology - Ivabradine, Cardiac Computed Tomography (CCT)/Coronary Computed Tomographic Angiography (CCTA).

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    Table of contents

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    Clinical & Coding Specifications

    Clinical Context

    A 62-year-old patient with a 40-pack-year smoking history presents with chronic cough, hemoptysis, and an abnormal chest CT showing a 2.5 cm endobronchial mass in the right mainstem bronchus. The pulmonologist schedules a diagnostic bronchoscopy to visualize the airway, obtain targeted samples, and perform bronchial washings or brushings for cytology. The procedure is performed in an operating room or endoscopy suite under moderate sedation or general anesthesia depending on patient comorbidities. During the visit, the provider documents informed consent, reviews anticoagulation status, performs pre-procedure airway assessment, and confirms imaging correlations. Rigid or flexible bronchoscopy is advanced to the level of the lesion; inspection is carried out and washings/brushings are obtained. Fluoroscopic guidance may be used if localization of a peripheral lesion is required. Post-procedure, the patient is monitored in a recovery area for airway complications and discharged home or admitted if complications or advanced therapy are needed.

    Related CPT Codes

    CPT CodeDescriptionRelationship to This Procedure
    31623Bronchoscopy, rigid or flexible, with bronchial or endobronchial biopsy(s)Often performed during the same session when suspicion of tumor or focal lesion requires tissue biopsy in addition to washings.
    31624Bronchoscopy, with transection, or other cutting procedures of endobronchial lesionPerformed when therapeutic removal or debulking of an obstructing endobronchial lesion is required after diagnostic inspection.
    31625Bronchoscopy with removal of foreign bodyMay be performed in the same workflow if a foreign body is visualized and requires extraction.
    31628Bronchoscopy, with placement of intrabronchial stentPerformed after diagnostic bronchoscopy if significant airway obstruction requiring stenting is identified.
    31631Bronchoscopy, with endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS) guided transbronchial needle aspirationOften done in the same episode when mediastinal or hilar lymph node sampling is needed for staging or diagnosis.

    Related Modifiers

    15 rows

    ModifierDescriptionWhen to Use
    26Modifier 26 (Professional Component) identifies and bills only the professional portion of a split service — the physician’s interpretation, report, and medical judgment — when the technical…- Use CPT Modifier -26 when you are billing only the professional component (PC) of a split‑bill eligible service—i.e., you performed the physician interpretation, medical judgment and prepared a…
    53Modifier 53 (Discontinued Procedure) signals that a surgical or diagnostic service was begun by the physician but terminated because of extenuating circumstances that threatened the patient’s…- Use modifier -53 when a physician/qualified healthcare professional has started a surgical or diagnostic procedure (e.g., anesthesia administered, incision or scope insertion) and then discontinues…
    52Modifier ‑52 (Reduced Services) indicates that a service or procedure was partially reduced or omitted at the provider’s discretion, allowing reporting of the basic procedure number with a qualifier…- Use modifier -52 when a physician or qualified health professional electively reduces or omits part of a procedure or service (for example, performing fewer required views or omitting a portion of…
    57CPT® modifier -57 (“Decision for Surgery”) is appended to an Evaluation and Management (E/M) service when that encounter results in the initial decision to perform a major surgery (a procedure with a…- Use modifier 57 when an E/M service provided by the same provider (or same tax ID) on the day of or the day before a major surgical procedure (90‑day global period) results in the initial decision…
    59Modifier 59 indicates a distinct procedural service when two procedures that are not normally billed together are clinically and procedurally separate. The CPT definition (as reiterated by CMS)…- Use modifier -59 to report a distinct procedural service when documentation supports that the procedure reported is not normally billed together with another service on the same day because of a…
    76Modifier -76, Repeat Procedure or Service by Same Physician or Other Qualified Health Care Professional, is appended when the same provider performs an identical, medically necessary procedure or…- Use modifier -76 when the same physician or other qualified health care professional performs an identical procedure or service a second (or subsequent) time on the same date of service and the…
    77Modifier 77 indicates that a previously performed procedure or service was legitimately repeated by a different physician or other qualified health care professional. The AMA’s CPT definition…- Use modifier 77 when a basic procedure or service already performed is repeated by a different physician or other qualified health care professional (for example, a second provider independently…
    22Modifier –22 (Increased Procedural Services) is used when a reported procedure is substantially more extensive than normally required. The CPT Manual and CMS state it may be appended only when the…- When to use: Append modifier -22 to a procedural CPT code when the service performed is substantially more extensive than the usual service described by that code — i.e., the procedure required…
    25CPT modifier 25 indicates that on the same day as another procedure or service, the same physician or other qualified health care professional provided a significant, separately identifiable…- When to apply: Use modifier 25 only on an E/M code to indicate the same provider delivered a significant, separately identifiable E/M service on the same day as another procedure or service — i.e.,…
    24Modifier 24 denotes an unrelated evaluation and management (E/M) service performed by the same physician or qualified healthcare professional during a postoperative global period. Per CPT guidance,…- Use modifier 24 when you report an evaluation and management (E/M) service performed by the same physician or same-specialty group during a procedure’s postoperative global period that is unrelated…

    Showing 1–10 of 15

    Related Provider Taxonomies

    8 rows

    Taxonomy Code
    207RP1001X
    207L00000X
    2084P0800X
    207K00000X
    207XX0005X
    207RH0002X
    133VN1201X
    1835P1300X

    Related ICD-10-CM Codes

    27 rows

    ICD-10-CM CodeDescription
    C34.2Malignant neoplasm of middle lobe, bronchus or lung
    C34.90Malignant neoplasm of unspecified part of unspecified bronchus or lung
    D02.20Carcinoma in situ of unspecified bronchus and lung
    J12.9Viral pneumonia, unspecified
    J15.9Unspecified bacterial pneumonia
    J18.9Pneumonia, unspecified organism
    J44.0Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease with (acute) lower respiratory infection
    J44.9Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, unspecified
    J45.909Unspecified asthma, uncomplicated
    J61Pneumoconiosis due to asbestos and other mineral fibers

    Showing 1–10 of 27

    Related Payer Policy Updates

    Specialty: Cardiology1 / 3

    10 rows

    PolicyPayerEffective Date
    Automated Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring for Diagnosis of Hypertension in Patients with Elevated Office Blood PressureBluecross Idaho2026-11-01
    Cardiology - IvabradineCigna2026-10-15
    Cardiac Computed Tomography (CCT)/Coronary Computed Tomographic Angiography (CCTA)univerahealthcare2026-10-15
    Percutaneous Ventricular Assist DeviceUnitedHealthcare2026-10-01
    Cardiovascular Disease Risk AssessmentOscar Health2026-10-01
    Biomarkers for Myocardial Infarction and Chronic Heart FailureOscar Health2026-10-01
    Multiple Procedure Payment Reduction for Diagnostic Cardiovascular ProceduresBlue Cross Blue Shield - Maine2026-10-01
    Left Atrial Appendage Closure Devicesexcellus_health_plan_inc2026-09-17
    Left Atrial Appendage Closure Devicesuniverahealthcare2026-09-17
    Cardiac Omnibus CodesCigna2026-09-15

    Related Codes

    CPT-31615-TRACHEOBRONCHOSCOPY-THROUGH-TRACHEAL-OPENING

    CPT 31615: Tracheobronchoscopy via Tracheostomy

    CPT-31623-BRONCHOSCOPIC-BRUSHING-DIAGNOSTIC

    CPT 31623: Bronchoscopic Brushing or Protected Brushing

    CPT-31624-BRONCHIAL-ALVEOLAR-LAVAGE-BRONCHOSCOPY

    CPT 31624: Bronchial Alveolar Lavage via Bronchoscopy

    CPT-31625-BRONCHIAL-ENDOBRONCHIAL-BIOPSY-BRONCHOSCOPY

    CPT 31625: Bronchial or Endobronchial Biopsy via Bronchoscopy

    CPT-31626-BRONCHOSCOPIC-MARKER-PLACEMENT

    CPT 31626: Bronchoscopic Marker Placement for Surgical Localization

    CPT-31627-IMAGE-GUIDED-BRONCHOSCOPIC-NAVIGATION

    CPT 31627: Image-Guided Navigation for Bronchoscopy

    CPT-31628-TRANSBRONCHIAL-BIOPSY-BRONCHOSCOPY-SINGLE-LOBE

    CPT 31628: Transbronchial Biopsy of Single Lobe via Bronchoscopy

    CPT-31629-TRANSBRONCHIAL-NEEDLE-ASPIRATION-BRONCHOSCOPIC-BIOPSY

    CPT 31629: Transbronchial Needle Aspiration Biopsy of Trachea/Bronchus

    CPT-31630-THERAPEUTIC-BRONCHOSCOPY-AIRWAY-DILATION

    CPT 31630: Tracheal/Tracheobronchial Dilation via Bronchoscopy

    CPT-31631-TRACHEAL-STENT-PLACEMENT-BRONCHOSCOPY

    CPT 31631: Bronchoscopy with Tracheal Stent Placement

    Showing 1–10 of 29

    Frequently Asked Questions

    References

    1. 1.CPT® Codes and Descriptions. AAPC. Retrieved Aug 11, 2026.Maintains the CPT code set's official descriptions and guidelines, licensed from the American Medical Association, used as the definitional source for CPT codes on this page.
    2. 2.HCPCS Quarterly Update. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Retrieved Aug 11, 2026.CMS's quarterly release of HCPCS Level II codes and short/long descriptors, the source for HCPCS code definitions and update history.
    3. 3.ICD-10-CM Full Code List. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Retrieved Aug 11, 2026.CMS's complete ICD-10-CM diagnosis code list, used to cross-reference diagnosis codes associated with this procedure or service.
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