CPT code 15836: Skin excision, upper arm2026 Medicare rate & RVUs in Kentucky

In Kentucky, Medicare pays $687.91 for 15836 in a facility. There’s no office rate.

Check a contract rate as a % of Medicare · 15836 nationwide

Medicare allowed amount for participating (non-QP) physicians, before deductible, coinsurance and claim adjustments. Not a patient’s bill or a hospital charge.

What 15836 covers

This service removes excess skin from the upper arm and closes the resulting wound, typically as part of brachioplasty. Plastic surgeons commonly perform it in a hospital or ambulatory surgical setting for patients with substantial upper-arm skin redundancy, including after major weight loss. The site must be the upper arm; removal involving the forearm or hand is described by a different code.

Report the service for the operative work performed, with documentation identifying the upper-arm site, the extent of skin removed, and the clinical reason for surgery. This major surgery code includes the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care. When multiple procedures occur in the same session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and other procedures are subject to the standard 50% reduction. For bilateral surgery, modifier 50 is paid at 150%. An assistant at surgery is paid only when medical necessity is documented; co-surgeons and team surgery are not permitted.

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.

How Kentucky compares for 15836

Across 109 of 109 payment localities, the facility rate for 15836 runs from $652.68 in Arkansas to $893.45 in Alaska. Kentucky pays $687.91. The RVUs are the same everywhere; the geographic indexes change the dollars.

Every other payment area

15836 rates by state

Office rate range in each state. Select a state to see its payment localities.

See 15836 in every payment locality

How the 15836 rate is calculated

Each of 15836’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.

Payment rules and modifiers for 15836

15836 has a 90-day global period: related visits in that window are included in the surgery payment.

What modifiers do to the payment

When to use modifier 50

Codes related to 15836

Related codes aren’t interchangeable: bill the code that matches the service performed.

How 15836 has changed in Kentucky

Price 15836 for an earlier date of service

Where the Kentucky rate applies

Kentucky is a Medicare payment area, not a city. Our Census mapping connects it to 553 cities and communities in Kentucky. Some span more than one payment area; confirm with the service ZIP.

• Adairville
• Ages
• Albany
• Alexandria
• Allen
• Allensville
• Anchorage
• Annville

Browse all communities in Kentucky

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

Open CMS sourceHow we calculate rates