CPT code 17111: Lesion destruction, 15 or more benign lesions2026 Medicare rate & RVUs

Medicare pays $129.93 for 17111 nationally in the office and $73.82 in a hospital or facility. Local office rates run $115.16–$174.40.

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

What 17111 covers

This service covers destruction of 15 or more benign skin lesions in a treatment session, using methods such as cryotherapy, electrosurgery, chemical treatment, laser, or curettage. Dermatologists, primary care clinicians, and other qualified practitioners commonly treat lesions such as common warts and seborrheic keratoses in office settings. Skin tags and cutaneous vascular proliferative lesions are outside this code’s lesion group.

Select this code when the total number of eligible lesions treated reaches 15; for 14 or fewer, consider 17110. Document the lesion count, clinical findings, locations, and treatment performed. Medicare assigns a 10-day global period, so related postoperative visits during that period are included. 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. Modifier 50 is inappropriate. Medicare does not pay an assistant at surgery for this service, and co-surgeon and team-surgery reporting 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.

Where 17111 pays more and less

The same RVUs, adjusted for each area’s costs. Open a locality for its calculation, history and nearby areas.

109 of 109 payment localities

17111 rates by state

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

How the 17111 rate is calculated

Each of 17111’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 17111

17111 has a 10-day global period: related visits in that window are included in the surgery payment.

What modifiers do to the payment

When to use modifier 51

17111 compared with similar codes

How to choose

17110Benign lesion destructionUp to 14 lesions

Both codes cover destruction of eligible benign lesions; choose 17111 for 15 or more lesions and 17110 for 14 or fewer.

17106Vascular lesion destructionUnder 10 square centimeters

Use 17106 for cutaneous vascular proliferative lesions, with code selection based on treated area. Code 17111 is for eligible benign lesions counted by number.

11200Skin tag removalUp to 15 lesions

Use 11200 for removal of skin tags. Skin tags do not count toward the 15-lesion threshold for 17111.

17000Premalignant lesion destructionFirst lesion

Use 17000 for destruction of a premalignant lesion such as an actinic keratosis, not for the benign-lesion count reported with 17111.

Codes related to 17111

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

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