CPT code 21175: Forehead reconstruction, bifrontal orbital rim advancement2026 Medicare rate & RVUs in Delaware

Reports bifrontal reconstruction advancing and reshaping the forehead and supraorbital rims, commonly performed to correct craniosynostosis-related craniofacial deformity.

CMS RVU26DEffective Oct 1, 2026One payment locality

In Delaware, Medicare pays $1,909.23 for 21175 in a facility. There’s no office rate.

Not available in this settingOffice (non-facility)
$1,909.23Hospital or facility

Check a contract rate as a % of Medicare · 21175 nationwide

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

We’ll open 21175 for the payment locality that covers the ZIP.

On this page 11 sections
  1. Rate in Delaware
  2. What 21175 covers
  3. Compared with other areas
  4. Rate map
  5. How it’s calculated
  6. Payment rules
  7. Related codes
  8. Rate history
  9. Where it applies
  10. Billing questions
  11. Sources

What 21175 covers

This major craniofacial operation reshapes and advances the frontal bone and supraorbital rims to reconstruct the lower forehead and brow region. It is commonly performed for craniosynostosis-related deformity by a craniofacial or plastic surgeon, often working with a neurosurgeon, in a hospital operating room. Bone grafting, when performed as part of the reconstruction, is included in the service.

Report the code when the operative work includes the bifrontal forehead and supraorbital rim reconstruction, rather than a more limited superolateral orbital rim procedure or forehead reconstruction alone. The operative report should identify the anatomy reconstructed, advancement performed, and any grafting. The 90-day global period includes the day-before preoperative visit and related postoperative care for 90 days. When multiple procedures occur in the same session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and others at 50%. Modifier 50 is inappropriate. An assistant at surgery may be paid; 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 Delaware compares for 21175

Across 109 of 109 payment localities, the facility rate for 21175 runs from $1,743.75 in Arkansas to $2,428.50 in Alaska. Delaware pays $1,909.23. The RVUs are the same everywhere; the geographic indexes change the dollars.

21175 in Delaware vs other payment areas
  1. Delaware · this page$1,909.23
  2. Los Angeles, CA · California$2,024.86+$115.63
  3. Washington, DC area · District of Columbia$2,127.07+$217.84
  4. Miami, FL · Florida$2,268.49+$359.26
  5. Chicago, IL · Illinois$2,205.72+$296.49
  6. Manhattan, NY · New York$2,223.88+$314.65
  7. Alaska · Alaska$2,428.50+$519.27

Other areas in Delaware first, then benchmark localities. Bars start at $0.

Every other payment area

21175 in every other Medicare payment locality
Payment localityOfficeFacility
AlabamaAlabama—$1,764.28
ArkansasArkansas—$1,743.75
ArizonaArizona—$1,882.95
Bakersfield, CACalifornia—$1,934.32
Chico, CACalifornia—$1,917.31
El Centro, CACalifornia—$1,918.33
Fresno, CACalifornia—$1,917.31
Hanford, CACalifornia—$1,917.31

21175 rates by state

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

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Local rates. Clear comparisons.

Hover or focus a tile to see its rate range. Select it to open the state’s fee schedule.

View every state and territory as a table
21175 office rate range by state
State / territoryOffice rate rangeLocalities
AKNo published base rate1
ALNo published base rate1
ARNo published base rate1
AZNo published base rate1
CANo published base rate29
CONo published base rate1
CTNo published base rate1
DCNo published base rate1
DENo published base rate1
FLNo published base rate3
GANo published base rate2
GUNo published base rate1
HINo published base rate1
IANo published base rate1
IDNo published base rate1
ILNo published base rate4
INNo published base rate1
KSNo published base rate1
KYNo published base rate1
LANo published base rate2
MANo published base rate2
MDNo published base rate3
MENo published base rate2
MINo published base rate2
MNNo published base rate1
MONo published base rate3
MSNo published base rate1
MTNo published base rate1
NCNo published base rate1
NDNo published base rate1
NENo published base rate1
NHNo published base rate1
NJNo published base rate2
NMNo published base rate1
NVNo published base rate1
NYNo published base rate5
OHNo published base rate1
OKNo published base rate1
ORNo published base rate2
PANo published base rate2
PRNo published base rate1
RINo published base rate1
SCNo published base rate1
SDNo published base rate1
TNNo published base rate1
TXNo published base rate8
UTNo published base rate1
VANo published base rate2
VINo published base rate1
VTNo published base rate1
WANo published base rate2
WINo published base rate1
WVNo published base rate1
WYNo published base rate1

See 21175 in every payment locality

How the 21175 rate is calculated

Each of 21175’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.

How the rate is built · 21175

RVUs × geographic indexes × conversion factor

Office or facility?

Work32.72

32.72 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI

Practice expense19.04

19.04 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI

Malpractice6.08

6.08 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI

Adjusted RVUs

57.8400

Conversion factor

$33.4009

Medicare rate

$1,931.91

Every GPCI starts at 1.000, the national rate. Enter a ZIP or drag a slider.

The exact Delaware inputs and CMS source lines

PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv

1,899

Code
21175
Physician work
32.72
Practice expense
19.04
Malpractice
6.08

GPCI2026.csv

40

Locality
Delaware
Physician work
1.005
Practice expense
0.988
Malpractice
0.899
Facility calculation for 21175 in Delaware
ComponentRVULocality factorAdjusted
Physician work32.72× 1.00532.8836
Practice expense19.04× 0.98818.8115
Malpractice6.08× 0.8995.4659
Total RVUs57.1610
Conversion factor× 33.4009

Facility rate, Delaware$1909.23

Facility: (32.72 × 1.005 + 19.04 × 0.988 + 6.08 × 0.899) × $33.4009 = $1909.23

Open 21175 in the RVU calculator

Payment rules and modifiers for 21175

21175 has a 90-day global period: related visits in that window are included in the surgery payment.

CMS payment indicators · 21175

Forehead reconstruction, bifrontal orbital rim advancement

RuleCMS valueWhat it means
Global period090Major surgery: the day before, the day of, and 90 days after are included.
Multiple procedures2Standard reduction: highest-valued procedure at 100%, others at 50%.
Bilateral (modifier 50)0The 150% bilateral adjustment doesn’t apply.
Assistant at surgery (80/81/82/AS)2Paid.
Co-surgeons (62)0Not permitted.
Team surgery (66)0Not permitted.
Professional/technical0Physician service: no professional/technical split.
Split (54/55/56)0.10/0.69/0.21Share of the payment for pre-op, the procedure itself, and post-op care.

Global surgery period · 21175

Forehead reconstruction, bifrontal orbital rim advancement

90-day global period ends

Dec 30, 2026

Covers Sep 30, 2026 through Dec 30, 2026 (92 days, including the day before surgery).

Visit on Oct 31, 2026

Day 30 of the 90-day post-op period: related follow-up care is included in the surgical payment.

  • 24Unrelated E/M visit by the same physician
  • 79Unrelated procedure (starts its own global period)
  • 58Staged, more extensive, or therapy procedure that was planned
  • 78Unplanned return to the operating room for a related complication
SurgeryVisit
Sep 23, 2026Jan 10, 2027

Pre-op dayGlobal period

What modifiers do to the payment

Modifier 51 · payment effect

With and without the modifier

21175 without 51 · national facility

$1,931.91

Forehead reconstruction, bifrontal orbital rim advancement

21175-51 · Second procedure: 50%

$965.96

When this isn’t the highest-valued procedure in the session, Medicare pays 50% of its fee schedule amount (the highest is paid at 100%).

When to use modifier 51

How 21175 has changed in Delaware

21175 · Office / nonfacility

Rate unavailable

Effective 2026-10-01

A rate is unavailable in one of these releases, so a change cannot be calculated.

Base rate by release · bars start at $0 · select a bar to compare

One bar per available release, ordered by effective date. Missing rates remain gaps. These comparisons hold the code, setting and locality identifiers constant; they do not isolate which policy or input caused a change.

What changed, release by release
Rates in every CMS release
Effective fromOfficeFacilityCMS release
2026-10-01Not available in this setting$1,909.23RVU26D
2026-07-01Not available in this setting$1,909.23RVU26C
2026-04-01Not available in this setting$1,909.23RVU26B
2026-01-01Not available in this setting$1,909.23RVU26A
2025-10-01Not available in this setting$2,141.50RVU25D
2025-07-01Not available in this setting$2,141.50RVU25C
2025-04-01Not available in this setting$2,141.50RVU25B
2025-01-01Not available in this setting$2,141.50RVU25A
2024-10-01Not available in this setting$2,189.85RVU24D
2024-07-01Not available in this setting$2,189.85RVU24C
2024-04-01Not available in this setting$2,189.85RVU24B
2024-03-09Not available in this setting$2,189.85RVU24AR
2024-01-01Not available in this setting$2,154.10RVU24A
2023-10-01Not available in this setting$2,238.06RVU23D
2023-07-01Not available in this setting$2,238.06RVU23C
2023-04-01Not available in this setting$2,238.06RVU23B
2023-01-01Not available in this setting$2,238.06RVU23A
2022-10-01Not available in this setting$2,276.26RVU22D
2022-07-01Not available in this setting$2,276.26RVU22C
2022-04-01Not available in this setting$2,276.26RVU22B
2022-01-01Not available in this setting$2,276.26RVU22A
2021-10-01Not available in this setting$2,282.60RVU21D
2021-07-01Not available in this setting$2,282.60RVU21C
2021-04-01Not available in this setting$2,282.60RVU21B
2021-01-01Not available in this setting$2,282.60RVU21A
2020-10-01Not available in this setting$2,354.87RVU20D
2020-07-01Not available in this setting$2,354.87RVU20C
2020-04-01Not available in this setting$2,354.87RVU20B
2020-01-01Not available in this setting$2,354.87RVU20A
2019-10-01Not available in this setting$2,349.74RVU19D
2019-07-01Not available in this setting$2,349.74RVU19C
2019-04-01Not available in this setting$2,349.74RVU19B
2019-01-01Not available in this setting$2,349.74RVU19A
2018-10-01Not available in this setting$2,343.69RVU18D
2018-07-01Not available in this setting$2,343.69RVU18C
2018-04-01Not available in this setting$2,343.69RVU18B
2018-01-01Not available in this setting$2,343.69RVU18AR1
2017-10-01Not available in this setting$2,232.30RVU17D
2017-07-01Not available in this setting$2,232.30RVU17C
2017-04-01Not available in this setting$2,232.30RVU17B
2017-01-01Not available in this setting$2,232.30RVU17A
2016-10-01Not available in this setting$2,274.21RVU16D
2016-07-01Not available in this setting$2,274.21RVU16C
2016-04-01Not available in this setting$2,274.21RVU16B
2016-01-01Not available in this setting$2,274.21RVU16A
2015-10-01Not available in this setting$2,479.10RVU15D
2015-07-01Not available in this setting$2,479.10RVU15C
2015-04-01Not available in this setting$2,466.76RVU15B
2015-01-01Not available in this setting$2,466.76RVU15A
2014-10-01Not available in this setting$2,187.79RVU14D
2014-07-01Not available in this setting$2,187.79RVU14C
2014-04-01Not available in this setting$2,187.79RVU14B
2014-01-01Not available in this setting$2,187.79RVU14A
2013-10-01Not available in this setting$2,364.03RVU13D
2013-07-01Not available in this setting$2,364.03RVU13C
2013-04-01Not available in this setting$2,364.03RVU13B
2013-01-01Not available in this setting$2,364.03RVU13AR

Price 21175 for an earlier date of service

Where the Delaware rate applies

Delaware is a Medicare payment area, not a city. Our Census mapping connects it to 79 cities and communities in Delaware. Some span more than one payment area; confirm with the service ZIP.

  • Arden
  • Ardencroft
  • Ardentown
  • Bear
  • Bellefonte
  • Bethany Beach
  • Bethel
  • Blades

Browse all communities in Delaware

21175 billing questions

How does this differ from 21172?

This code describes bifrontal reconstruction of the forehead and supraorbital rims. Code 21172 is the related, more limited reconstruction of the superolateral orbital rim and lower forehead.

Can bone grafting be reported separately?

Bone grafting performed as part of this reconstruction is included in the service. The operative report should document the reconstruction and any grafting performed.

Should modifier 50 be added for both sides?

No. The anatomy and descriptor make modifier 50 inappropriate for this code.

What postoperative care is included?

The 90-day global period includes the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care.

Can an assistant or co-surgeon be reported?

An assistant at surgery may be paid. Co-surgeons and team surgery are not permitted for this code.

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

Show the CMS file lines behind this rate
RVUs for 21175PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv, line 1,899 (RVU26D)
Geographic factors for DelawareGPCI2026.csv, line 40 (RVU26D)

Open CMS sourceHow we calculate rates

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