CPT code 21179: Forehead reconstruction, with grafts2026 Medicare rate & RVUs in Vermont

In Vermont, Medicare pays $1,270.71 for 21179 in a facility. There’s no office rate.

Check a contract rate as a % of Medicare · 21179 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 21179 covers

This code represents operative reconstruction of the forehead using graft material to restore or reshape the affected area. Craniofacial and plastic surgeons may perform the procedure for a congenital craniofacial deformity, a traumatic defect, or a defect remaining after tumor or other surgical resection. The operative report should describe the forehead reconstruction, the defect addressed, and the graft material used; the diagnosis alone does not establish this service.

Report the code when the documented operation matches forehead reconstruction with grafts, rather than a procedure focused on the orbit or broader cranial bone. The 90-day global period includes the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care. When other procedures are performed in the same session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and other procedures are subject to the standard multiple-procedure reduction. Modifier 50 is inappropriate for this code. 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 Vermont compares for 21179

Across 109 of 109 payment localities, the facility rate for 21179 runs from $1,210.56 in Arkansas to $1,680.77 in Alaska. Vermont pays $1,270.71. The RVUs are the same everywhere; the geographic indexes change the dollars.

Every other payment area

21179 rates by state

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

See 21179 in every payment locality

How the 21179 rate is calculated

Each of 21179’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 21179

21179 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 51

Codes related to 21179

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

How 21179 has changed in Vermont

Price 21179 for an earlier date of service

Where the Vermont rate applies

Vermont is a Medicare payment area, not a city. Our Census mapping connects it to 180 cities and communities in Vermont. Some span more than one payment area; confirm with the service ZIP.

• Albany
• Alburgh
• Algiers
• Arlington
• Ascutney
• Bakersfield
• Barnet
• Barre

Browse all communities in Vermont

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