CPT code 21184: Cranial reconstruction, cranial bone2026 Medicare rate & RVUs in Vermont

In Vermont, Medicare pays $2,032.07 for 21184 in a facility. There’s no office rate.

Check a contract rate as a % of Medicare · 21184 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 21184 covers

Code 21184 reports surgery to reconstruct cranial bone and restore the contour or continuity of the skull. Typical clinical contexts include a cranial defect after trauma or tumor removal and selected congenital cranial deformities. Neurosurgeons and craniofacial or plastic surgeons may perform the operation, generally in a hospital operating room. The operative report should identify the defect, the bones treated, and the reconstructive work performed.

Select this code by matching the documented operation to the full descriptor and distinguishing it from other cranial reconstruction levels, including 21182 and 21183. CMS assigns a 90-day global period: the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care are included. When multiple procedures are performed in the same session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and other procedures are subject to the standard 50% multiple-procedure reduction. Modifier 50 is inappropriate for this code. Assistant-at-surgery payment may be made; 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 21184

Across 109 of 109 payment localities, the facility rate for 21184 runs from $1,947.36 in Arkansas to $2,721.07 in Alaska. Vermont pays $2,032.07. The RVUs are the same everywhere; the geographic indexes change the dollars.

Every other payment area

21184 rates by state

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

See 21184 in every payment locality

How the 21184 rate is calculated

Each of 21184’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 21184

21184 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 21184

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

How 21184 has changed in Vermont

Price 21184 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