CPT code 41006: Mouth lesion drainage, floor of mouth, extraoral2026 Medicare rate & RVUs

Medicare pays $349.04 for 41006 nationally in the office and $215.44 in a hospital or facility. Local office rates run $310.81–$455.67.

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

What 41006 covers

This service is drainage of a collection in the floor of the mouth through an incision made externally, such as through the skin beneath the jaw. The surgeon opens the collection and evacuates its contents. Oral and maxillofacial surgeons and otolaryngologists may perform it in an operating room or, when clinically appropriate, another surgical setting. The external route distinguishes this service from drainage approached through the oral cavity.

Select the code based on the documented site and operative route; the record should identify the floor-of-mouth collection and the external approach. This major surgery code includes the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care. 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 service. Assistant-at-surgery payment requires documented medical necessity; co-surgeon and team-surgery billing 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 41006 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

41006 rates by state

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

How the 41006 rate is calculated

Each of 41006’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 41006

41006 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

41006 compared with similar codes

How to choose

41005Oral drainageMouth vestibule

Both involve floor-of-mouth drainage; 41005 is selected for an intraoral route, while 41006 is selected for an external route.

41016Abscess drainageIntraoral deep-space approach

41016 identifies drainage of a sublingual, submandibular, or submental space collection through an external approach. Use 41006 when the documented site is the floor of the mouth.

41008Tongue drainageIntraoral approach

41008 is external drainage of a collection in the vestibule of the mouth, not the floor of the mouth.

Codes related to 41006

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