CPT code 41015: Mouth lesion drainage, extraoral floor-of-mouth approach2026 Medicare rate & RVUs

Medicare pays $410.50 for 41015 nationally in the office and $279.90 in a hospital or facility. Local office rates run $366.19–$534.18.

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

What 41015 covers

This service drains a collection in the floor of the mouth through an incision made outside the mouth. Oral and maxillofacial surgeons and other surgeons treating deep oral infections may perform it, commonly in a facility when the collection requires external access. The operative report should identify the floor-of-mouth site and document the external approach and drainage performed; the code is distinguished from procedures that reach a collection through the oral cavity or target another space.

Report the service for the documented site and approach, not simply because a patient has an oral abscess. CMS assigns a 90-day global period, including 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 the others are subject to the standard multiple-procedure reduction. Modifier 50 is inappropriate for this anatomy. Assistant-at-surgery payment requires documentation of medical necessity; 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.

Where 41015 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

41015 rates by state

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

How the 41015 rate is calculated

Each of 41015’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 41015

41015 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

41015 compared with similar codes

How to choose

41005Oral drainageMouth vestibule

41005 is for drainage through a lingual approach to a tongue or floor-of-mouth collection. Choose 41015 when the documented route is external.

41006Mouth lesion drainageFloor of mouth, extraoral

41006 describes a sublingual approach to a tongue or floor-of-mouth collection; 41015 describes external access.

41007Mouth lesion drainageFloor of mouth, intraoral

41007 targets a submandibular-space collection. Use 41015 for a floor-of-mouth collection drained through an external incision.

41017Lesion drainageFloor of mouth, intraoral

41017 is for extraoral drainage of a masticator-space collection. The documented collection site, rather than the external route alone, separates it from 41015.

Codes related to 41015

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