Billing code 11441: Benign lesion excisionMedicare rate & RVUs

Medicare pays $173.68 for 11441 nationally in the office and $120.24 in a hospital or facility. Local office rates run $154.03–$228.18.

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

What 11441 covers

This code describes surgical removal of a benign skin lesion from the face, ear, eyelid, nose, or lip. A dermatologist, plastic surgeon, or other qualified physician excises the lesion through the skin, including the necessary margins; simple closure is included. The service may be performed in an office or facility. A common clinical context is removal of a symptomatic or changing lesion that is believed to be benign and submitted for examination.

Select the code by anatomic site and the total excised diameter, measured across the lesion and the margins, not by lesion size alone. Document the site, lesion dimensions, margin width or excised dimensions, and technique. Related postoperative visits during the 10-day global period are included. When multiple procedures are performed in the same session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and the others are subject to a 50% reduction. Modifier 50 is inappropriate. Medicare does not pay an assistant at surgery for this procedure; 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 11441 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

11441 rates by state

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

How the 11441 rate is calculated

Each of 11441’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 11441

11441 has a 10-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

11441 compared with similar codes

How to choose

11440Lesion excision

Both apply to facial, ear, eyelid, nose, or lip sites. Choose 11440 when the total excised diameter, including margins, is 0.5 cm or less; choose 11441 when it is 0.6 to 1 cm.

11442Facial lesion excision

This is the next size level for the same anatomic sites. Use it when the total excised diameter is 1.1 to 2 cm.

11421Lesion excision

The size range is the same, but the anatomic group differs: 11421 is for the scalp, neck, hands, feet, or genitalia rather than the face and listed facial structures.

11401Benign lesion excision

Use 11401 for a benign lesion on the trunk or extremities in this size range; 11441 is for facial, ear, eyelid, nose, or lip sites.

Codes related to 11441

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