Billing code 13153: Complex repairMedicare rate & RVUs

Reports each additional 5 cm or less of complex closure for eyelid, nose, ear, or lip wounds after the qualifying base repair.

CMS RVU26DEffective Oct 1, 2026109 payment localities695 Medicare services in 2024

Medicare pays $189.05 for 13153 nationally in the office and $113.56 in a hospital or facility. Local office rates run $169.18–$235.99.

Medicare rate · 13153

Complex repair

Work RVUs
2.32
Total RVUs
5.66
Global days
ZZZ

National rate · 2026

$189.05

Office setting, before claim adjustments.

See every locality for 13153 →Billed by an NP, PA or therapist? →

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

On this page 10 sections
  1. Medicare rate
  2. What 13153 covers
  3. By payment locality
  4. Rate map
  5. How it’s calculated
  6. Payment rules
  7. Similar codes
  8. Related codes
  9. Billing questions
  10. Sources

What 13153 covers

This add-on represents additional length of a complex wound repair involving the eyelid, nose, ear, or lip. Complex repair involves more than routine layered suturing, such as substantial wound-edge undermining, scar revision, or extensive debridement. Surgeons performing facial trauma repair, reconstruction after lesion removal, or other complex closure may report it in office or facility settings when the repair extends beyond the length covered by the primary code.

Choose the primary code from the repair’s total length and report this add-on for each additional segment of 5 cm or less beyond the primary code’s range. Document the anatomic site, total repaired length, and work supporting a complex rather than routine closure. This is not a stand-alone service: report it only with a qualifying primary complex-repair procedure. CMS pays it within that primary procedure’s global period.

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 13153 pays more and less

The same RVUs, adjusted for each area’s costs. Open a locality for its calculation, history and nearby areas.

109 payment localities

$169.18 to $235.99

$169.18$202.59$235.99
One dot per payment locality, office / nonfacility. Hover a dot to see the locality; select it to open that rate.

109 of 109 payment localities

13153 office and facility rates by payment locality
Payment localityOfficeFacility
Alabama$171.39$105.34
Alaska*$228.86$148.47
Arizona$184.23$111.09
Arkansas$169.18$104.34
Atlanta$193.29$116.60
Austin$193.61$113.74
Bakersfield$195.38$112.64
Baltimore/Surr. Cntys$200.40$119.41
Beaumont$179.24$110.54
Brazoria$186.13$111.32

13153 rates by state

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

Explore a state

Local rates. Clear comparisons.

Hover or focus a tile to see its rate range. Select it to open the state’s fee schedule.

$169.18

$228.86

Color shows the midpoint of each state’s locality range.

View every state and territory as a table
13153 office rate range by state
State / territoryOffice rate rangeLocalities
AK$228.861
AL$171.391
AR$169.181
AZ$184.231
CA$194.34–$235.9929
CO$193.721
CT$200.791
DC$212.311
DE$187.031
FL$190.72–$211.523
GA$180.61–$193.292
GU$197.621
HI$197.621
IA$173.341
ID$174.751
IL$187.16–$205.664
IN$175.601
KS$173.531
KY$176.981
LA$177.10–$184.812
MA$193.12–$210.212
MD$190.03–$212.313
ME$176.54–$183.722
MI$181.94–$193.812
MN$183.471
MO$175.00–$184.303
MS$172.081
MT$189.031
NC$178.041
ND$181.911
NE$173.911
NH$191.631
NJ$202.47–$210.672
NM$183.201
NV$187.141
NY$180.50–$223.135
OH$180.491
OK$175.721
OR$185.08–$198.262
PA$180.23–$196.852
PR$189.961
RI$192.511
SC$179.681
SD$181.061
TN$174.421
TX$179.24–$193.618
UT$181.851
VA$183.82–$212.312
VI$189.961
VT$182.111
WA$192.46–$213.322
WI$176.551
WV$181.191
WY$185.921

How the 13153 rate is calculated

Each of 13153’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.

How the rate is built · 13153

RVUs × geographic indexes × conversion factor

Work2.32

2.32 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI

Practice expense2.98

2.98 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI

Malpractice0.36

0.36 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI

Adjusted RVUs

5.6600

Conversion factor

$33.4009

Medicare rate

$189.05

Every GPCI starts at 1.000, the national rate. Enter a ZIP or drag a slider.

Payment rules and modifiers for 13153

The CMS indicators that decide how 13153 is paid alongside other services.

CMS payment indicators · 13153

Complex repair

RuleCMS valueWhat it means
Global periodZZZAdd-on code: falls within the primary procedure’s global period.
Multiple procedures0No multiple-procedure reduction.
Bilateral (modifier 50)0The 150% bilateral adjustment doesn’t apply.
Assistant at surgery (80/81/82/AS)1Not paid (statutory restriction).
Co-surgeons (62)0Not permitted.
Team surgery (66)0Not permitted.
Professional/technical0Physician service: no professional/technical split.

13153 compared with similar codes

Compare codes · National

5 codes, side by side

  • 13153

    Complex repair2.32 wRVU

    $189.05

  • 13151

    Complex repair4.23 wRVU

    $419.18+$230.13

  • 13152

    Complex repair5.21 wRVU

    $490.66+$301.61

  • 13133

    Complex repair2.14 wRVU

    $168.01−$21.04

  • 13102

    Complex repair1.21 wRVU

    $120.24−$68.81

How to choose

13151Complex repair
13151 reports the primary complex repair for its length range at the eyelid, nose, ear, or lip; 13153 captures additional length beyond the primary range.
13152Complex repair
13152 reports the primary complex repair for its longer base length in this anatomic group. Use 13153 for each qualifying additional segment.
13133Complex repair
13133 is an additional-length code for a different complex-repair anatomic group, such as the forehead or cheek; 13153 is for eyelids, nose, ears, or lips.
13102Complex repair
13102 covers additional complex-repair length for the trunk, not the eyelid, nose, ear, or lip group.

13153 billing questions

Which primary repair codes can accompany 13153?

Use it with the applicable primary complex-repair code for eyelids, nose, ears, or lips, such as 13151 or 13152. It is not reported by itself.

When should 13152 be used instead?

13152 covers the primary complex repair in its specified length range. Report 13153 for each additional 5 cm or less beyond the primary code’s range.

How many units of 13153 should be reported?

Report one unit for each additional segment of 5 cm or less supported by the documented repair length. Record the total length and how it supports the units billed.

What documentation supports complex repair rather than a simpler closure?

Document the repaired site and length, along with the work that makes the closure complex, such as substantial undermining, scar revision, or extensive debridement.

Can 13153 be reported with a repair code for another body region?

No. This add-on is for additional complex-repair length in the eyelid, nose, ear, or lip code group; other anatomic groups have their own repair codes.

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

Show the CMS file lines behind this rate
RVUs for 13153PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv, line 1,444 (RVU26D)

Open CMS sourceHow we calculate rates

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