Billing code 15004: Wound preparationMedicare rate & RVUs

Medicare pays $404.48 for 15004 nationally in the office and $228.80 in a hospital or facility. Local office rates run $361.38–$514.94.

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

What 15004 covers

This service prepares a wound bed on the face, scalp, eyelids, mouth, neck, ears, around the eyes, genitalia, hands, feet, or multiple digits. The surgeon excises nonviable wound tissue, burn eschar, or scar, including involved subcutaneous tissue, to create a suitable recipient site for reconstruction. Plastic surgeons, burn surgeons, and other surgeons performing reconstruction may provide it in an operating room or another appropriate procedural setting. The code represents site preparation, not placement of a graft or other reconstructive material.

Report 15004 for the first 100 sq cm, or the applicable 1% body-surface-area unit for infants and children; use 15005 for each additional unit. Document the anatomic site, prepared area, tissue removed, and the operative work that created the recipient bed. CMS assigns a 0-day global period, so same-day preoperative and postoperative care is included. Modifier 50 is inappropriate. Assistant-at-surgery payment requires documented 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 15004 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

15004 rates by state

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

How the 15004 rate is calculated

Each of 15004’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 15004

The CMS indicators that decide how 15004 is paid alongside other services.

15004 compared with similar codes

How to choose

15002Wound preparation

Both describe recipient-site preparation, but 15002 applies to the trunk, arms, and legs. Select 15004 for the face, head and neck, genitalia, hands, feet, or multiple digits.

15005Wound preparation

15004 covers the initial area unit at its specified sites. Use 15005 for each additional area unit, not as a replacement for the initial-unit code.

15120Skin graft

15004 prepares the recipient bed by excising wound tissue, eschar, or scar. 15120 represents split-thickness skin graft placement at specified anatomic sites.

Codes related to 15004

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