Billing code 15157: Skin substitute graftMedicare rate & RVUs

Medicare pays $189.05 for 15157 nationally in the office and $147.97 in a hospital or facility. Local office rates run $167.12–$232.05.

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

What 15157 covers

This add-on represents an additional 1% of an infant’s or child’s body surface area treated with a tissue-cultured allogeneic skin substitute graft on the face, scalp, neck, hands, feet, or genitalia. A burn or reconstructive surgeon may apply the graft during operative wound coverage, including treatment of extensive burns or other wounds requiring skin replacement. The site and the patient’s age and body size affect how the treated area is measured within this code family.

Report 15157 with the applicable primary graft code, such as 15155, when the treated area extends beyond the initial area and the additional area is measured in 1% body-surface increments. The operative record should support the treated site, graft application, and total area covered, with enough detail to distinguish each additional increment. CMS classifies this as an add-on code: it is billed only with a primary procedure and paid within that 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 15157 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

15157 rates by state

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

How the 15157 rate is calculated

Each of 15157’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 15157

The CMS indicators that decide how 15157 is paid alongside other services.

15157 compared with similar codes

How to choose

15156Cultured skin graft

Both report additional cultured allogeneic graft area on the specified sites. Choose 15157 for each additional 1% of an infant’s or child’s body surface area; 15156 uses 100-square-centimeter increments.

15155Cultured allograft

15155 reports the initial graft area on the specified sites. Use 15157 only for additional 1% body-area increments beyond the initial area.

15152Cultured skin graft

Both represent additional 1% body-area increments for infants or children, but 15152 applies to the trunk, arms, or legs; 15157 applies to the face, scalp, neck, hands, feet, or genitalia.

Codes related to 15157

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