CPT code 15600: Flap delay2026 Medicare rate & RVUs

Medicare pays $373.42 for 15600 nationally in the office and $212.76 in a hospital or facility. Local office rates run $325.75–$505.54.

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

What 15600 covers

Surgeons use 15600 for a planned reconstructive flap procedure on the trunk when the flap is surgically delayed to encourage dependable blood supply before later use, or when a previously transferred flap is divided and inset. Trunk sites include the chest, abdomen, and back. Plastic and reconstructive surgeons typically perform the work in an operating room, often as one stage of reconstruction after tissue loss or excision.

Choose the code by the flap’s trunk location and the actual delay or division-and-inset work, not by flap size or diagnosis. Document the staged plan, site, and operative steps. The 90-day global includes the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care. When multiple procedures occur in the same session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and other procedures are subject to the standard 50% reduction. Modifier 50 is inappropriate for this code. An assistant at surgery is paid only when medical necessity is documented; 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 15600 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

15600 rates by state

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

How the 15600 rate is calculated

Each of 15600’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 15600

15600 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

15600 compared with similar codes

How to choose

15610Flap delay

15610 applies to an arm or leg flap; 15600 is for trunk sites such as the chest, abdomen, or back.

15650Pedicle flap transfer

15650 describes transfer of a skin pedicle flap. Choose 15600 for trunk flap delay or division and inset.

15570Skin flap

15570 describes formation of a direct or tubed pedicle on the trunk; 15600 describes a delay or a later division-and-inset stage.

Codes related to 15600

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