Billing code 41110: Tongue lesion excisionMedicare rate & RVUs

Medicare pays $226.79 for 41110 nationally in the office and $118.91 in a hospital or facility. Local office rates run $199.56–$303.82.

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

What 41110 covers

An otolaryngologist, oral and maxillofacial surgeon, or other qualified surgeon removes a discrete lesion from the tongue and leaves the resulting defect unclosed. The service may be performed in an office or facility; the excised tissue can be sent for pathologic examination. This code distinguishes removal without closure from tongue excisions that include closure and from procedures that remove only a diagnostic sample.

Choose the code based on the documented procedure, including the tongue site and whether the defect was closed. The operative note should identify the lesion’s location, describe its removal, and state that no closure was performed. This minor procedure has a 10-day global period, so related postoperative visits during that period are included. When multiple procedures are performed in the same session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and the others at 50%. Modifier 50 is inappropriate. CMS does not pay an assistant at surgery, and co-surgeon and team-surgery billing 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 41110 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

41110 rates by state

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

How the 41110 rate is calculated

Each of 41110’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 41110

41110 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

41110 compared with similar codes

How to choose

41100Tongue biopsy

41100 is for a diagnostic tongue biopsy. Use 41110 when the lesion itself is excised and the defect is left unclosed.

41105Tongue biopsy

41105 describes tongue biopsy sampling. It is not the lesion-removal code when the surgeon excises the lesion.

41112Tongue excision

41112 is a closure-inclusive tongue lesion excision for its specified site. 41110 is for excision without closure.

41113Tongue lesion excision

41113 is a closure-inclusive excision for a different tongue site. Apply the code matching the documented site and whether closure was performed.

Codes related to 41110

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