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Billing code 59515: Cesarean deliveryMedicare rate & RVUs

Report this service for cesarean delivery when the same clinician or practice also provides the associated postpartum care, but not antepartum care.

CMS RVU26DEffective Oct 1, 2026109 payment localities310 Medicare services in 2024

Medicare pays $1,224.81 for 59515 nationally in a facility.

Medicare rate · 59515

Cesarean delivery

Swap in your local Medicare rate.

Work RVUs
22.79
Total RVUs
36.67
Global days
MMM

National rate · 2026

$1,224.81

Facility setting, before claim adjustments.

See every locality for 59515 → · 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 59515 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 59515 covers

This service covers a cesarean delivery and the associated postpartum care. It is typically performed by an obstetrician in a hospital or other facility equipped for surgical delivery. Unlike a maternity-care package that includes antepartum visits, this code does not represent antepartum care. The postpartum portion distinguishes it from cesarean delivery reported without postpartum care.

Select the code based on which portions of maternity care the reporting clinician or practice provided: cesarean delivery plus postpartum care supports this code, while delivery alone points to a different code. Documentation should identify the cesarean delivery and establish that postpartum care was included in the clinician’s services. The usual global surgery rules do not apply to this maternity code. If multiple procedures are performed in the same session, CMS pays the highest-valued procedure in full and the other procedures at 50%.

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 59515 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

59515 office and facility rates by payment locality
Payment localityOfficeFacility
AlabamaUnavailable$1,091.93
Alaska*Unavailable$1,510.91
ArizonaUnavailable$1,183.04
ArkansasUnavailable$1,076.03
AtlantaUnavailable$1,279.37
AustinUnavailable$1,211.51
BakersfieldUnavailable$1,165.69
Baltimore/Surr. CntysUnavailable$1,310.60
BeaumontUnavailable$1,187.69
BrazoriaUnavailable$1,175.56

59515 rates by state

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

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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.

View every state and territory as a table
59515 office rate range by state
State / territoryOffice rate rangeLocalities
AKNo published base rate1
ALNo published base rate1
ARNo published base rate1
AZNo published base rate1
CANo published base rate29
CONo published base rate1
CTNo published base rate1
DCNo published base rate1
DENo published base rate1
FLNo published base rate3
GANo published base rate2
GUNo published base rate1
HINo published base rate1
IANo published base rate1
IDNo published base rate1
ILNo published base rate4
INNo published base rate1
KSNo published base rate1
KYNo published base rate1
LANo published base rate2
MANo published base rate2
MDNo published base rate3
MENo published base rate2
MINo published base rate2
MNNo published base rate1
MONo published base rate3
MSNo published base rate1
MTNo published base rate1
NCNo published base rate1
NDNo published base rate1
NENo published base rate1
NHNo published base rate1
NJNo published base rate2
NMNo published base rate1
NVNo published base rate1
NYNo published base rate5
OHNo published base rate1
OKNo published base rate1
ORNo published base rate2
PANo published base rate2
PRNo published base rate1
RINo published base rate1
SCNo published base rate1
SDNo published base rate1
TNNo published base rate1
TXNo published base rate8
UTNo published base rate1
VANo published base rate2
VINo published base rate1
VTNo published base rate1
WANo published base rate2
WINo published base rate1
WVNo published base rate1
WYNo published base rate1

How the 59515 rate is calculated

Each of 59515’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 · 59515

RVUs × geographic indexes × conversion factor

Swap in your local Medicare rate.

Work 22.79Practice expense 6.62Malpractice 7.26

36.6700 adjusted RVUs×$33.4009 conversion factor=$1,224.81

All indexes start at 1.000 (the national rate). Enter a ZIP or drag a slider.

Payment rules and modifiers for 59515

The CMS indicators that decide how 59515 is paid alongside other services.

CMS payment indicators · 59515

Cesarean delivery

RuleCMS valueWhat it means
Global periodMMMMaternity care: global rules don’t follow the standard pattern.
Multiple procedures2Standard reduction: highest-valued procedure at 100%, others at 50%.
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.

What modifiers do to the payment

Modifier 51 · payment effect

With and without the modifier

59515 without 51 · national facility

$1,224.81

Cesarean delivery

59515-51 · Second procedure: 50%

$612.41

When this isn’t the highest-valued procedure in the session, Medicare pays 50% of its fee schedule amount (the highest is paid at 100%).

When to use modifier 51

59515 compared with similar codes

Compare codes

59515 vs 59514 vs 59510 vs 59525: national Medicare rates

Swap in your local Medicare rate.

  • 59515
    Cesarean delivery · 22.79 wRVU
    —
  • 59514
    Cesarean delivery · 16.13 wRVU
    —
  • 59510
    Cesarean care · 41.05 wRVU
    —
  • 59525
    Cesarean hysterectomy · 8.32 wRVU
    —

How to choose

59514Cesarean delivery
Choose 59514 when the service is limited to cesarean delivery. Choose 59515 when the clinician or practice also provides postpartum care.
59510Cesarean care
59510 includes routine antepartum care as well as cesarean delivery and postpartum care; 59515 covers the delivery and postpartum care without antepartum care.
59525Cesarean hysterectomy
59525 describes hysterectomy performed after cesarean delivery, not the cesarean delivery and postpartum-care service itself.

Codes related to 59515

Related codes aren’t interchangeable: bill the code that matches the service performed.

Codes related to 59515
CodeHow it relatesNational office range
Same family
59510Cesarean careMaternity-care package that also includes antepartum care.No office rate
59514Cesarean deliveryCesarean delivery reported without the postpartum-care portion.No office rate
Often billed with
59525Cesarean hysterectomyMay be reported for hysterectomy performed after a cesarean delivery.No office rate
58611Tubal ligationMay describe tubal ligation or transection performed at cesarean delivery.No office rate

59515 billing questions

How does 59515 differ from 59514?

59515 includes postpartum care with the cesarean delivery. Use 59514 when the reported service is the cesarean delivery only.

Does 59515 include antepartum care?

No. The code covers the cesarean delivery and postpartum care, not antepartum care.

What documentation supports reporting 59515?

The record should document the cesarean delivery and show that the clinician or practice provided the associated postpartum care.

Does the usual surgical global period apply?

No. CMS identifies this as a maternity code for which the usual global surgery rules do not apply.

How are other procedures handled when performed in the same session?

Under the CMS multiple procedure rule, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and the other procedures are paid at 50%.

How does 59515 differ from 59510?

59510 represents routine obstetric care that includes antepartum care, cesarean delivery, and postpartum care. 59515 covers cesarean delivery with postpartum care, without the antepartum-care portion.

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 59515PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv, line 6,665 (RVU26D)

Open CMS sourceHow we calculate rates

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