No office rate
Use 15851 when the service is removal of sutures or staples requiring anesthesia. Use 15852 when the service is changing a nonburn dressing under anesthesia.
On this page
CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
15852 in Merced
Office / nonfacility
Not available in this setting
Base rate per service
Facility setting
$38.00
Base rate per service
Amounts below use the non-QP conversion factor for participating physicians. These are base physician payments before claim-level adjustments, not patient costs or total hospital charges.
Postoperative care
About 15852: Nonburn dressing change under anesthesia
Reports a nonburn wound dressing change performed under anesthesia beyond local anesthesia when the patient cannot tolerate the change without it.
CPT 15852 represents changing a dressing on a wound other than a burn when the patient requires anesthesia beyond local anesthesia for the service. A surgeon or treating physician may perform it for a painful or extensive postoperative wound when a dressing cannot reasonably be changed while the patient is awake. The service may occur in an operating room or another setting equipped to provide the required anesthesia; it is not the routine dressing care commonly performed during an office visit or by nursing staff.
Select the code when the documented service is the dressing change itself and the anesthesia requirement is supported by the patient’s condition and the wound-care circumstances. Record the wound site, reason anesthesia was needed, and work performed. The code has a 0-day global period, so same-day preoperative and postoperative care is included. In a same-session multiple-procedure claim, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and other procedures are subject to the standard 50% reduction. Do not use modifier 50 for this service. Medicare does not pay an assistant-at-surgery claim for it; co-surgeons and team surgery are not permitted.
CMS billing rules for 15852
- Global period
- Minor procedure with a 0-day global period: same-day preoperative and postoperative care is included.
- Multiple procedures
- Standard multiple procedure reduction: the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and others at 50% when performed in the same session.
- Bilateral procedures
- Bilateral adjustment does not apply; the descriptor or anatomy makes modifier 50 inappropriate.
- Assistant at surgery
- Statutory restriction: assistant at surgery is not paid.
- Co-surgeons
- Co-surgeons not permitted.
- Team surgery
- Team surgery not permitted.
Where the value comes from
- Work RVU0.84 · 72%
- Practice expense (office) RVU0.20 · 17%
- Malpractice RVU0.12 · 10%
6.6K
Medicare services in 2024 · #1698 by national volume
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.
15852 compared with similar codes
Office rates for Merced, from the same CMS release.
$14.46
Use 15853 for suture or staple removal without anesthesia beyond local anesthesia; 15852 is for an anesthesia-requiring dressing change.
$19.21
Use 15854 when both sutures and staples are removed without anesthesia beyond local anesthesia. It does not describe changing the dressing.
The same code, a different location
How does Merced compare?
15852 across payment areas
Same release and payment basis · bars start at $0
Merced · This locality
Unavailable
Unavailable
No comparable rate is available in this setting.
Unavailable
No comparable rate is available in this setting.
Unavailable
No comparable rate is available in this setting.
Unavailable
No comparable rate is available in this setting.
Unavailable
No comparable rate is available in this setting.
No comparable rate is available in this setting.
Other payment areas listed in California appear first, followed by selected cross-country examples. The chart compares amounts, not distance.
The code’s RVUs stay the same in these comparisons. Geographic adjustments to work, practice expense and malpractice change the dollar amount. A city name alone may not identify the payment area for a service address.
Compare all 108 other payment areas
Madera
California · 15852
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$38.00
No comparable office rate is available.
Modesto
California · 15852
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$38.00
No comparable office rate is available.
Napa
California · 15852
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$40.66
No comparable office rate is available.
Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura
California · 15852
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$39.24
No comparable office rate is available.
Redding
California · 15852
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$38.00
No comparable office rate is available.
Rest Of California
California · 15852
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$38.00
No comparable office rate is available.
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario
California · 15852
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$39.30
No comparable office rate is available.
Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom
California · 15852
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$38.98
No comparable office rate is available.
Salinas
California · 15852
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$38.82
No comparable office rate is available.
San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad
California · 15852
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$39.06
No comparable office rate is available.
San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley (Marin Cnty)
California · 15852
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$41.98
No comparable office rate is available.
San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley (San Francisco/San Mateo/Alameda/Contra Costa Cnty)
California · 15852
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$41.84
No comparable office rate is available.
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara (San Benito Cnty)
California · 15852
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$42.92
No comparable office rate is available.
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara (Santa Clara Cnty)
California · 15852
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$42.37
No comparable office rate is available.
San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles
California · 15852
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$38.29
No comparable office rate is available.
Santa Cruz-Watsonville
California · 15852
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$38.91
No comparable office rate is available.
Santa Maria-Santa Barbara
California · 15852
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$38.78
No comparable office rate is available.
Santa Rosa-Petaluma
California · 15852
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$39.25
No comparable office rate is available.
Stockton
California · 15852
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$38.00
No comparable office rate is available.
Vallejo
California · 15852
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$40.47
No comparable office rate is available.
Visalia
California · 15852
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$38.00
No comparable office rate is available.
Yuba City
California · 15852
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$38.00
No comparable office rate is available.
Dc + Md/Va Suburbs
District of Columbia · 15852
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$41.90
No comparable office rate is available.
Miami
Florida · 15852
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$45.15
No comparable office rate is available.
Chicago
Illinois · 15852
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$44.17
No comparable office rate is available.
Manhattan
New York · 15852
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$43.97
No comparable office rate is available.
Alaska*
Alaska · 15852
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$51.41
No comparable office rate is available.
Alabama
Alabama · 15852
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$36.17
No comparable office rate is available.
Arkansas
Arkansas · 15852
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$35.86
No comparable office rate is available.
Arizona
Arizona · 15852
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$37.96
No comparable office rate is available.
Colorado
Colorado · 15852
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$38.63
No comparable office rate is available.
Connecticut
Connecticut · 15852
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$40.66
No comparable office rate is available.
Delaware
Delaware · 15852
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$38.40
No comparable office rate is available.
Fort Lauderdale
Florida · 15852
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$42.07
No comparable office rate is available.
Rest Of Florida
Florida · 15852
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$40.47
No comparable office rate is available.
Atlanta
Georgia · 15852
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$39.74
No comparable office rate is available.
Rest Of Georgia
Georgia · 15852
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$38.79
No comparable office rate is available.
Hawaii, Guam
Hawaii · 15852
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$37.97
No comparable office rate is available.
Iowa
Iowa · 15852
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$35.76
No comparable office rate is available.
Idaho
Idaho · 15852
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$36.10
No comparable office rate is available.
East St. Louis
Illinois · 15852
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$42.27
No comparable office rate is available.
Rest Of Illinois
Illinois · 15852
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$40.42
No comparable office rate is available.
Suburban Chicago
Illinois · 15852
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$42.22
No comparable office rate is available.
Indiana
Indiana · 15852
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$36.20
No comparable office rate is available.
Kansas
Kansas · 15852
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$36.12
No comparable office rate is available.
Kentucky
Kentucky · 15852
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$37.66
No comparable office rate is available.
New Orleans
Louisiana · 15852
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$38.90
No comparable office rate is available.
Rest Of Louisiana
Louisiana · 15852
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$37.81
No comparable office rate is available.
Metropolitan Boston
Massachusetts · 15852
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$40.75
No comparable office rate is available.
Rest Of Massachusetts
Massachusetts · 15852
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$38.73
No comparable office rate is available.
Baltimore/Surr. Cntys
Maryland · 15852
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$40.63
No comparable office rate is available.
Rest Of Maryland
Maryland · 15852
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$38.78
No comparable office rate is available.
Rest Of Maine
Maine · 15852
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$36.70
No comparable office rate is available.
Southern Maine
Maine · 15852
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$37.21
No comparable office rate is available.
Detroit
Michigan · 15852
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$41.26
No comparable office rate is available.
Rest Of Michigan
Michigan · 15852
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$38.68
No comparable office rate is available.
Minnesota
Minnesota · 15852
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$36.12
No comparable office rate is available.
Metropolitan Kansas City
Missouri · 15852
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$38.25
No comparable office rate is available.
Metropolitan St. Louis
Missouri · 15852
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$38.43
No comparable office rate is available.
Rest Of Missouri
Missouri · 15852
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$37.72
No comparable office rate is available.
Mississippi
Mississippi · 15852
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$36.77
No comparable office rate is available.
Montana**
Montana · 15852
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$38.74
No comparable office rate is available.
North Carolina
North Carolina · 15852
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$36.85
No comparable office rate is available.
North Dakota**
North Dakota · 15852
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$36.36
No comparable office rate is available.
Nebraska
Nebraska · 15852
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$35.74
No comparable office rate is available.
New Hampshire
New Hampshire · 15852
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$38.52
No comparable office rate is available.
Northern Nj
New Jersey · 15852
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$41.85
No comparable office rate is available.
Rest Of New Jersey
New Jersey · 15852
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$40.87
No comparable office rate is available.
New Mexico
New Mexico · 15852
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$39.00
No comparable office rate is available.
Nevada**
Nevada · 15852
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$38.08
No comparable office rate is available.
Nyc Suburbs/Long Island
New York · 15852
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$45.24
No comparable office rate is available.
Poughkpsie/N Nyc Suburbs
New York · 15852
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$41.48
No comparable office rate is available.
Queens
New York · 15852
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$43.53
No comparable office rate is available.
Rest Of New York
New York · 15852
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$37.22
No comparable office rate is available.
Ohio
Ohio · 15852
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$38.20
No comparable office rate is available.
Oklahoma
Oklahoma · 15852
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$37.14
No comparable office rate is available.
Portland
Oregon · 15852
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$38.91
No comparable office rate is available.
Rest Of Oregon
Oregon · 15852
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$37.53
No comparable office rate is available.
Metropolitan Philadelphia
Pennsylvania · 15852
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$40.30
No comparable office rate is available.
Rest Of Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania · 15852
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$37.98
No comparable office rate is available.
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico · 15852
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$38.76
No comparable office rate is available.
Rhode Island
Rhode Island · 15852
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$39.07
No comparable office rate is available.
South Carolina
South Carolina · 15852
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$37.64
No comparable office rate is available.
South Dakota**
South Dakota · 15852
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$36.08
No comparable office rate is available.
Tennessee
Tennessee · 15852
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$36.28
No comparable office rate is available.
Austin
Texas · 15852
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$38.73
No comparable office rate is available.
Beaumont
Texas · 15852
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$37.86
No comparable office rate is available.
Brazoria
Texas · 15852
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$38.03
No comparable office rate is available.
Dallas
Texas · 15852
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$38.40
No comparable office rate is available.
Fort Worth
Texas · 15852
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$38.39
No comparable office rate is available.
Galveston
Texas · 15852
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$38.23
No comparable office rate is available.
Houston
Texas · 15852
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$40.43
No comparable office rate is available.
Rest Of Texas
Texas · 15852
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$38.02
No comparable office rate is available.
Utah
Utah · 15852
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$37.94
No comparable office rate is available.
Virginia
Virginia · 15852
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$37.45
No comparable office rate is available.
Virgin Islands
United States Virgin Islands · 15852
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$38.76
No comparable office rate is available.
Vermont
Vermont · 15852
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$36.70
No comparable office rate is available.
Rest Of Washington
Washington · 15852
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$38.51
No comparable office rate is available.
Seattle (King Cnty)
Washington · 15852
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$40.93
No comparable office rate is available.
Wisconsin
Wisconsin · 15852
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$35.69
No comparable office rate is available.
West Virginia
West Virginia · 15852
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$39.60
No comparable office rate is available.
Wyoming**
Wyoming · 15852
Office
Unavailable
Facility
$37.70
No comparable office rate is available.
See how rates vary across the country
15852 · Office / nonfacility · Non-QP. Choose a state to explore its payment localities. A range means the amount varies within that state.
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 all state and territory rates as a table
| State / territory | Rate range | Localities |
|---|---|---|
| AK | No published base rate | 1 |
| AL | No published base rate | 1 |
| AR | No published base rate | 1 |
| AZ | No published base rate | 1 |
| CA | No published base rate | 29 |
| CO | No published base rate | 1 |
| CT | No published base rate | 1 |
| DC | No published base rate | 1 |
| DE | No published base rate | 1 |
| FL | No published base rate | 3 |
| GA | No published base rate | 2 |
| GU | No published base rate | 1 |
| HI | No published base rate | 1 |
| IA | No published base rate | 1 |
| ID | No published base rate | 1 |
| IL | No published base rate | 4 |
| IN | No published base rate | 1 |
| KS | No published base rate | 1 |
| KY | No published base rate | 1 |
| LA | No published base rate | 2 |
| MA | No published base rate | 2 |
| MD | No published base rate | 3 |
| ME | No published base rate | 2 |
| MI | No published base rate | 2 |
| MN | No published base rate | 1 |
| MO | No published base rate | 3 |
| MS | No published base rate | 1 |
| MT | No published base rate | 1 |
| NC | No published base rate | 1 |
| ND | No published base rate | 1 |
| NE | No published base rate | 1 |
| NH | No published base rate | 1 |
| NJ | No published base rate | 2 |
| NM | No published base rate | 1 |
| NV | No published base rate | 1 |
| NY | No published base rate | 5 |
| OH | No published base rate | 1 |
| OK | No published base rate | 1 |
| OR | No published base rate | 2 |
| PA | No published base rate | 2 |
| PR | No published base rate | 1 |
| RI | No published base rate | 1 |
| SC | No published base rate | 1 |
| SD | No published base rate | 1 |
| TN | No published base rate | 1 |
| TX | No published base rate | 8 |
| UT | No published base rate | 1 |
| VA | No published base rate | 2 |
| VI | No published base rate | 1 |
| VT | No published base rate | 1 |
| WA | No published base rate | 2 |
| WI | No published base rate | 1 |
| WV | No published base rate | 1 |
| WY | No published base rate | 1 |
Where does this rate apply?
Merced is a Medicare payment area. Our Census mapping connects it to 24 cities and communities in California, including the examples shown here.
Some communities span more than one payment area. Follow a city link to compare all of its mapped areas, or check the service-location ZIP above for an address-level starting point.
Use this rate
What is a percentage of Medicare worth?
Turn a percentage into dollars for 15852 in Merced. This uses the base rate on this page, so the locality and release stay consistent.
Reference amount per service
$41.80
$38.00 × 110% = $41.80
A contract may specify another Medicare year or additional adjustments. This is percentage arithmetic on the displayed base rate, not a claim adjudication.
Working with a whole code list?
Compare an offer across your annual code mix, including an older Medicare schedule or flat per-code rates.
How this local rate is calculated
Each RVU component is multiplied by its own geographic practice cost index (GPCI). The three adjusted components are added, then multiplied by the conversion factor. These are the inputs used for 15852 in Merced.
PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv
1,585
- Code
- 15852
- Physician work
- 0.84
- Practice expense
- 0.20
- Malpractice
- 0.12
GPCI2026.csv
15
- Locality
- Merced
- Physician work
- 1.017
- Practice expense
- 1.096
- Malpractice
- 0.536
| Component | RVU | Locality factor | Adjusted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Physician work | 0.84 | × 1.017 | 0.8543 |
| Practice expense | 0.20 | × 1.096 | 0.2192 |
| Malpractice | 0.12 | × 0.536 | 0.0643 |
| Total RVUs | 1.1378 | ||
| Conversion factor | × 33.4009 | ||
Facility rate, Merced$38.00
Open 15852 in the RVU calculator →
Explore RVUs, geographic factors and the full formula
Facility
| Component | RVU | Local GPCI |
|---|---|---|
| Work | 0.84 | 1.017 |
| Practice expense | 0.2 | 1.096 |
| Malpractice | 0.12 | 0.536 |
(0.84 × 1.017 + 0.2 × 1.096 + 0.12 × 0.536) × $33.4009 = $38.00
The office and facility calculations use their respective practice-expense RVUs. The facility amount here is the physician fee, not a separate hospital or facility bill.
How this rate has changed
15852 · Office / nonfacility
Rate unavailable
Effective 2026-10-01
A rate is unavailable in one of these releases, so a change cannot be calculated.
One bar per available release, ordered by effective date. Missing rates remain gaps. These comparisons hold the code, setting and locality identifiers constant; they do not isolate which policy or input caused a change.
What changed, release by release
Explore release dates and calculate this code in an earlier period →
Each row uses the accepted CMS release effective on that date and the same contractor and locality identifiers. Missing rates stay visible. Historical boundaries may differ; verify the service address for an older claim.
Inspect every release and its CMS source
| Effective from | Office / nonfacility | Facility | CMS release |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-10-01 | Not available in this setting | $38.00 | RVU26D |
| 2026-07-01 | Not available in this setting | $38.00 | RVU26C |
| 2026-04-01 | Not available in this setting | $38.00 | RVU26B |
| 2026-01-01 | Not available in this setting | $38.00 | RVU26A |
| 2025-10-01 | Not available in this setting | $42.58 | RVU25D |
| 2025-07-01 | Not available in this setting | $42.58 | RVU25C |
| 2025-04-01 | Not available in this setting | $42.58 | RVU25B |
| 2025-01-01 | Not available in this setting | $42.58 | RVU25A |
15852 billing questions
When should I report 15852 instead of a routine dressing change?
Use 15852 for a nonburn dressing change that requires anesthesia beyond local anesthesia. A routine change performed without that anesthesia is not the service described by this code.
Is 15852 the right code when sutures or staples are removed?
Choose a suture or staple removal code when removal is the service performed. Code 15852 describes changing a dressing, not removing closure material.
What documentation supports 15852?
Document the wound and its location, the dressing work performed, and why the patient required anesthesia beyond local anesthesia for the change.
How does the 0-day global period affect the claim?
Same-day preoperative and postoperative care is included in the service. The code has a 0-day global period.
How are other procedures in the same session paid?
The highest-valued procedure is paid in full, and other procedures in the same session are subject to the standard multiple-procedure reduction.
Can I report an assistant, co-surgeon, team surgeon, or modifier 50?
Medicare does not pay an assistant-at-surgery claim for 15852, and co-surgeons and team surgery are not permitted. Do not append modifier 50 for this service.
Where these rates come from
FeeBase calculates base physician payments from CMS work, practice-expense, and malpractice RVUs, adjusted by each locality’s geographic indices and the applicable conversion factor. Unavailable or separately priced services are labeled rather than assigned a made-up amount.
Source: RVU26D. Effective 2026-10-01 through the day before 2027-01-01.
1,58215845,,Skin and muscle repair face,A,,13.96,12.42,NA,12.42,,2.59,28.97,28.97,0,090,0.10,0.71,0.19,2,0,2,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
1,58315847,,Exc skin abd add-on,C,,0.00,0.00,,0.00,,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,YYY,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
1,58415851,,Removal sutr/staple req anes,A,,1.07,0.55,NA,0.55,,0.13,1.75,1.75,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
1,58515852,,Dressing change not for burn,A,,0.84,0.20,NA,0.20,,0.12,1.16,1.16,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
1,58615853,,Removal sutr/stapl xreq anes,A,,0.00,0.39,,0.39,NA,0.01,0.40,0.40,5,ZZZ,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
1,58715854,,Removal sutr&stapl xreq anes,A,,0.00,0.52,,0.52,NA,0.01,0.53,0.53,5,ZZZ,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
1,58815860,,Iv njx tst vasc flo flap/grf,A,,1.90,0.52,NA,0.52,,0.37,2.79,2.79,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,0,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
1201112,CA,57,HANFORD-CORCORAN,1.017,1.096,0.536
1301182,CA,18,LOS ANGELES-LONG BEACH-ANAHEIM (LOS ANGELES/ORANGE CNTY),1.041,1.183,0.664
1401112,CA,58,MADERA,1.017,1.096,0.536
1501112,CA,59,MERCED,1.017,1.096,0.536
1601112,CA,60,MODESTO,1.017,1.096,0.536
1701112,CA,51,NAPA,1.063,1.318,0.508
1801182,CA,17,OXNARD-THOUSAND OAKS-VENTURA,1.028,1.182,0.623