Billing code 15100: Skin graftMedicare rate & RVUs in Alaska
Reports placement of a patient’s split-thickness skin graft on the trunk, arms, or legs, using the first area increment specified for the graft.
Medicare pays $1,089.92 for 15100 in the office in Alaska (Alaska*). Which amount applies depends on the service address.
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 9 sections
What 15100 covers
The surgeon takes a thin layer of the patient’s own skin from a donor site and places it over a recipient wound on the trunk, arm, or leg. Common situations include coverage after burn treatment, wound excision, or traumatic skin loss. The code identifies the graft by its split-thickness type and recipient location, not by the donor site. It covers the first 100 square centimeters, or the corresponding 1% of body surface area for infants and children.
Select the code using the recipient site, graft type, and documented treated area; report 15101 for additional area increments. Documentation should identify the recipient site, graft type, area, and harvest and placement performed. The day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care are included in the 90-day global period. 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. Medicare does not pay an assistant at surgery for this service; 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.
15100 in Alaska*
| Payment locality | Office | Facility |
|---|---|---|
| Alaska* | $1,089.92 | $810.68 |
How the 15100 rate is calculated
Each of 15100’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 · 15100
RVUs × geographic indexes × conversion factor
Work9.65
9.65 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI
Practice expense16.06
16.06 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI
Malpractice1.91
1.91 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI
Adjusted RVUs
27.6200
Conversion factor
$33.4009
Medicare rate
$922.53
Every GPCI starts at 1.000, the national rate. Enter a ZIP or drag a slider.
Payment rules and modifiers for 15100
15100 has a 90-day global period: related visits in that window are included in the surgery payment.
CMS payment indicators · 15100
Skin graft
| Rule | CMS value | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Global period | 090 | Major surgery: the day before, the day of, and 90 days after are included. |
| Multiple procedures | 2 | Standard reduction: highest-valued procedure at 100%, others at 50%. |
| Bilateral (modifier 50) | 0 | The 150% bilateral adjustment doesn’t apply. |
| Assistant at surgery (80/81/82/AS) | 1 | Not paid (statutory restriction). |
| Co-surgeons (62) | 0 | Not permitted. |
| Team surgery (66) | 0 | Not permitted. |
| Professional/technical | 0 | Physician service: no professional/technical split. |
| Split (54/55/56) | 0.10/0.71/0.19 | Share of the payment for pre-op, the procedure itself, and post-op care. |
Global surgery period · 15100
Skin graft
90-day global period ends
Dec 30, 2026
Covers Sep 30, 2026 through Dec 30, 2026 (92 days, including the day before surgery).
Visit on Oct 31, 2026
Day 30 of the 90-day post-op period: related follow-up care is included in the surgical payment.
Pre-op dayGlobal period
What modifiers do to the payment
Modifier 51 · payment effect
With and without the modifier
15100 without 51 · national office
$922.53
Skin graft
15100-51 · Second procedure: 50%
$461.27
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%).
15100 compared with similar codes
Compare codes · National
5 codes, side by side
How to choose
- 15101Skin graft
- 15100 reports the initial graft area; 15101 reports additional area increments for the same graft type and recipient region.
- 15120Skin graft
- Both describe split-thickness grafting, but 15120 is for specified face, scalp, neck, hand, foot, or genital sites rather than the trunk, arms, or legs.
- 15110Epidermal graft
- 15110 is for an epidermal graft on the trunk, arms, or legs; 15100 is for a split-thickness graft at those sites.
- 15002Wound preparation
- 15002 describes surgical preparation of a recipient site on the trunk, arms, or legs. It is not the graft-placement code represented by 15100.
15100 billing questions
When is 15100 used instead of 15120?
Use 15100 for a split-thickness graft placed on the trunk, arms, or legs. Code 15120 applies to the specified face, scalp, neck, hands, feet, or genital sites.
How is additional graft area reported?
15100 covers the first 100 square centimeters, or 1% of body surface area for infants and children. Report 15101 for additional area increments and document the total treated area.
Does 15100 include harvesting the donor skin?
The service includes taking and placing the patient’s split-thickness graft. Document the donor and recipient sites and the grafting work performed.
Can recipient-site preparation be reported separately?
A distinct surgical preparation of the recipient site may be reported with the graft when performed and documented; 15002 describes preparation on the trunk, arms, or legs.
Should modifier 50 be used for grafts on both sides?
No. CMS identifies bilateral adjustment as inappropriate for 15100. The descriptor and anatomy do not support modifier 50.
Can an assistant or co-surgeon be paid for 15100?
Medicare payment to an assistant at surgery is restricted for this service. Co-surgeons and team surgery are not permitted.
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
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