No office rate
Both concern a sacral pressure ulcer closed primarily, but this code also includes ostectomy. Use 15931 when underlying bone is not removed.
On this page
CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
15933 Pressure ulcer excision Medicare reimbursement rates in Colorado
Reports operative removal of a sacral pressure ulcer, underlying bone, and primary closure when the wound can be closed directly. Compare 15933 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in Colorado.
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.
What does Medicare pay for 15933 in Colorado?
Colorado has 1 payment locality in this comparison. Use the service location to choose the applicable amount. These are the supported base rates for the payment area shown below, using the same CMS release.
Office / nonfacility
No supported rate
Facility setting
$830.68
1 of 1 localities have a supported rate.
Payment area: Colorado
One mapped payment locality.
These are locality ranges, not averages or address-specific quotes. A facility-setting amount covers the physician service; it does not include a hospital’s separate bill. Choose a locality below to inspect its calculation, compare other payment areas, or price a percentage of Medicare.
Pressure ulcer surgery
About 15933: Sacral pressure ulcer excision with ostectomy and closure
Reports operative removal of a sacral pressure ulcer, underlying bone, and primary closure when the wound can be closed directly.
This service covers surgical removal of a pressure ulcer over the sacrum, removal of underlying bone, and direct closure with sutures. It is generally performed in an operating room by a surgeon, such as a plastic or general surgeon, for a wound requiring operative excision and bone removal. The documented site must be sacral, and the operation must include both ostectomy and primary closure; a different closure method or site points to another code in the pressure-ulcer excision family.
The operative report should identify the sacral ulcer, describe the excision and bone removal, and document direct suture closure. This major surgery has a 90-day global period that 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% multiple-procedure reduction. Modifier 50 is inappropriate for this midline sacral service. Assistant-at-surgery payment requires documented medical necessity; co-surgeons and team surgery are not permitted.
CMS billing rules for 15933
- Global period
- Major surgery with a 90-day global period: the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care are 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
- Assistant at surgery is paid only with documentation of medical necessity.
- Co-surgeons
- Co-surgeons not permitted.
- Team surgery
- Team surgery not permitted.
Where the value comes from
- Work RVU11.48 · 47%
- Practice expense (office) RVU10.51 · 43%
- Malpractice RVU2.65 · 11%
120
Medicare services in 2024 · #4735 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.
15933 compared with similar codes
Office rates for Colorado, from the same CMS release.
No office rate
Both include sacral ulcer excision and ostectomy; 15935 uses skin-flap closure, while this code uses direct suture closure.
No office rate
This code is for a sacral ulcer. Code 15941 is for an ischial pressure ulcer treated with primary closure and ostectomy.
Compare 15933 by payment locality
Find the payment area for your service address, then open its rate page for calculation inputs, release history and the percentage-of-Medicare tool. A city may cross payment-area boundaries; the ZIP lookup above helps resolve the location.
1 of 1 payment localities
Colorado →
Office / nonfacility
Unavailable
Facility
$830.68
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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 15933 in Colorado.
PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv
1,596
- Code
- 15933
- Physician work
- 11.48
- Practice expense
- 10.51
- Malpractice
- 2.65
GPCI2026.csv
37
- Locality
- Colorado
- Physician work
- 1.012
- Practice expense
- 1.064
- Malpractice
- 0.781
| Component | RVU | Locality factor | Adjusted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Physician work | 11.48 | × 1.012 | 11.6178 |
| Practice expense | 10.51 | × 1.064 | 11.1826 |
| Malpractice | 2.65 | × 0.781 | 2.0697 |
| Total RVUs | 24.8701 | ||
| Conversion factor | × 33.4009 | ||
Facility rate, Colorado$830.68
Explore RVUs, geographic factors and the full formula
Facility
| Component | RVU | Local GPCI |
|---|---|---|
| Work | 11.48 | 1.012 |
| Practice expense | 10.51 | 1.064 |
| Malpractice | 2.65 | 0.781 |
(11.48 × 1.012 + 10.51 × 1.064 + 2.65 × 0.781) × $33.4009 = $830.68
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.
15933 billing questions
How does this differ from 15931?
This service includes removal of underlying bone. Code 15931 describes sacral pressure-ulcer excision with primary closure without the ostectomy component.
Can the primary closure be billed separately?
No separate closure code is indicated for the direct suture closure included in this service. The code represents the excision, ostectomy, and primary closure together.
Should modifier 50 be used for a sacral ulcer?
No. The sacral site is midline, and modifier 50 is inappropriate for this service.
What should the operative note establish?
Document the sacral location, ulcer excision, removal of underlying bone, and closure by direct suturing. The note should distinguish this approach from a skin or muscle flap.
When is an assistant at surgery payable?
Assistant-at-surgery payment is allowed only when the record documents medical necessity. Co-surgeons and team surgery are not permitted for this code.
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.
1,59315920,,Exc coccygl pr ulc prim sutr,A,,8.08,8.57,NA,8.57,,2.16,18.81,18.81,0,090,0.10,0.71,0.19,2,0,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
1,59415922,,Exc coccygl pr ulc flap clsr,A,,10.12,9.89,NA,9.89,,1.88,21.89,21.89,0,090,0.10,0.71,0.19,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
1,59515931,,Exc sacral pr ulc prim sutr,A,,9.82,7.93,NA,7.93,,2.41,20.16,20.16,0,090,0.10,0.71,0.19,2,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
1,59615933,,Exc sac pr ulc prim str ostc,A,,11.48,10.51,NA,10.51,,2.65,24.64,24.64,0,090,0.10,0.71,0.19,2,0,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
1,59715934,,Exc sacral pr ulc skn flap,A,,13.34,10.78,NA,10.78,,2.48,26.60,26.60,0,090,0.10,0.71,0.19,2,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
1,59815935,,Exc sac pr ulc skn flp ostc,A,,15.39,13.04,NA,13.04,,2.86,31.29,31.29,0,090,0.10,0.71,0.19,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
1,59915936,,Exc sac pr ulc prep mus flap,A,,12.83,9.28,NA,9.28,,2.98,25.09,25.09,0,090,0.10,0.71,0.19,2,0,1,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3401112,CA,69,VISALIA,1.017,1.096,0.536
3501112,CA,70,YUBA CITY,1.017,1.096,0.536
3601112,CA,75,REST OF CALIFORNIA,1.017,1.096,0.536
3704112,CO,01,COLORADO,1.012,1.064,0.781
3813102,CT,00,CONNECTICUT,1.020,1.077,1.210
3912202,DC,01,DC + MD/VA SUBURBS,1.054,1.178,1.113
4012102,DE,01,DELAWARE,1.005,0.988,0.899