$71.36–$76.79
15002 covers the initial treated area on the trunk or limbs; 15003 is the add-on for each additional area increment.
On this page
CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
15002 Wound preparation Medicare reimbursement rates in Georgia
Reports surgical excision of wound, burn eschar, or scar to prepare a trunk or limb recipient site for grafting or similar reconstruction. Compare 15002 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in Georgia.
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 15002 in Georgia?
Georgia has 2 payment localities in this comparison. Use the service location to choose the applicable amount. These are the supported base rates for the 2 payment areas shown below, using the same CMS release.
Office / nonfacility
$343.21–$371.35
2 of 2 localities have a supported rate.
Facility setting
$195.14–$202.69
2 of 2 localities have a supported rate.
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.
Surgical wound care
About 15002: Recipient-site preparation, trunk or limb
Reports surgical excision of wound, burn eschar, or scar to prepare a trunk or limb recipient site for grafting or similar reconstruction.
A surgeon excises an open wound, burn eschar, or scar, including subcutaneous tissue, to create a recipient site for reconstruction on the trunk, an arm, or a leg. This preparation may be performed for burn injuries, traumatic wounds, or scarred areas before grafting. Plastic, burn, and reconstructive surgeons commonly perform it in an operating room or other procedure setting. The code captures preparation of the recipient bed, not placement of the graft or substitute.
Select the code by the treated surface area and the applicable anatomic site: 15002 covers the initial 100 square centimeters, or the initial 1% of body surface area in infants and children. Document the site, measured area, wound or scar tissue removed, and preparation performed. The code has a 0-day global period, so same-day preoperative and postoperative care is included. Bilateral adjustment is inappropriate. An assistant at surgery is paid only when medical necessity is documented; co-surgeons and team surgery are not permitted.
CMS billing rules for 15002
- Global period
- Minor procedure with a 0-day global period: same-day preoperative and postoperative care is included.
- 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 RVU3.56 · 33%
- Practice expense (office) RVU6.66 · 61%
- Malpractice RVU0.65 · 6%
31.8K
Medicare services in 2024 · #951 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.
15002 compared with similar codes
Office rates for Georgia, from the same CMS release.
$383.14–$412.85
Choose 15004 when the recipient site is at its specified head, neck, genital, hand, or foot locations rather than the trunk or limbs.
$876.85–$944.91
15002 describes recipient-site preparation. 15100 describes placement of a split-thickness skin graft on the trunk or limbs.
Compare 15002 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.
2 of 2 payment localities
Atlanta →
Office / nonfacility
$371.35
Facility
$202.69
Rest Of Georgia →
Office / nonfacility
$343.21
Facility
$195.14
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15002 billing questions
When should 15002 be chosen instead of 15004?
Use 15002 for recipient-site preparation on the trunk, arms, or legs. Code 15004 is for preparation at the face, scalp, eyelids, mouth, neck, ears, orbits, genitalia, hands, or feet.
Does 15002 include graft placement?
No. It describes surgical preparation of the recipient site; a separately performed graft or skin-substitute application is represented by its own applicable code.
When is 15003 reported with 15002?
15003 is the add-on for each additional 100 square centimeters, or each additional 1% of body surface area in infants and children, beyond the initial area covered by 15002.
Can modifier 50 be used for preparation on both sides?
No. CMS identifies bilateral adjustment as inappropriate for 15002. Report the service according to the applicable site and area descriptors.
What documentation supports 15002?
Record the anatomic site, wound or scar condition, tissue excised, preparation performed, and treated surface area. For an assistant at surgery, document medical necessity.
Can a co-surgeon or surgical team report 15002?
No. CMS does not permit co-surgeons or team surgery for this code. An assistant at surgery is payable only with documentation of medical necessity.
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.
1,4631491F,,Dem severity classified mod,I,,0.00,0.00,,0.00,,0.00,0.00,0.00,9,XXX,0.00,0.00,0.00,9,9,9,9,9,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
1,4641493F,,Dem severity class severe,I,,0.00,0.00,,0.00,,0.00,0.00,0.00,9,XXX,0.00,0.00,0.00,9,9,9,9,9,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
1,4651494F,,Cognit assessed and reviewed,I,,0.00,0.00,,0.00,,0.00,0.00,0.00,9,XXX,0.00,0.00,0.00,9,9,9,9,9,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
1,46615002,,Wound prep trk/arm/leg,A,,3.56,6.66,,1.69,,0.65,10.87,5.90,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,0,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
1,46715003,,Wound prep addl 100 cm,A,,0.78,1.28,,0.23,,0.18,2.24,1.19,0,ZZZ,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,0,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
1,46815004,,Wound prep f/n/hf/g,A,,4.47,7.02,,1.76,,0.62,12.11,6.85,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,0,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
1,46915005,,Wnd prep f/n/hf/g addl cm,A,,1.56,1.83,,0.44,,0.34,3.73,2.34,0,ZZZ,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,0,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00