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CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01

15833 Skin excision Medicare reimbursement rates in Georgia

Reports surgical removal of redundant skin and underlying tissue from the leg, such as after major weight loss or when excess tissue causes functional problems. Compare 15833 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 15833 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

No supported rate

Facility setting

$775.16–$818.96

2 of 2 localities have a supported rate.

Lowest: Rest Of Georgia

Highest: Atlanta

A spread of $43.80 per service.

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.

Find 15833 in your payment locality →

Plastic surgery

About 15833: Excision of excessive leg skin

Reports surgical removal of redundant skin and underlying tissue from the leg, such as after major weight loss or when excess tissue causes functional problems.

This procedure removes redundant skin and associated underlying tissue from the leg. Plastic surgeons commonly perform it for patients with substantial excess tissue after major weight loss or when skin folds contribute to problems such as irritation or restricted movement. The operative site must be the leg; the thigh is reported separately under its own site-specific code.

Select the code from the treated anatomy and document the location, extent of excess tissue, and operative work. Medicare classifies it as major surgery with a 90-day global period, including 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% reduction. Bilateral reporting with modifier 50 is paid at 150%. Assistant-at-surgery payment requires documented medical necessity; co-surgeons and team surgery are not permitted.

CMS billing rules for 15833

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 procedure with modifier 50 is paid at 150%.
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 RVU11.60 · 49%
  • Practice expense (office) RVU10.14 · 42%
  • Malpractice RVU2.15 · 9%

22

Medicare services in 2024 · #5853 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.

15833 compared with similar codes

Office rates for Georgia, from the same CMS release.

15832

Thigh lift

Excess skin excision

No office rate

This code applies to the leg; 15832 applies to the thigh. Choose by the operative site documented in the record.

15834

Skin excision

Hip region

No office rate

Use 15834 when the treated site is the hip rather than the leg.

15839

Excess skin excision

Other anatomical area

$911.65–$981.76

Use 15839 for an area without a more specific site code; use this code when the excision is on the leg.

Compare 15833 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

Office and facility base rates · shared scale starting at $0

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15833 billing questions

How do I distinguish this from 15832?

Use 15833 for the leg site and 15832 for the thigh. Document the actual operative location rather than relying on a general use of the word “leg.”

Does the 90-day global include related postoperative care?

Yes. The global period includes the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care.

How is bilateral treatment reported?

For bilateral procedures reported with modifier 50, CMS pays 150%.

What happens when another procedure is performed in the same session?

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

Can an assistant surgeon be paid?

Assistant-at-surgery payment is available only when the record documents medical necessity. 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 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.

RVUs for 15833PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv, line 1,572 (RVU26D)
Open CMS sourceHow this rate is calculatedBuild a fee sheet