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CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01

17312 Mohs surgery Medicare reimbursement rates in Kentucky

Reports an additional Mohs surgery stage for a lesion on the head, neck, hands, feet, or genitalia when microscopic examination shows tumor remains. Compare 17312 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in Kentucky.

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 17312 in Kentucky?

Kentucky 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

$370.33

1 of 1 localities have a supported rate.

Payment area: Kentucky

One mapped payment locality.

Facility setting

$148.22

1 of 1 localities have a supported rate.

Payment area: Kentucky

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.

Find 17312 in your payment locality →

Dermatologic surgery

About 17312: Mohs surgery additional stage, specified sites

Reports an additional Mohs surgery stage for a lesion on the head, neck, hands, feet, or genitalia when microscopic examination shows tumor remains.

A Mohs surgeon, commonly a dermatologist, removes and maps another thin layer of tissue after the initial stage. The tissue is processed and examined microscopically so the surgeon can identify whether tumor remains at the margins and whether another stage is needed. Code 17312 is for an additional stage at the head, neck, hands, feet, or genitalia; the first stage is reported separately with the appropriate primary Mohs code. Mohs is commonly performed in an office surgical setting.

Report 17312 for each additional stage after the first, rather than for each tissue block within a stage. The operative record should identify the lesion and site, the stage sequence, tissue mapping and microscopic findings, and the reason another layer was taken. A stage may include up to five tissue blocks; additional blocks are addressed with 17315. As an add-on code, 17312 is billed only with a primary procedure and is paid within that procedure's global period.

CMS billing rules for 17312

Global period
Add-on code: billed only together with a primary procedure and paid within that procedure's global period.

Where the value comes from

  • Work RVU3.22 · 27%
  • Practice expense (office) RVU8.51 · 71%
  • Malpractice RVU0.33 · 3%

505.2K

Medicare services in 2024 · #232 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.

17312 compared with similar codes

Office rates for Kentucky, from the same CMS release.

17311

Mohs surgery

First stage, head/neck/hands/feet/genitalia

$615.92

17311 reports the first Mohs stage for the head, neck, hands, feet, or genitalia; 17312 reports each subsequent stage at those sites.

17314

Mohs stage

Additional stage, trunk or limb

$353.96

Both report an additional Mohs stage, but 17314 is for the trunk, arms, or legs; 17312 is for the head, neck, hands, feet, or genitalia.

17315

Mohs block

Beyond first five blocks

$73.59

17312 counts an additional stage. Code 17315 counts additional tissue blocks beyond five within a stage.

Compare 17312 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

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

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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 17312 in Kentucky.

PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv

1,647

Code
17312
Physician work
3.22
Practice expense
8.51
Malpractice
0.33

GPCI2026.csv

55

Locality
Kentucky
Physician work
1.000
Practice expense
0.889
Malpractice
0.915
Office / nonfacility calculation for 17312 in Kentucky
ComponentRVULocality factorAdjusted
Physician work3.22× 1.0003.2200
Practice expense8.51× 0.8897.5654
Malpractice0.33× 0.9150.3020
Total RVUs11.0873
Conversion factor× 33.4009

Office / nonfacility rate, Kentucky$370.33

Explore RVUs, geographic factors and the full formula

Office / nonfacility

Office / nonfacility calculation inputs
ComponentRVULocal GPCI
Work3.221
Practice expense8.510.889
Malpractice0.330.915

(3.22 × 1 + 8.51 × 0.889 + 0.33 × 0.915) × $33.4009 = $370.33

Facility

Facility calculation inputs
ComponentRVULocal GPCI
Work3.221
Practice expense1.030.889
Malpractice0.330.915

(3.22 × 1 + 1.03 × 0.889 + 0.33 × 0.915) × $33.4009 = $148.22

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.

17312 billing questions

When should 17312 be used instead of 17311?

Use 17311 for the first Mohs stage on the head, neck, hands, feet, or genitalia. Report 17312 for each additional stage at one of those sites.

Is 17312 billed per tissue block?

No. It represents an additional stage, which can include up to five tissue blocks. Code 17315 addresses additional blocks beyond that amount.

Can 17312 be reported by itself?

No. It is an add-on code and must be billed with the primary Mohs procedure for the lesion.

Which additional-stage code applies to a lesion on the trunk or an extremity?

Use 17314 for an additional stage on the trunk, arms, or legs. Code 17312 is for additional stages on the head, neck, hands, feet, or genitalia.

What documentation supports an additional-stage unit?

The operative record should show the lesion site, the additional stage performed, the tissue map and microscopic findings, and the reason the surgeon continued.

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 17312PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv, line 1,647 (RVU26D)
Geographic factors for KentuckyGPCI2026.csv, line 55 (RVU26D)