On this page

CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01

12018 Wound repair Medicare reimbursement rates in Rhode Island

Reports simple, single-layer closure of superficial wounds in the face-and-related-site group when the combined repair length exceeds 30 cm. Compare 12018 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in Rhode Island.

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 12018 in Rhode Island?

Rhode Island 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

$173.97

1 of 1 localities have a supported rate.

Payment area: Rhode Island

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 12018 in your payment locality →

Wound repair

About 12018: Simple repair of extensive facial wounds

Reports simple, single-layer closure of superficial wounds in the face-and-related-site group when the combined repair length exceeds 30 cm.

This code is for straightforward closure of superficial wounds involving the face, ears, eyelids, nose, lips, or mucous membranes. The repair is limited to a simple closure, typically a single layer, without the deeper layered work that characterizes an intermediate repair. Emergency physicians and surgeons may perform this service in an emergency department or another acute-care setting; extensive wounds in this anatomic group are less typical in an office setting.

Choose the code from the documented repair type, anatomic group, and total length. For multiple wounds with the same repair classification in this group, combine their lengths; document each wound’s site, length, depth, and closure method. The 0-day global period includes same-day preoperative and postoperative care. When multiple procedures occur in one session, CMS pays the highest-valued procedure in full and applies the standard 50% reduction to the others. Modifier 50 is inappropriate for this code. Assistant-at-surgery payment may be made; co-surgeons and team surgery are not permitted.

CMS billing rules for 12018

Global period
Minor procedure with a 0-day global period: same-day preoperative and postoperative care is 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 may be paid.
Co-surgeons
Co-surgeons not permitted.
Team surgery
Team surgery not permitted.

Where the value comes from

  • Work RVU3.52 · 68%
  • Practice expense (office) RVU0.81 · 16%
  • Malpractice RVU0.88 · 17%

16

Medicare services in 2024 · #6024 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.

12018 compared with similar codes

Office rates for Rhode Island, from the same CMS release.

12017

Wound repair

Face and related sites, 20.1–30 cm

No office rate

Both describe simple repairs in the same anatomic group. Choose 12018 when the combined length exceeds 30 cm; 12017 applies through 30 cm.

12007

Wound repair

Simple, over 30 cm

$260.05

Both describe simple repairs exceeding 30 cm, but 12007 is for a different anatomic group, such as scalp, trunk, or extremities.

12057

Wound repair

Face and related sites, over 30 cm

$662.18

Both cover repairs exceeding 30 cm in the face-and-related-site group. Choose 12057 when the repair is intermediate, rather than simple.

Compare 12018 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

Need rates for a whole code list?

Fee-sheet and API access are in early access. Tell us which codes and locations your team needs.

Explore fee-sheet early access →

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 12018 in Rhode Island.

PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv

1,409

Code
12018
Physician work
3.52
Practice expense
0.81
Malpractice
0.88

GPCI2026.csv

92

Locality
Rhode Island
Physician work
1.019
Practice expense
1.033
Malpractice
0.892
Facility calculation for 12018 in Rhode Island
ComponentRVULocality factorAdjusted
Physician work3.52× 1.0193.5869
Practice expense0.81× 1.0330.8367
Malpractice0.88× 0.8920.7850
Total RVUs5.2086
Conversion factor× 33.4009

Facility rate, Rhode Island$173.97

Explore RVUs, geographic factors and the full formula

Facility

Facility calculation inputs
ComponentRVULocal GPCI
Work3.521.019
Practice expense0.811.033
Malpractice0.880.892

(3.52 × 1.019 + 0.81 × 1.033 + 0.88 × 0.892) × $33.4009 = $173.97

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.

12018 billing questions

How is the length selected when there are several wounds?

Combine the lengths of wounds repaired with the same simple technique in this anatomic group. Keep lengths in different anatomic groups or repair classifications separate.

When is this code preferable to 12017?

Both codes describe simple repair in the face, ears, eyelids, nose, lips, or mucous membranes. Use 12018 when the total repair length exceeds 30 cm; 12017 covers 20.1–30 cm.

How does this differ from an intermediate repair?

Use 12018 for a simple, superficial closure. A repair requiring layered closure or work on deeper tissue is intermediate; select the intermediate code for the anatomic group and total length.

Can modifier 50 be reported for this repair?

No. CMS identifies bilateral adjustment as inappropriate for this code because its descriptor and anatomy do not support modifier 50.

What documentation supports reporting 12018?

Document the wound sites, individual lengths, superficial nature of the injuries, simple closure technique, and the total length for wounds in this group.

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 12018PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv, line 1,409 (RVU26D)
Geographic factors for Rhode IslandGPCI2026.csv, line 92 (RVU26D)