Billing code 16020: Burn wound careMedicare rate & RVUs in Utah
Report 16020 for dressing and/or debridement of partial-thickness burns involving less than 5% of total body surface area.
Medicare pays $88.50 for 16020 in the office in Utah (Utah). Which amount applies depends on the service address.
Medicare allowed amount for participating (non-QP) physicians, before deductible, coinsurance and claim adjustments. Not a patient’s bill or a hospital charge.
On this page 9 sections
What 16020 covers
billing code 16020 covers dressing and/or debridement for partial-thickness burns when the total area treated is small: less than 5% of total body surface area. The code may describe initial or subsequent burn care. Clinicians may perform this wound care in an office, emergency department, or hospital setting. The treated burn area—not the number of separate burn sites—determines whether this small-burn level fits.
Document burn depth, the estimated total body surface area involved, and the dressing or debridement performed. The service has a 0-day global period, so same-day preoperative and postoperative care is included. When multiple procedures occur in one session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and the others are subject to the standard 50% multiple-procedure reduction. Modifier 50 is inappropriate. Medicare does not pay an assistant at surgery for this code; co-surgeons and team surgery are not permitted.
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.
16020 in Utah
| Payment locality | Office | Facility |
|---|---|---|
| Utah | $88.50 | $52.39 |
How the 16020 rate is calculated
Each of 16020’s three RVUs is multiplied by a geographic index (GPCI) for the payment locality, added up, and multiplied by the conversion factor. Drag the indexes or enter a ZIP to see what moves the rate.
How the rate is built · 16020
RVUs × geographic indexes × conversion factor
Work0.69
0.69 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI
Practice expense1.97
1.97 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI
Malpractice0.12
0.12 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI
Adjusted RVUs
2.7800
Conversion factor
$33.4009
Medicare rate
$92.85
Every GPCI starts at 1.000, the national rate. Enter a ZIP or drag a slider.
Payment rules and modifiers for 16020
The CMS indicators that decide how 16020 is paid alongside other services.
CMS payment indicators · 16020
Burn wound care
| Rule | CMS value | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Global period | 000 | Same-day global: pre- and post-op care on the day of the procedure is included. |
| Multiple procedures | 2 | Standard reduction: highest-valued procedure at 100%, others at 50%. |
| Bilateral (modifier 50) | 0 | The 150% bilateral adjustment doesn’t apply. |
| Assistant at surgery (80/81/82/AS) | 1 | Not paid (statutory restriction). |
| Co-surgeons (62) | 0 | Not permitted. |
| Team surgery (66) | 0 | Not permitted. |
| Professional/technical | 0 | Physician service: no professional/technical split. |
What modifiers do to the payment
Modifier 51 · payment effect
With and without the modifier
16020 without 51 · national office
$92.85
Burn wound care
16020-51 · Second procedure: 50%
$46.43
When this isn’t the highest-valued procedure in the session, Medicare pays 50% of its fee schedule amount (the highest is paid at 100%).
16020 compared with similar codes
Compare codes · National
5 codes, side by side
How to choose
- 16000Burn treatment
- 16000 describes initial treatment of first-degree burns. Use 16020 for dressing and/or debridement of partial-thickness burns involving less than 5% of total body surface area.
- 16025Burn care
- 16025 is the medium-area level for partial-thickness burn dressing and/or debridement; 16020 is for less than 5% of total body surface area.
- 16030Burn dressing
- 16030 is the large-area level for partial-thickness burn dressing and/or debridement, not the small-area service reported with 16020.
- 16035Escharotomy
- 16035 describes an escharotomy incision to relieve constriction, not routine dressing or debridement of a small partial-thickness burn.
16020 billing questions
How is 16020 distinguished from 16025 or 16030?
Use 16020 when partial-thickness burns involve less than 5% of total body surface area. Codes 16025 and 16030 represent larger burn-area levels.
Is 16020 limited to the first burn-care visit?
No. It covers dressing and/or debridement for small partial-thickness burns during initial or subsequent care.
Is the code counted per burn site?
Select the level using the total body surface area involved, rather than counting each separate burn site as a unit.
Should modifier 50 be appended for burns on both sides?
No. The CMS bilateral adjustment does not apply, and modifier 50 is inappropriate for this service.
What documentation supports reporting 16020?
Record the partial-thickness depth, estimated total body surface area involved, and the dressing and/or debridement performed.
How does the 0-day global period affect same-day care?
Same-day preoperative and postoperative care is included in the procedure's 0-day global period.
Where these rates come from
FeeBase calculates base physician payments from CMS work, practice-expense and malpractice RVUs, adjusted by each locality’s geographic indexes and the conversion factor. Services without a published rate are labeled, never given a made-up amount. Amounts are Medicare allowed amounts before claim adjustments: not a patient’s bill or a commercial rate.
CMS RVU26D · effective Oct 1, 2026 through the day before Jan 1, 2027
Show the CMS file lines behind this rate
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