CPT 15200: Full-Thickness Skin Graft of Trunk, ≤20 cm²
CPT code 15200 represents a free full–thickness skin graft of the trunk covering 20 cm² or less, including direct closure of the donor site. This surgical grafting code is used in repair of small to moderate full-thickness skin defects on the trunk and is relevant for surgeons, dermatologists, and facility billing. Nationally, accurate coding of full‑thickness grafts affects surgical case mix classification, facility billing, and downstream payment determinations for reconstructive wound care.
Key payers covered in this analysis include Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna Health, UnitedHealthcare, and Medicare. The summary addresses payer coverage considerations and common clinical settings where the code is applied.
Readers will learn the clinical intent of the code, typical sites of service, commonly associated clinical diagnoses, and adjacent procedure codes used for additional graft area or different anatomical sites. The publication also summarizes common modifiers and related CPT graft codes for appropriate coding adjacency. This information supports coding accuracy, billing consistency across payers, and operational understanding of where CPT code 15200 fits within reconstructive and wound‑care service lines.
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Billing Code Overview
CPT code 15200 describes a free full–thickness skin graft of the trunk covering an area of 20 cm² or less. The code specifies that the procedure includes direct closure of the donor site.
Service type: Full-thickness skin graft (autograft), trunk
Typical site of service: Operating room or procedure suite where surgical grafting and primary donor-site closure are performed.
National Reimbursement Benchmarks
National averages place Blue Cross Blue Shield’s commercial mean ($2,223.30) and BUCA’s mean ($1,689.50) well above Medicare’s average ($902.20), with Blue Cross Blue Shield exceeding Medicare by $1,321.10 and BUCA exceeding Medicare by $787.30. That spread highlights material commercial-to-Medicare market separation for CPT 15200, with Blue Cross Blue Shield representing the upper-commercial bound among the listed payers and Medicare centered near the lower-middle of the range.
Dispersion measured as the interquartile range (P75 minus P25) is widest for Blue Cross Blue Shield at $1,978.70 and notably wide for UnitedHealth Group at $791.50, indicating substantial variability in negotiated commercial rates. The tightest spreads appear with Aetna at $537.30 and Cigna at $760.50, while BUCA’s IQR is $1,419.00 and Medicare’s IQR is $89.00, showing Medicare rates are much more compressed compared with many commercial payers.