CPT 17003: Destruction of Premalignant Lesions, Add-On (2–14 Lesions)
CPT code 17003 designates an add-on procedure for the destruction of premalignant skin lesions beyond the first lesion treated in the same encounter. Specifically, it applies to the second through the fourteenth lesion, with each unit representing a single lesion destroyed by methods such as chemosurgery, cryosurgery, electrosurgery, or similar techniques. This code matters nationally because it standardizes billing for multi-lesion destruction encounters commonly performed in dermatology and procedural dermatology settings, impacting reimbursement workflows and claims processing for high-volume lesion treatments.
Key payers evaluated include Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna Health, United Healthcare, and Medicare. Readers will gain a concise overview of the code’s clinical scope, typical sites of service, and how it relates to first-lesion and 15-or-more-lesion codes. The publication outlines coding relationships and common clinical scenarios where 17003 is appropriate, highlights payer coverage considerations, and summarizes operational implications for billing multiple lesions in a single visit. The content is intended to support billing, coding, and revenue cycle teams in ensuring accurate unit reporting and aligning clinical documentation with the correct add-on billing sequence for premalignant lesion destruction.
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Billing Code Overview
CPT code 17003 describes an add-on destruction procedure for premalignant skin lesions. This code is used when a provider destroys the second through the fourteenth premalignant lesion during the same patient encounter, with one unit representing a single lesion. Techniques include chemosurgery, cryosurgery, electrosurgery, or other destructive methods.
Service Type: Destruction of premalignant integumentary lesions (add-on)
Typical Site of Service: Outpatient dermatology clinic, ambulatory surgical center, or physician office
National Reimbursement Benchmarks
Medicare’s mean rate of $6.6 sits substantially below BUCA’s average commercial mean of $45.9, indicating a large gulf between government and average commercial reimbursements for CPT 17003. That gap reflects different pricing dynamics: Medicare’s payments are tightly clustered across its 47 localities (P25 $6, P50 $6, P75 $7), while BUCA’s commercial mean aligns with much higher midpoints (P25 $33.1, P50 $43.5, P75 $58), underscoring how commercial contracts can drive materially higher average rates than Medicare.
Looking at dispersion measured as P75–P25, Aetna’s range is $38.9, Blue Cross Blue Shield’s is $30.9, BUCA’s is $24.9, Cigna’s is $6.5, and UnitedHealth Group’s is $6.0. Aetna and Blue Cross Blue Shield exhibit the widest spread, indicating greater variability in commercial pricing, while UnitedHealth Group and Cigna are the tightest, reflecting more compressed commercial rate distributions.