Summary & Overview
HCPCS A6220: Sterile Large Gauze Pad Dressing
HCPCS Level II code A6220 identifies a sterile, non-impregnated gauze pad sized greater than 16 square inches and up to 48 square inches, billed per dressing. This supply-level code matters nationally because larger sterile dressings are commonly used across acute care, outpatient, and home health settings for post-surgical wounds, traumatic injuries, and chronic wound management. Proper classification affects supply reimbursement and claim adjudication for clinicians and durable medical equipment suppliers.
Key payers covered in this analysis include Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna, UnitedHealthcare, and Medicare. Readers will find a concise overview of coverage and billing considerations, typical sites of service and clinical contexts where the dressing is used, and common billing modifiers and service-line notes where available. The publication also summarizes benchmark elements and identifies where data is not provided.
This national-level brief is designed for billing professionals, clinicians involved in wound care, and policy analysts who need a clear statement of what A6220 represents, which payers are commonly relevant, and what components of reimbursement and documentation to review. Data not available in the input is noted where applicable.
Billing Code Overview
HCPCS Level II code A6220 describes a sterile, non-impregnated gauze pad with a pad size greater than 16 square inches and up to 48 square inches, sold as each dressing. The item is intended for wound care applications where a larger sterile pad is required to cover surgical sites, traumatic wounds, or pressure injuries.
Service type: Dressing supply for wound care
Typical site of service: Outpatient clinics, hospital outpatient departments, home health care, and other settings where sterile wound dressings are applied or supplied
Clinical & Coding Specifications
Clinical Context
A typical patient is a middle-aged adult presenting to an outpatient wound clinic or urgent care with a surgical or traumatic superficial wound requiring dressing. The clinician assesses wound size and chooses a sterile non-impregnated gauze pad larger than 16 square inches but no greater than 48 square inches with or without an adhesive border to cover the defect. The workflow includes wound cleansing, hemostasis if needed, measurement and documentation of wound dimensions, selection and application of A6220 dressing, patient education on dressing care and signs of infection, and scheduling follow-up or dressing change. This dressing is commonly used for post-surgical incisions, lacerations after primary closure, donor sites, large abrasions, or chronic wounds managed in clinics and skilled nursing facilities. Typical sites of service are outpatient clinic, urgent care, emergency department, and skilled nursing facility; administration is performed by surgeons, wound care nurses, physician assistants, or nurse practitioners depending on setting and procedure complexity.
Coding Specifications
| Modifier | Description | When to Use |
|---|---|---|
00 | No modifier — default status | Use when no specific modifier applies to the service. |