CPT 15260 · professional fee

Fth/gft fr n/e/e/l 20 sqcm/< (CPT 15260): negotiated rates by payer and state

Q: Which payer has the highest median rate for CPT 15260?

In the files we analyzed, UnitedHealthcare, at a median of $1,209 across 3,645 sampled providers. Aetna is lowest at $897, 35% lower than the highest.

Q: How does the commercial rate compare with Medicare?

The national median is 108% of the 2026 Medicare non-facility rate of $1,001.02.

Q: Which state has the highest median for CPT 15260?

Alaska has the highest median at $2,580; Florida has the lowest at $808.

Q: Is this the surgeon, physician or facility payment?

These are professional (physician) fees only. Facility, device and implant payments are priced separately and are not included.

Q: How current is this data?

It is the August 2026 snapshot of each payer's in-network rate file. Sources and filters are listed in the methodology below.

What UnitedHealthcare, Aetna, Cigna and Blue Cross Blue Shield pay for CPT 15260, from their published in-network rate files.

DermatologySnapshot Aug 2026Professional fee only

National summary

Commercial in-network, four payers combined, professional fee

Median rate

$1,078

P10 to P90: $772 to $2,221

vs Medicare

108%

non-facility rate $1,001.02

Payer spread

1.35×

UHC $1,209 vs Aetna $897

State spread

3.2×

AK $2,580 to FL $808

4,283 sampled providers5,624 TINs51 statesSample-based · how this is calculated

What the data shows

Generated from this code's own numbers

UnitedHealthcare has the highest median for CPT 15260 in the files analyzed, at $1,209, 35% above Aetna ($897), the lowest of the 4 payers shown.

The state spread is 3.2×: Alaska has the highest median at $2,580 and Florida the lowest at $808, a gap larger than the gap between the highest and lowest payer.

Commercial rates run 108% of the Medicare non-facility rate ($1,001.02), which ranks 181st of 228 tracked codes by commercial-to-Medicare ratio.

Rates are tightest within Aetna (interquartile range $291) and widest within UnitedHealthcare ($894).

This is a top-19 code for dermatology by Medicare allowed dollars, so it carries real revenue weight for that specialty.

Rates by payer

Median of per-provider median rates, with interquartile range

Payer	Median	P25	P75	vs national	Rank	Providers	Position
UnitedHealthcare	$1,209	$969	$1,863	+12%	1	3,645	121% of Medicare
Blue Cross Blue Shield	$1,142	$952	$1,445	+6%	2	3,335	114% of Medicare
Cigna	$1,068	$862	$1,502	-1%	3	3,534	107% of Medicare
Aetna	$897	$801	$1,092	-17%	4	2,735	90% of Medicare

Rate distribution

Box = P25 to P75, whiskers = P10 to P90, tick = median, dashed line = Medicare non-facility ($1,001.02)

Rates by state

Median across payers · 50 states with enough data

Rank	State	Median	vs national	Highest payer	Lowest payer	Providers
1	Alaska	$2,580	+139%	n/a	n/a	16
2	Wisconsin	$2,200	+104%	BCBS	Aetna	103
3	Nebraska	$1,965	+82%	Cigna	BCBS	48
4	South Dakota	$1,822	+69%	UHC	BCBS	37
5	Oregon	$1,721	+60%	UHC	Aetna	108
6	North Dakota	$1,706	+58%	n/a	n/a	24
7	Massachusetts	$1,649	+53%	Cigna	Aetna	116
8	New Hampshire	$1,626	+51%	UHC	Aetna	78
9	Georgia	$1,597	+48%	UHC	Aetna	115
10	Minnesota	$1,507	+40%	BCBS	Aetna	116
11	Iowa	$1,445	+34%	Cigna	BCBS	63
12	Maine	$1,398	+30%	UHC	Aetna	41
13	Washington	$1,376	+28%	UHC	Aetna	106
14	Montana	$1,333	+24%	UHC	BCBS	42
15	Hawaii	$1,301	+21%	Cigna	UHC	41
16	Mississippi	$1,298	+20%	BCBS	UHC	55
17	Idaho	$1,297	+20%	BCBS	UHC	46
18	Vermont	$1,200	+11%	UHC	BCBS	21
19	Illinois	$1,183	+10%	UHC	BCBS	113
20	Connecticut	$1,164	+8%	UHC	Aetna	109
21	Kansas	$1,143	+6%	Cigna	Aetna	73
22	Michigan	$1,124	+4%	BCBS	Aetna	108
23	Colorado	$1,119	+4%	UHC	Aetna	125
24	New Mexico	$1,100	+2%	UHC	Aetna	33
25	New York	$1,077	-0%	UHC	Aetna	107
26	West Virginia	$1,060	-2%	Cigna	UHC	31
27	Rhode Island	$1,057	-2%	UHC	Aetna	48
28	Utah	$1,052	-2%	Cigna	Aetna	113
29	Oklahoma	$1,029	-5%	BCBS	Aetna	80
30	Texas	$1,010	-6%	UHC	Aetna	134
31	Nevada	$1,002	-7%	BCBS	Aetna	65
32	Tennessee	$998	-7%	UHC	Aetna	123
32	North Carolina	$998	-7%	BCBS	Aetna	125
34	Missouri	$996	-8%	UHC	Aetna	118
35	Delaware	$995	-8%	UHC	Aetna	18
36	Pennsylvania	$990	-8%	UHC	Aetna	117
37	Ohio	$977	-9%	UHC	Aetna	115
37	Arkansas	$977	-9%	UHC	Aetna	65
39	Louisiana	$973	-10%	UHC	Cigna	129
40	Virginia	$969	-10%	UHC	BCBS	121
41	California	$958	-11%	UHC	BCBS	98
42	District of Columbia	$949	-12%	BCBS	Cigna	36
43	Alabama	$929	-14%	BCBS	Aetna	131
44	South Carolina	$914	-15%	BCBS	Aetna	107
45	Maryland	$906	-16%	UHC	BCBS	108
46	Indiana	$906	-16%	UHC	Aetna	116
47	Kentucky	$860	-20%	UHC	Aetna	112
48	New Jersey	$854	-21%	BCBS	Aetna	99
49	Arizona	$850	-21%	UHC	BCBS	104
50	Florida	$808	-25%	UHC	Aetna	114

Frequently asked questions

Answers use this page's data

Which payer has the highest median rate for CPT 15260?

In the files we analyzed, UnitedHealthcare, at a median of $1,209 across 3,645 sampled providers. Aetna is lowest at $897, 35% lower than the highest.

How does the commercial rate compare with Medicare?

The national median is 108% of the 2026 Medicare non-facility rate of $1,001.02.

Which state has the highest median for CPT 15260?

Alaska has the highest median at $2,580; Florida has the lowest at $808.

Is this the surgeon, physician or facility payment?

These are professional (physician) fees only. Facility, device and implant payments are priced separately and are not included.

How current is this data?

It is the August 2026 snapshot of each payer's in-network rate file. Sources and filters are listed in the methodology below.

Methodology

How these numbers are calculated

Source: in-network negotiated-rate files published under the federal Transparency in Coverage rule, August 2026 snapshot: UnitedHealthcare Choice plans (74 files); Aetna commercial plans (70 files); Cigna national PPO (1 files); BCBS licensees' own-network files (5,387 files). Payer comparisons describe these files, not each payer's entire book of business.
Sample: rates come from a random sample of up to 150 providers per state and specialty. Counts on this page are sampled providers and TINs, not totals.
Which providers count: only providers in a specialty relevant to the code, because a rate in a payer file attaches to a provider group and is listed under every provider in that group.
Filters: fee-for-service, professional billing class, no modifier, negotiated or fee-schedule dollar rates. Rates outside 1% to 1,000% of the Medicare rate are excluded.
Statistic: one median rate per provider, then percentiles across providers. A cell is shown only with at least 15 sampled providers and 4 TINs.
Medicare benchmark: CY2026 national physician fee schedule, non-QPP conversion factor, unadjusted for locality. Where the non-facility rate is more than twice the facility rate (office rates that include device or supply cost), the facility rate is used so comparisons are like for like.

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