Is skin cancer removal surgery covered by insurance?
Almost always yes. Once a biopsy confirms skin cancer, cutting it out is medically necessary and plans pay for it. Code 11602 covers a cancer removed from the trunk, arm, or leg where the lesion plus the healthy margin around it measures 1.1 to 2.0 centimeters. The surprises here are the extra lines, not the coverage.
Almost always
Covered once pathology confirms it
Size with margins
The billed size is the cancer plus the healthy margin around it, measured before cutting. That is why the code often lands higher than the consult suggested.
Three bills
One surgery can produce the removal, a separate closure line, and a pathology charge under 88305. Patients call about the second and the third.
10 day global
Suture removal and routine wound checks in the ten days after surgery are included. They post as 99024 at no cost, which surprises patients expecting a bill.
Deductible reality
This is surgery, so a patient with a full deductible owes real money. One check shows the amount left before the surgery date is set.
What would a real check show for this patient's 11602?
Pick a sample plan and type your fee. This is the visibility a real-time check gives the desk for every actual patient, in under a second.
Eligibility readout · 11602
Sample- Coverage
- Active, $40 copay, referral approved
- Frequency
- No limit, referral required for the specialist
- Patient share
- Type your fee to see it
Estimate from a sample plan. A real check reads the actual plan in under a second.
When 11602 is the right code
- Pathology confirms the lesion is cancer
- The site is trunk, arm, or leg
- Cancer plus margins measures 1.1 to 2.0 cm
- Excised whole, not shaved or destroyed
Documentation payers expect
Payers expect the pathology report, the measured size including margins, and the exact site. If a second wider removal follows, the note has to say why the first margins were not clear.
Why a skin cancer excision gets denied
What lands on the bill after surgery
The specimen goes to pathology, so a second bill arrives weeks later under 88305, sometimes from an outside lab with its own network status. If the wound needed layers, 12032 or 13101 shows up as its own line and doubles what the patient expected. Routine follow up inside ten days is bundled into the surgery and shows on the record as 99024. If margins are not clear, a second removal or Mohs, 17313, follows and the deductible math starts over. Checking benefits first keeps that conversation calm.
11602, quick answers
Is skin cancer removal ever called cosmetic?
No. Once pathology confirms cancer, removal is medically necessary. Cosmetic questions only come up on benign growths.
Does Medicare cover 11602?
Yes, Medicare covers removing a biopsy proven skin cancer. It carries a ten day global period, so a routine wound check in that window is bundled and nothing is owed for it.
Why is there a separate line for the closure?
Because a layered or complex closure is its own service. A plain stitch line is already inside the removal fee and never bills on its own.
Why did the code change after the surgery?
Coding follows the measured size including margins and the final pathology, and that is often larger than what was described at the consult.
What if the doctor has to go back in?
A second removal for clear margins is usually covered, but it needs its own documentation and modifier. Recheck the deductible before that second surgery goes on the schedule.
More questions? Schedule 15 minutes with us and bring your toughest plan.
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Related: 11402 · 17262 · 17313
CPT is a registered trademark of the American Medical Association. This page is Valian's own plain-English summary for front-desk teams, not official CPT descriptor text, and is not billing or clinical advice. Coverage patterns are common plan behaviors; every plan differs. Verify benefits before the visit.