Is a follow-up visit after skin surgery covered by insurance?
Yes, and there is usually nothing to pay. Code 99024 is the no charge visit after a skin procedure, used while the patient is still inside that surgery's global period, which runs ten days for most excisions and ninety days for flaps and grafts. It bills at zero because the surgery fee already covered it.
$0
Already paid inside the surgery fee
10 or 90 days
Most excisions and destructions carry a ten day global. Flaps and grafts carry ninety, so the free window is far longer than patients expect.
Zero dollars
The line bills at no charge. Patients often still see the visit on a statement, which is why front desks field calls about a bill that says zero.
New problem bills
A different complaint checked at that same visit is billed on its own with modifier 24, and that line does hit the deductible.
Biopsies are 0 day
A biopsy carries no global period, so the visit after one is a normal billable visit. Check the plan before that appointment, not after.
What would a real check show for this patient's 99024?
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 · 99024
Sample- Coverage
- Active, post surgery visit at no charge
- Frequency
- No limit inside the global period
- 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 99024 is the right code
- The visit falls inside the surgery's global period
- The reason relates to the original procedure
- The same practice or group performed the surgery
- Nothing new or unrelated was treated that day
Documentation payers expect
The note still has to document the visit like any other, with the date of the original surgery and the reason for the check. Medicare also requires some larger practices to report this code on claims for certain procedures.
Why post surgery visits get denied
What happens at the follow-up visit
Stitches come out, the site is checked, and nothing is charged. Two things break that calm. The pathology result can lead to a wider excision inside the global, which needs its own modifier to be paid at all. And if the patient mentions a new spot, that part of the visit bills separately with modifier 24 and lands on the deductible. Knowing where the patient stands with the plan before that day keeps the surprise off the statement.
99024, quick answers
Do I pay for the follow-up visit after skin surgery?
Usually nothing. Visits inside the global period are already paid for in the surgery fee and are reported as 99024 at no charge.
Why did I get a statement for a zero dollar visit?
Practices report the visit so the payer has a record of it. The line shows no charge, and there is nothing to pay.
How long does the free window last?
It depends on the original procedure. Most excisions and destructions carry ten days, flaps and grafts carry ninety, and biopsies carry none at all.
Does Medicare require this code?
Medicare requires practices with ten or more clinicians in nine states to report post surgery visits with 99024 for a defined list of procedures, and encourages voluntary reporting elsewhere. It pays nothing for the line either way.
When does a follow-up visit actually cost money?
When it is for something unrelated to the surgery, or when the original procedure had no global period. Those visits bill normally and hit the copay or deductible.
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Related: 99213 · 11602 · 14040
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.