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CPT 21183 — Reconstruct cranial bone

CPT code 21183 (Reconstruct cranial bone) carries 34.81 work RVUs under the CMS 2026 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule. Total RVUs are 60.08 in a non-facility setting and 60.08 in a facility setting, which at the 2026 conversion factor of $33.40 works out to $2,006.73 and $2,006.73 respectively.

34.81
Work RVU
60.08
Total RVU (non-facility)
$2,006.73
Medicare, non-facility
$2,006.73
Medicare, facility
Calculate your total wRVUs →

RVU breakdown for CPT 21183

ComponentRVUsWhat it covers
Work RVU34.81Physician time, skill, effort, and stress.
Practice expense RVU (non-facility)18.81Office overhead, staff, supplies.
Practice expense RVU (facility)0.0Overhead when performed in a hospital.
Malpractice RVU6.46Professional liability cost.
Total RVU (non-facility)60.08Work + non-facility PE + malpractice.
Total RVU (facility)60.08Work + facility PE + malpractice.

How Medicare payment is calculated

Medicare multiplies total RVUs by the annual conversion factor. For CPT 21183 in 2026:

SettingTotal RVUConversion factorNational payment
Non-facility60.08$33.40$2,006.73
Facility60.08$33.40$2,006.73

These are national amounts. Actual payment is adjusted by the Geographic Practice Cost Index for your locality — check yours with the GPCI lookup.

Billing rules for CPT 21183

Global period
90-day global — major surgery; 90 days of follow-up care included.
Multiple procedure reduction
Subject to the standard multiple-procedure reduction (100%/50%/50%…).
Bilateral surgery
Bilateral adjustment does not apply.
Assistant surgeon
Permitted.
Co-surgeon
Not permitted.
Team surgery
Not permitted unless documentation supports medical necessity.

Related codes

Codes in the same CMS family, with their work RVU values.

21155 · 34.34 wRVU21159 · 42.06 wRVU21160 · 46.01 wRVU21184 · 37.65 wRVU

Questions about CPT 21183

How many work RVUs is CPT 21183?

CPT 21183 is assigned 34.81 work RVUs in the CMS 2026 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule.

What does Medicare pay for CPT 21183?

At the 2026 national conversion factor of $33.40, CPT 21183 pays approximately $2,006.73 in a non-facility setting and $2,006.73 in a facility setting before geographic adjustment.

What is the global period for CPT 21183?

90-day global — major surgery; 90 days of follow-up care included.

RVU values reflect the CMS 2026 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (conversion factor $33.40). Payment figures are national and unadjusted for geography. Verify against the official fee schedule before using for billing.