Skin Biopsy (Tangential) Cost in Missouri
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Missouri Medicare physician rate (2026)
-6.2% vs nationalAverage of 3 localities. Office range $85.52–$92.07.
Your ZIP in Missouri
Enter a ZIP code to see which Missouri locality covers you: metro St. Louis, metro Kansas City, or rest-of-state areas like Springfield, Columbia, Joplin, and the Bootheel.
What this number is
The figures on this page are 2026 Medicare physician allowed amounts for a specific CPT code: the professional fee, adjusted by geographic practice-cost indices. They are not a hospital chargemaster price, not your insurer's contracted rate, and not a quote. Hospital facility fees, anesthesia, implants, imaging reads, and pathology are billed separately when they apply. In Missouri the office and hospital physician lines for this CPT differ by $60.08.
National vs Missouri
Where Missouri ranks for this CPT
CPT 11102 by Missouri locality
| Locality | Office |
|---|---|
| metropolitan st. louis | $92.07 |
| metropolitan kansas city | $91.08 |
| rest of missouri | $85.52 |
PE GPCI ranges from 0.862 to 0.952 in Missouri. That index is why the same CPT is not one price statewide.
Skin Biopsy (Tangential) and how Missouri is priced
Missouri is a three-locality state: metropolitan St. Louis and metropolitan Kansas City are each priced separately, and everywhere else falls into a rest-of-state locality with lower geographic adjustments. Both metro localities approve higher amounts than outstate Missouri, and the Kansas City locality applies only to the Missouri side of that metro, since the Kansas side prices under Kansas's statewide locality. Springfield, Columbia, and the rural counties all share rest-of-state factors. The metro-versus-outstate gap is the main pricing story here.
St. Louis and Kansas City hold the state's academic medical centers and most of its specialty depth, drawing patients from far beyond Missouri's borders, including southern Illinois and eastern Kansas. Outstate Missouri is served by regional hubs in Springfield, Columbia, and Cape Girardeau, with the Ozarks and Bootheel among the harder places to reach specialty care. Rural hospital viability has been a persistent concern across the state.
This procedure: A tangential skin biopsy removes a thin shaving from the surface of a suspicious spot using a flexible blade, without cutting deep into the skin. It is the go-to technique when a dermatologist wants to test a raised or scaly lesion for skin cancer or another skin condition. The area is numbed with a small injection, the shave itself takes seconds, and no stitches are needed; the site heals like a scrape over one to two weeks.
What Is Skin Biopsy (Tangential)?
A tangential skin biopsy removes a thin shaving from the surface of a suspicious spot using a flexible blade, without cutting deep into the skin. It is the go-to technique when a dermatologist wants to test a raised or scaly lesion for skin cancer or another skin condition. The area is numbed with a small injection, the shave itself takes seconds, and no stitches are needed; the site heals like a scrape over one to two weeks.
What Affects the Cost
- The pathologist who examines the tissue under a microscope bills a separate professional fee, and that charge often exceeds the biopsy itself.
- Each additional lesion shaved at the same visit is billed with an add-on code (11103), so multiple spots multiply the cost.
- If the shave visit also includes a full skin exam, an office visit charge is typically billed alongside the biopsy.
- Special pathology stains or a second dermatopathologist opinion on an ambiguous mole add further lab charges.
- Hospital-owned dermatology clinics can add a facility fee that a private dermatology office would not charge.
Questions to Ask Before Booking
- 1.Which pathology lab will read my biopsy, and is it in my insurance network?
- 2.Roughly what does the pathology reading cost in addition to the biopsy fee?
- 3.If you biopsy more than one spot today, how does that change my bill?
- 4.Will today's skin check be billed as a separate office visit on top of the biopsy?
- 5.Is this being coded as medically necessary rather than cosmetic?
Other featured procedures in Missouri
Skin Biopsy (Tangential) in other states
Skin Biopsy (Tangential) in Missouri: questions
How much does skin biopsy (tangential) cost in Missouri?
The 2026 Medicare physician office rate for CPT 11102 averages $89.56 across 3 Missouri localities, from $85.52 in REST OF MISSOURI to $92.07 in METROPOLITAN ST. LOUIS. The hospital physician rate averages $29.48. Enter a ZIP for the exact locality.
Does the rate change inside Missouri?
Yes. CMS splits Missouri into 3 payment localities. For this CPT the office physician fee spans $6.55 from the lowest to highest locality. Enter a ZIP code to see which Missouri locality covers you: metro St. Louis, metro Kansas City, or rest-of-state areas like Springfield, Columbia, Joplin, and the Bootheel.
What will a Medicare patient owe for the physician fee?
After the Part B deductible, coinsurance is usually 20% of the allowed amount: about $18 for the office physician line or $6 for the hospital physician line in Missouri. Medigap may cover that 20%. This is not the hospital facility fee.
Is this the full skin biopsy (tangential) bill in Missouri?
No. $89.56 is the Medicare physician allowed amount for CPT 11102. Anesthesia, facility fees, implants, and other CPT codes billed the same day are extra. Missouri ranks #15 of 51 states on this physician line (6% below the national office rate of $95.53).