Closure Following Mohs Surgery

Question:

If a patient is referred to a plastic surgeon after a Mohs surgeon performs a Mohs procedure, to perform a complex repair, do I need to add a modifier to the plastic surgeon's repair code?

Answer:

Thank you for your question. You do not need a modifier on the plastic surgeon’s repair code when the Mohs surgeon and the repairing surgeon are different specialties.

When two different physicians perform services on the same day, Medicare and most commercial payers treat them as separate providers, each with their own global surgical package. Because of that:

• The Mohs surgeon bills the Mohs codes (17311–17315).

• The plastic surgeon bills the appropriate repair code (simple, intermediate, complex, flap, graft, etc.).

• No modifier (e.g., -58, -59, -79) is required because there is no global period conflict between two different physicians.

This is consistent with standard Mohs billing guidance, which states that repairs performed by a different provider are billed normally and not considered part of the Mohs surgeon’s global package.

*This response is based on the best information available as of 09/03/26.