Does Medicare Cover Mohs Surgery?

Skin cancer is, by a wide margin, the most common cancer in the United States — and Medicare-aged adults bear most of it. Decades of sun exposure catch up with people in their 60s, 70s, and 80s, which is exactly when basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas tend to show up on the face, ears, scalp, and hands. So when a dermatologist says the words “we’ll need to do Mohs,” a lot of people are hearing them for the first time, mid-diagnosis, with no idea what it’ll cost.

The good news is simple: Medicare covers Mohs surgery, and with a Medigap policy your out-of-pocket cost is usually small. The details worth understanding are what’s bundled into the procedure, how reconstruction is handled, and the one screening nuance that trips people up.

What Mohs surgery is

Mohs micrographic surgery is a precise technique for removing skin cancer. The surgeon removes the visible tumor plus a thin layer of surrounding tissue, then examines that tissue under a microscope during the procedure to map exactly where cancer cells remain. If any are found, the surgeon removes another thin layer only from that specific spot, and checks again — repeating until no cancer remains.

The payoff is two things at once: an exceptionally high cure rate (often 97–99% for common skin cancers) and the smallest possible wound, because healthy tissue is spared. That combination is why Mohs is the standard for cancers in high-stakes locations — the face, ears, nose, lips, eyelids, hands, feet, and genitals — where both getting all the cancer and preserving healthy tissue matter enormously.

How Medicare covers it

Mohs surgery is covered under Medicare Part B as a medically necessary outpatient surgical treatment for skin cancer. Coverage applies when Mohs is the medically appropriate technique given the cancer’s type, size, and location — which is the case for most facial and other high-risk skin cancers.

Your costs in 2026:

• Part B deductible: $257 (if not already met for the year)
• 20% coinsurance on the Medicare-approved amount after the deductible
• Medigap: if you have a supplement like Plan G or Plan N, it covers the 20% coinsurance, typically leaving you owing little or nothing beyond the deductible

The Medicare-approved amount for Mohs varies with the number of stages (how many rounds of removal-and-check are needed) and the complexity of the case. A straightforward single-stage procedure costs less than a multi-stage case with extensive reconstruction. In rough terms, your 20% share might run $150–$500 without Medigap — and effectively $0 with it.

If you’re on a Medicare Advantage plan, Mohs is still covered (MA must cover what Original Medicare covers), but you’ll pay the plan’s copay or coinsurance, subject to the plan’s annual out-of-pocket maximum, and you generally need an in-network dermatologic surgeon.

What’s bundled in — and what bills separately

A few components make up the full Mohs episode, and it helps to know how each is handled:

The tumor removal and on-site pathology. This is the core of Mohs and is covered as a unit. The microscopic examination during surgery — the thing that distinguishes Mohs from ordinary excision — is built into the procedure, not billed as a separate lab fee.

The reconstruction (wound closure). Once the cancer is out, the wound has to be closed. For small wounds, the Mohs surgeon stitches it directly. For larger ones, especially on the face, closure may require a skin flap or graft, sometimes performed by a separate plastic or oculoplastic surgeon. Either way, reconstruction is covered under Part B as part of medically necessary treatment, with the same 20% coinsurance. If a second surgeon does the closure, they bill separately — but it’s still covered.

Diagnosis and biopsies. The initial biopsy that confirmed the skin cancer, and any additional pathology, are covered under Part B as well.

So the full arc — diagnosis, removal, on-site mapping, and reconstruction — is covered. The main variable in your final bill is how many stages and how much reconstruction the case required.

The screening nuance that confuses people

Here’s the one place Medicare draws a line. Medicare does not cover routine, whole-body skin cancer screening for people with no symptoms — a preventive full-skin exam “just to check” isn’t a covered benefit on its own.

But Medicare does cover the evaluation of a suspicious lesion. If you notice a changing mole, a sore that won’t heal, a new or growing spot, or a bleeding lesion — and you see a dermatologist about it — that’s a diagnostic visit, and it’s covered under Part B. The dermatologist examining and biopsying a concerning spot is covered; the once-a-year “look me over everywhere” exam generally isn’t.

The practical takeaway: if something on your skin looks or feels wrong, see a dermatologist. That visit is covered, the biopsy is covered, and if it turns out to be cancer, the Mohs surgery is covered. The system covers the path from “this spot worries me” all the way through treatment — it just doesn’t cover the symptom-free annual scan.

Why this matters for the Medicare population

Because skin cancer is so common in older adults and so frequently appears on the face, the combination of high incidence and high-stakes location means a lot of Medicare beneficiaries will need Mohs at some point. The reassuring reality is that it’s well-covered, the cure rates are excellent, and with a Medigap policy the financial impact is minimal.

If you’ve been told you need Mohs surgery:

1. Confirm your dermatologic surgeon accepts Medicare (most do).
2. If you have Medigap, expect to owe little beyond the Part B deductible.
3. If you’re on Medicare Advantage, verify the surgeon is in-network and ask about your copay.
4. Ask whether reconstruction will be done by the Mohs surgeon or a separate specialist, so you know who’ll bill you.

For more on the dermatology visits and biopsies that lead up to a Mohs procedure, see our dermatology coverage page.