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Blue Cross & Blue Shield of MississippiAll Plans · Coverage · Medical Policy · DermatologyMedium impact

Chemical Peels

Effective date
Not stated in the notice
Identified
Jun 20, 2026

Summary

Epidermal chemical peels used to treat photo-aged skin, wrinkles, or acne scarring are considered cosmetic, and dermal chemical peels used as a treatment of end-stage acne scarring are considered cosmetic. Dermal chemical peels used to treat individuals with more than 10 actinic keratoses or other premalignant skin lesions, where treating each lesion becomes impractical, may be considered medically necessary. Epidermal chemical peels used to treat individuals with active acne that has failed a trial of topical and/or oral antibiotic therapy are considered medically necessary, using superficial peels with 40%-70% alpha hydroxy acids as comedolytic therapy.

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What to do

Action · 4 steps
01Requests for all chemical peels should be carefully evaluated to determine whether the rationale is primarily cosmetic.
02Peels for active acne are medically necessary only after failure of a trial of topical and/or oral antibiotic acne therapy, and dermal peels for actinic keratoses are medically necessary only with more than 10 lesions where individual treatment becomes impractical.
03Documentation must support medical necessity, because BCBSMS makes no payment for services that are not documented to be Medically Necessary.
04Any listed acne treatment that does not involve the face is considered not medically necessary.

Codes mentioned

1578815789157921579317360D48.5L57.0L73.0

Original notice

Chemical Peels
bcbsms.com · Always check the source before changing claims.
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Related changes

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Related policy hubs

Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Mississippi policiesDermatologyCode 15788Code 15789Code 15792Code 15793Code 17360Code D48.5Code L57.0Code L73.0

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