AW HCPCS Level II modifier: Item furnished in conjunction with a surgical dressing
AW is a HCPCS Level II modifier: “Item furnished in conjunction with a surgical dressing.” It adds this detail to the code it is reported with.
Official description
AWItem furnished in conjunction with a surgical dressing
Short description: Item w a surgical dressing
HCPCS · United States
Medicare details
The indicators CMS publishes with AW in its October 2026 file. They describe Medicare’s handling, not another payer’s.
- Medicare coverage
- Carrier judgment
- Added
- Jan 1, 2003
Where AW sits
- 1GroupHCPCS modifiers
- 2Modifier AWItem furnished in conjunction with a surgical dressing
Source and release
- Data release
- HCPCS Level II · October 2026
- Effective date
- Oct 1, 2026
- Publisher
- CMS
This page is built from the HCPCS Level II catalog that Vero Codes reads when it suggests codes: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’s October 2026 release, imported from the publisher’s file and checked against it. The description, notes and structured data come from the same record.
Frequently asked questions
What does HCPCS code AW mean?
AW is the HCPCS code for “Item furnished in conjunction with a surgical dressing” in CMS’s HCPCS Level II October 2026 release.
Where is AW in the HCPCS Level II list?
AW is listed under Modifiers.
Does Medicare cover AW?
CMS lists AW’s Medicare coverage as “Carrier judgment”. Coverage and payment still depend on the patient, the setting, the documentation and the payer.
Which HCPCS Level II release does this page use?
It uses CMS’s October 2026 release, in effect from Oct 1, 2026 to Dec 31, 2026. It is a reference: confirm the code against the current list and the payer’s rules before you submit it.
Codes beside AW
All modifiersAQPhysician providing a service in an unlisted health professional shortage area (hpsa)ARPhysician provider services in a physician scarcity areaASPhysician assistant, nurse practitioner, or clinical nurse specialist services for assistant at surgeryATAcute treatment (this modifier should be used when reporting service 98940, 98941, 98942)AUItem furnished in conjunction with a urological, ostomy, or tracheostomy supplyAVItem furnished in conjunction with a prosthetic device, prosthetic or orthoticAXItem furnished in conjunction with dialysis servicesAYItem or service furnished to an esrd patient that is not for the treatment of esrdAZPhysician providing a service in a dental health professional shortage area for the purpose of an electronic health record incentive paymentBAItem furnished in conjunction with parenteral enteral nutrition (pen) servicesBLSpecial acquisition of blood and blood productsBOOrally administered nutrition, not by feeding tube