CPT code 61321: Abscess drainage, infratentorial approach2026 Medicare rate & RVUs in Tennessee

In Tennessee, Medicare pays $1,815.07 for 61321 in a facility. There’s no office rate.

Check a contract rate as a % of Medicare · 61321 nationwide

Medicare allowed amount for participating (non-QP) physicians, before deductible, coinsurance and claim adjustments. Not a patient’s bill or a hospital charge.

What 61321 covers

A neurosurgeon uses a craniotomy or craniectomy to reach and drain an abscess in the infratentorial compartment, which includes the posterior fossa and cerebellum. The operation is typically performed in a hospital operating room for a patient with an intracranial infection requiring open surgical drainage. This code distinguishes infratentorial abscess drainage from drainage of a supratentorial abscess.

Select the code based on the abscess location and the procedure performed, not merely on the incision site or the presence of infection. The operative report should identify the infratentorial target and document surgical drainage. The service has a 90-day global period, including the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care. When multiple procedures occur in the same session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and others at 50%. Modifier 50 is inappropriate. Assistant-at-surgery payment may be available; co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation, and team surgery is not permitted.

This summary was written with AI assistance from CMS physician fee schedule data and checked against the CMS billing rules shown here. Rates on this page come directly from CMS files.

How Tennessee compares for 61321

Across 109 of 109 payment localities, the facility rate for 61321 runs from $1,750.92 in Wisconsin to $2,738.49 in Miami, FL. Tennessee pays $1,815.07. The RVUs are the same everywhere; the geographic indexes change the dollars.

Every other payment area

61321 rates by state

Office rate range in each state. Select a state to see its payment localities.

See 61321 in every payment locality

How the 61321 rate is calculated

Each of 61321’s three RVUs is multiplied by a geographic index (GPCI) for the payment locality, added up, and multiplied by the conversion factor. Drag the indexes or enter a ZIP to see what moves the rate.

Payment rules and modifiers for 61321

61321 has a 90-day global period: related visits in that window are included in the surgery payment.

What modifiers do to the payment

When to use modifier 51

Codes related to 61321

Related codes aren’t interchangeable: bill the code that matches the service performed.

How 61321 has changed in Tennessee

Price 61321 for an earlier date of service

Where the Tennessee rate applies

Tennessee is a Medicare payment area, not a city. Our Census mapping connects it to 504 cities and communities in Tennessee. Some span more than one payment area; confirm with the service ZIP.

• Adams
• Adamsville
• Alamo
• Alcoa
• Alexandria
• Algood
• Allardt
• Altamont

Browse all communities in Tennessee

Where these rates come from

FeeBase calculates base physician payments from CMS work, practice-expense and malpractice RVUs, adjusted by each locality’s geographic indexes and the conversion factor. Services without a published rate are labeled, never given a made-up amount. Amounts are Medicare allowed amounts before claim adjustments: not a patient’s bill or a commercial rate.

CMS RVU26D · effective Oct 1, 2026 through the day before Jan 1, 2027

Open CMS sourceHow we calculate rates