CPT code 61501: Craniectomy, infected skull bone2026 Medicare rate & RVUs in California

CMS doesn’t publish an office rate for 61501 in California.

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

What 61501 covers

A neurosurgeon reports this service when surgery removes and debrides skull bone involved in osteomyelitis. The operation is generally performed in a hospital operating room; the operative target is infected bone, not a brain lesion or an abscess within the brain. The surgeon’s note should identify the skull site, describe the extent of involved bone removed and document the osteomyelitis being treated.

Select this code based on the operative diagnosis and work performed, not merely on a history of skull infection or drainage of nearby soft tissue. It is a major surgery with a 90-day global period, including the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care. When multiple procedures are performed in the same session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and other procedures are subject to the standard 50% multiple-procedure reduction. Modifier 50 is inappropriate for this code. 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.

Where 61501 pays more and less in California

The same RVUs, adjusted for each area’s costs. Open a locality for its calculation, history and nearby areas.

29 of 29 payment localities

How the 61501 rate is calculated

Each of 61501’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 61501

61501 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

61501 compared with similar codes

How to choose

61500Skull lesion excisionCraniectomy approach

Choose 61501 for osteomyelitis involving skull bone. Choose 61500 when the operative indication is excision of a skull tumor or other bone lesion.

61514Brain abscess surgerySupratentorial

61514 concerns surgery for a brain abscess. This code concerns removal and debridement of infected skull bone.

61522Brain abscess removalInfratentorial

61522 is another brain-abscess operation, not a code for osteomyelitis confined to skull bone.

Codes related to 61501

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

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