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CPT code 61516: Cyst excision, supratentorial2026 Medicare rate & RVUs

Reports neurosurgical removal of a cyst above the tentorium using cranial access, when the operative target and procedure match this service.

CMS RVU26DEffective Oct 1, 2026109 payment localities90 Medicare services in 2024

Medicare pays $1,822.02 for 61516 nationally in a facility.

Medicare rate · 61516

Cyst excision, supratentorial

Office or facility?

Work RVUs
25.92
Total RVUs
54.55
Global days
090

National rate · 2026

$1,822.02

Facility setting, before claim adjustments.

See every locality for 61516 →Billed by an NP, PA or therapist? →

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

Your location

Medicare pays by the payment locality where the service is performed.

On this page 10 sections
  1. Medicare rate
  2. What 61516 covers
  3. By payment locality
  4. Rate map
  5. How it’s calculated
  6. Payment rules
  7. Similar codes
  8. Related codes
  9. Billing questions
  10. Sources

What 61516 covers

A neurosurgeon uses a cranial opening, created by trephination or craniectomy, to reach and excise a cyst located in the supratentorial compartment. The service is generally performed in an operating room under anesthesia, most often in a hospital facility. The code is specific to cyst excision; the diagnosis and operative findings should support a cyst rather than a tumor, meningioma, or abscess.

Select the code from the documented target and its location, not simply from the fact that a craniotomy was performed. The operative report should identify the cyst, establish its supratentorial location, and describe the excision and approach. The 90-day global period includes the day-before preoperative visit and related postoperative care through 90 days. 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% reduction. Modifier 50 is inappropriate for this service. 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 61516 pays more and less

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

109 of 109 payment localities

61516 office and facility rates by payment locality
Payment localityOfficeFacility
AlabamaUnavailable$1,590.81
AlaskaUnavailable$2,131.29
ArizonaUnavailable$1,751.54
ArkansasUnavailable$1,562.86
Atlanta, GAUnavailable$1,906.78
Austin, TXUnavailable$1,817.05
Bakersfield, CAUnavailable$1,754.27
Baltimore area, MDUnavailable$1,964.95
Beaumont, TXUnavailable$1,742.82
Brazoria, TXUnavailable$1,744.08

61516 rates by state

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

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Explore a state

Local rates. Clear comparisons.

Hover or focus a tile to see its rate range. Select it to open the state’s fee schedule.

View every state and territory as a table
61516 office rate range by state
State / territoryOffice rate rangeLocalities
AKNo published base rate1
ALNo published base rate1
ARNo published base rate1
AZNo published base rate1
CANo published base rate29
CONo published base rate1
CTNo published base rate1
DCNo published base rate1
DENo published base rate1
FLNo published base rate3
GANo published base rate2
GUNo published base rate1
HINo published base rate1
IANo published base rate1
IDNo published base rate1
ILNo published base rate4
INNo published base rate1
KSNo published base rate1
KYNo published base rate1
LANo published base rate2
MANo published base rate2
MDNo published base rate3
MENo published base rate2
MINo published base rate2
MNNo published base rate1
MONo published base rate3
MSNo published base rate1
MTNo published base rate1
NCNo published base rate1
NDNo published base rate1
NENo published base rate1
NHNo published base rate1
NJNo published base rate2
NMNo published base rate1
NVNo published base rate1
NYNo published base rate5
OHNo published base rate1
OKNo published base rate1
ORNo published base rate2
PANo published base rate2
PRNo published base rate1
RINo published base rate1
SCNo published base rate1
SDNo published base rate1
TNNo published base rate1
TXNo published base rate8
UTNo published base rate1
VANo published base rate2
VINo published base rate1
VTNo published base rate1
WANo published base rate2
WINo published base rate1
WVNo published base rate1
WYNo published base rate1

How the 61516 rate is calculated

Each of 61516’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.

How the rate is built · 61516

RVUs × geographic indexes × conversion factor

Office or facility?

Work25.92

25.92 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI

Practice expense17.81

17.81 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI

Malpractice10.82

10.82 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI

Adjusted RVUs

54.5500

Conversion factor

$33.4009

Medicare rate

$1,822.02

Every GPCI starts at 1.000, the national rate. Enter a ZIP or drag a slider.

Payment rules and modifiers for 61516

61516 has a 90-day global period: related visits in that window are included in the surgery payment.

CMS payment indicators · 61516

Cyst excision, supratentorial

RuleCMS valueWhat it means
Global period090Major surgery: the day before, the day of, and 90 days after are included.
Multiple procedures2Standard reduction: highest-valued procedure at 100%, others at 50%.
Bilateral (modifier 50)0The 150% bilateral adjustment doesn’t apply.
Assistant at surgery (80/81/82/AS)2Paid.
Co-surgeons (62)1Permitted with supporting documentation.
Team surgery (66)0Not permitted.
Professional/technical0Physician service: no professional/technical split.
Split (54/55/56)0.11/0.76/0.13Share of the payment for pre-op, the procedure itself, and post-op care.

Global surgery period · 61516

Cyst excision, supratentorial

90-day global period ends

Dec 30, 2026

Covers Sep 30, 2026 through Dec 30, 2026 (92 days, including the day before surgery).

Visit on Oct 31, 2026

Day 30 of the 90-day post-op period: related follow-up care is included in the surgical payment.

  • 24Unrelated E/M visit by the same physician
  • 79Unrelated procedure (starts its own global period)
  • 58Staged, more extensive, or therapy procedure that was planned
  • 78Unplanned return to the operating room for a related complication
SurgeryVisit
Sep 23, 2026Jan 10, 2027

Pre-op dayGlobal period

What modifiers do to the payment

Modifier 51 · payment effect

With and without the modifier

61516 without 51 · national facility

$1,822.02

Cyst excision, supratentorial

61516-51 · Second procedure: 50%

$911.01

When this isn’t the highest-valued procedure in the session, Medicare pays 50% of its fee schedule amount (the highest is paid at 100%).

When to use modifier 51

61516 compared with similar codes

Compare codes · National

4 codes, side by side

Office or facility?

  • 61516

    Cyst excision, supratentorial25.92 wRVU

    Not priced

  • 61510

    Brain tumor excision, supratentorial, nonmeningioma30.06 wRVU

    Not priced

  • 61512

    Meningioma excision, supratentorial36.21 wRVU

    Not priced

  • 61514

    Brain abscess surgery, supratentorial26.55 wRVU

    Not priced

How to choose

61510Brain tumor excisionSupratentorial, nonmeningioma
61510 is for excision of a supratentorial brain tumor. Choose 61516 when the documented target is a cyst.
61512Meningioma excisionSupratentorial
61512 identifies excision of a supratentorial meningioma; 61516 identifies excision of a cyst.
61514Brain abscess surgerySupratentorial
61514 is for excision of a supratentorial brain abscess. A cyst, rather than an abscess, supports 61516.

Codes related to 61516

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

Codes related to 61516
CodeHow it relatesNational office range
Same family
61510Brain tumor excision, supratentorial, nonmeningiomaRelated supratentorial cranial excision service for a brain tumor rather than a cyst.No office rate
61512Meningioma excision, supratentorialRelated supratentorial cranial excision service for a meningioma.No office rate
61514Brain abscess surgery, supratentorialRelated supratentorial cranial excision service for a brain abscess.No office rate

61516 billing questions

How is this distinguished from 61510, 61512, or 61514?

Use 61516 when the operative target is a supratentorial cyst. The neighboring codes identify excision of a brain tumor, meningioma, or brain abscess, respectively.

Can the cranial opening be reported separately?

The cranial access is part of the cyst-excision service described by this code. Do not separately report that access as an independent procedure in the same operation.

What documentation supports 61516?

Document the cyst as the operative target, its supratentorial location, and the excision performed. The operative report should make clear that the service was not removal of a tumor, meningioma, or abscess.

How does the 90-day global period affect postoperative billing?

The day-before preoperative visit and related postoperative care during the 90 days after surgery are included in the global period.

Can modifier 50 be used, and may an assistant or co-surgeon be paid?

Modifier 50 is inappropriate for this service. Assistant-at-surgery payment may be available; co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation.

What happens when another procedure is performed in the same session?

The highest-valued procedure is paid in full, and other procedures in that session are subject to the standard multiple-procedure reduction.

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

Show the CMS file lines behind this rate
RVUs for 61516PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv, line 6,782 (RVU26D)

Open CMS sourceHow we calculate rates

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