CPT code 61596: Skull base approach, transcochlear posterior fossa2026 Medicare rate & RVUs in Utah

In Utah, Medicare pays $2,033.37 for 61596 in a facility. There’s no office rate.

Check a contract rate as a % of Medicare · 61596 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 61596 covers

This approach reaches the posterior cranial fossa through the temporal bone and cochlear region. The exposure includes mastoid work, removal of petrous bone, and posterior transposition of the facial nerve. It is used by skull base teams, typically involving an otologist or neurotologist and a neurosurgeon, to access lesions near the clivus, petrous apex, or ventral brainstem. The route is selected when the required exposure calls for this specific transcochlear corridor rather than a transtemporal or transpetrosal route.

Report the approach based on the operative route and documented work, not just the lesion’s location. The approach includes its described exposure steps; document the facial nerve transposition and bony work performed. Report the definitive lesion procedure separately when supported by the applicable CPT instructions. CMS classifies this as major surgery with a 90-day global period, including the day-before preoperative visit and related postoperative care. When multiple procedures are performed in one session, the highest-valued is paid in full and others at 50%. For a bilateral procedure reported with modifier 50, CMS pays at 150%. Assistant-at-surgery payment may be available; co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation, and team surgery is 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 Utah compares for 61596

Across 109 of 109 payment localities, the facility rate for 61596 runs from $1,911.62 in Arkansas to $2,687.75 in Alaska. Utah pays $2,033.37. The RVUs are the same everywhere; the geographic indexes change the dollars.

Every other payment area

61596 rates by state

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

See 61596 in every payment locality

How the 61596 rate is calculated

Each of 61596’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 61596

61596 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 50

Codes related to 61596

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

How 61596 has changed in Utah

Price 61596 for an earlier date of service

Where the Utah rate applies

Utah is a Medicare payment area, not a city. Our Census mapping connects it to 334 cities and communities in Utah. Some span more than one payment area; confirm with the service ZIP.

• Alpine
• Alta
• Altamont
• Alton
• Amalga
• American Fork
• Aneth
• Annabella

Browse all communities in Utah

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