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CPT code 61601: Skull base resection, anterior fossa, intradural2026 Medicare rate & RVUs

Reports removal of an intradural lesion involving the anterior cranial fossa, including dural repair, during complex skull-base surgery.

CMS RVU26DEffective Oct 1, 2026109 payment localities547 Medicare services in 2024

Medicare pays $2,400.52 for 61601 nationally in a facility.

Medicare rate · 61601

Skull base resection, anterior fossa, intradural

Office or facility?

Work RVUs
30.36
Total RVUs
71.87
Global days
090

National rate · 2026

$2,400.52

Facility setting, before claim adjustments.

See every locality for 61601 →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 61601 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 61601 covers

Neurosurgeons use this operation to remove a neoplastic, vascular, or infectious lesion involving the anterior cranial fossa from within the dura; dural repair is part of the service. A typical case may involve an olfactory-groove meningioma or another lesion extending into the anterior skull base. The procedure is performed in a hospital operating room and may involve another surgical specialty participating in the approach.

Choose the code based on the lesion’s anterior cranial fossa location and intradural operative work, not simply its diagnosis. The operative report should establish the site, the lesion’s relationship to the dura, the resection performed, and dural repair. This major procedure has 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 is paid in full and other procedures are subject to the standard multiple procedure reduction. Assistant-at-surgery payment may be available; co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation. 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.

Where 61601 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

61601 office and facility rates by payment locality
Payment localityOfficeFacility
AlabamaUnavailable$2,103.88
AlaskaUnavailable$2,792.51
ArizonaUnavailable$2,312.44
ArkansasUnavailable$2,067.73
Atlanta, GAUnavailable$2,499.59
Austin, TXUnavailable$2,414.31
Bakersfield, CAUnavailable$2,358.51
Baltimore area, MDUnavailable$2,583.42
Beaumont, TXUnavailable$2,283.32
Brazoria, TXUnavailable$2,311.94

61601 rates by state

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

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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
61601 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 61601 rate is calculated

Each of 61601’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 · 61601

RVUs × geographic indexes × conversion factor

Office or facility?

Work30.36

30.36 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI

Practice expense29.56

29.56 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI

Malpractice11.95

11.95 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI

Adjusted RVUs

71.8700

Conversion factor

$33.4009

Medicare rate

$2,400.52

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

Payment rules and modifiers for 61601

61601 has a 90-day global period: related visits in that window are included in the surgery payment.

CMS payment indicators · 61601

Skull base resection, anterior fossa, intradural

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)2Permitted.
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 · 61601

Skull base resection, anterior fossa, intradural

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

61601 without 51 · national facility

$2,400.52

Skull base resection, anterior fossa, intradural

61601-51 · Second procedure: 50%

$1,200.26

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

61601 compared with similar codes

Compare codes · National

4 codes, side by side

Office or facility?

  • 61601

    Skull base resection, anterior fossa, intradural30.36 wRVU

    Not priced

  • 61600

    Skull base resection, anterior fossa, extradural29.26 wRVU

    Not priced

  • 61606

    Skull-base lesion resection, posterior fossa, extradural41 wRVU

    Not priced

  • 61608

    Cranial lesion resection, posterior fossa, intradural44.4 wRVU

    Not priced

How to choose

61600Skull base resectionAnterior fossa, extradural
Use 61601 for intradural anterior cranial fossa lesion work that includes dural repair; 61600 describes extradural work at that site.
61606Skull-base lesion resectionPosterior fossa, extradural
Both involve intradural lesion resection, but the operative site distinguishes them: anterior cranial fossa for 61601 and middle cranial fossa for 61606.
61608Cranial lesion resectionPosterior fossa, intradural
61608 is the intradural lesion-resection code for the posterior cranial fossa; 61601 is for the anterior cranial fossa.

Codes related to 61601

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

Codes related to 61601
CodeHow it relatesNational office range
Same family
61600Skull base resection, anterior fossa, extraduralAnterior cranial fossa sibling for extradural rather than intradural lesion work.No office rate
61605Skull-base resection, middle fossa, extraduralExtradural lesion resection in the middle cranial fossa.No office rate
61606Skull-base lesion resection, posterior fossa, extraduralIntradural lesion resection in the middle cranial fossa.No office rate
61608Cranial lesion resection, posterior fossa, intraduralIntradural lesion resection in the posterior cranial fossa.No office rate

61601 billing questions

How is 61601 distinguished from 61600?

61601 is for intradural work involving the anterior cranial fossa and includes dural repair. 61600 describes the corresponding extradural approach.

Does the code include dural repair?

Yes. Dural repair is part of the service represented by 61601, so it is not separately described as an additional repair within this code.

How does 61601 differ from 61606?

Both describe intradural cranial fossa lesion surgery, but 61601 applies to the anterior cranial fossa and 61606 to the middle cranial fossa.

What documentation supports reporting 61601?

Document the anterior cranial fossa site, the lesion’s intradural involvement, the resection performed, and dural repair. The operative report should make the location and extent of the skull-base work clear.

Can an assistant or co-surgeon be reported?

Assistant-at-surgery payment may be available. Co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation, and team surgery is permitted.

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 61601PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv, line 6,836 (RVU26D)

Open CMS sourceHow we calculate rates

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