CPT code 61618: Dural leak repair, cranial approach2026 Medicare rate & RVUs in Vermont

In Vermont, Medicare pays $1,114.08 for 61618 in a facility. There’s no office rate.

Check a contract rate as a % of Medicare · 61618 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 61618 covers

This service repairs a dural defect causing cerebrospinal fluid leakage through a cranial approach, commonly requiring surgical exposure such as a craniotomy. A neurosurgeon or skull-base surgeon may perform it in a hospital operating room for a leak that is not a consequence of skull-base surgery. The operative report should establish the leak, the cranial approach, and the repair performed.

Select this code based on the cranial route and the circumstances of the leak, not simply because the dura was closed during another operation. The related approach-specific sibling is 61619. CMS assigns a 90-day global period, which includes the day-before preoperative visit and related postoperative care during that period. For multiple procedures in one session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and other procedures are subject to the standard 50% reduction. An assistant at surgery may be paid; 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 Vermont compares for 61618

Across 109 of 109 payment localities, the facility rate for 61618 runs from $1,060.83 in Nebraska to $1,545.65 in Miami, FL. Vermont pays $1,114.08. The RVUs are the same everywhere; the geographic indexes change the dollars.

Every other payment area

61618 rates by state

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

See 61618 in every payment locality

How the 61618 rate is calculated

Each of 61618’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 61618

61618 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 61618

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

How 61618 has changed in Vermont

Price 61618 for an earlier date of service

Where the Vermont rate applies

Vermont is a Medicare payment area, not a city. Our Census mapping connects it to 180 cities and communities in Vermont. Some span more than one payment area; confirm with the service ZIP.

• Albany
• Alburgh
• Algiers
• Arlington
• Ascutney
• Bakersfield
• Barnet
• Barre

Browse all communities in Vermont

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