CPT code 61797: Cranial radiosurgery, each additional simple lesion2026 Medicare rate & RVUs in California

CMS doesn’t publish an office rate for 61797 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 61797 covers

Code 61797 represents stereotactic radiosurgery directed at an additional simple intracranial lesion during a treatment session. SRS delivers focused radiation to a cranial target without open surgical removal; clinical targets may include brain metastases or other intracranial lesions selected for radiosurgical treatment. Neurosurgeons and radiation oncologists commonly participate in planning and treatment, often in a hospital or specialized radiosurgery setting.

Report 61797 for each additional simple lesion treated, with 61796 as the primary procedure for the simple-lesion treatment. The record should identify the lesions treated, support their classification as simple, and document the radiosurgery plan and delivered treatment. This is an add-on code: it is not billed alone, and Medicare payment falls within the primary procedure’s global period.

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 61797 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 61797 rate is calculated

Each of 61797’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 61797

The CMS indicators that decide how 61797 is paid alongside other services.

What modifiers do to the payment

When to use modifier 80

61797 compared with similar codes

How to choose

61796Cranial radiosurgerySimple lesion

61796 is the primary simple-lesion radiosurgery procedure; 61797 adds each further simple lesion treated.

61798Cranial radiosurgeryComplex lesion

61798 is the primary code for a complex cranial lesion. Use 61797 only for additional lesions classified as simple.

61799Cranial radiosurgeryEach additional complex lesion

61799 reports each additional complex lesion, while 61797 reports each additional simple lesion.

Codes related to 61797

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