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Billing code 61537: Brain resectionMedicare rate & RVUs

Reports surgical removal of a cerebral lobe outside the temporal lobe for seizure treatment when intraoperative electrocorticography guides the resection.

CMS RVU26DEffective Oct 1, 2026109 payment localities78 Medicare services in 2024

Medicare pays $2,355.10 for 61537 nationally in a facility.

Medicare rate · 61537

Brain resection

Work RVUs
35.54
Total RVUs
70.51
Global days
090

National rate · 2026

$2,355.10

Facility setting, before claim adjustments.

See every locality for 61537 →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.

On this page 10 sections
  1. Medicare rate
  2. What 61537 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 61537 covers

A neurosurgeon performs a craniotomy and removes a cerebral lobe other than the temporal lobe, using electrocorticography to record electrical activity directly from the brain during surgery. The service is most often part of epilepsy surgery for a patient with focal seizures, with intraoperative recordings helping identify the tissue involved. It is typically performed in an operating room in a hospital or other surgical facility.

Choose this code when the operation is an extratemporal lobectomy and electrocorticography is performed; a focal excision or a temporal-lobe resection is a different service. The operative report should identify the resected lobe and document the intraoperative electrocorticography. This major surgery 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 procedure is paid in full and others at 50%. An assistant at surgery may be paid; 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 61537 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

61537 office and facility rates by payment locality
Payment localityOfficeFacility
AlabamaUnavailable$2,054.18
Alaska*Unavailable$2,766.86
ArizonaUnavailable$2,262.24
ArkansasUnavailable$2,017.94
AtlantaUnavailable$2,470.10
AustinUnavailable$2,338.99
BakersfieldUnavailable$2,245.63
Baltimore/Surr. CntysUnavailable$2,541.58
BeaumontUnavailable$2,259.50
BrazoriaUnavailable$2,248.30

61537 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
61537 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 61537 rate is calculated

Each of 61537’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 · 61537

RVUs × geographic indexes × conversion factor

Work35.54

35.54 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI

Practice expense19.96

19.96 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI

Malpractice15.01

15.01 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI

Adjusted RVUs

70.5100

Conversion factor

$33.4009

Medicare rate

$2,355.10

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

Payment rules and modifiers for 61537

61537 has a 90-day global period: related visits in that window are included in the surgery payment.

CMS payment indicators · 61537

Brain resection

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 · 61537

Brain resection

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

61537 without 51 · national facility

$2,355.10

Brain resection

61537-51 · Second procedure: 50%

$1,177.55

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

61537 compared with similar codes

Compare codes · National

4 codes, side by side

  • 61537

    Brain resection35.54 wRVU

    Not priced

  • 61536

    Temporal lobectomy36.78 wRVU

    Not priced

  • 61534

    Epilepsy surgery22.43 wRVU

    Not priced

  • 61539

    Epilepsy surgery33.42 wRVU

    Not priced

How to choose

61536Temporal lobectomy
Both are for lobectomy outside the temporal lobe. Choose this code when intraoperative electrocorticography is performed; choose 61536 when it is not.
61534Epilepsy surgery
Both include intraoperative electrocorticography, but 61534 is for temporal-lobe lobectomy. This code is for a different cerebral lobe.
61539Epilepsy surgery
Code 61539 describes excision of an epileptogenic focus with electrocorticography. This code is for a lobectomy outside the temporal lobe with electrocorticography.

Codes related to 61537

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

Codes related to 61537
CodeHow it relatesNational office range
Same family
61536Temporal lobectomyExtratemporal lobectomy without intraoperative electrocorticography.No office rate
61534Epilepsy surgeryTemporal-lobe lobectomy with intraoperative electrocorticography.No office rate
61533Brain electrode placementTemporal-lobe lobectomy without intraoperative electrocorticography.No office rate
Used instead
61538Temporal lobectomyEpileptogenic-focus excision without electrocorticography, rather than extratemporal lobectomy.No office rate
61539Epilepsy surgeryEpileptogenic-focus excision with electrocorticography, rather than extratemporal lobectomy.No office rate

61537 billing questions

How does this differ from code 61536?

Both describe lobectomy outside the temporal lobe, but this code includes intraoperative electrocorticography. Code 61536 is the corresponding option without it.

Can this code be used for temporal-lobe resection?

No. It is for a lobectomy outside the temporal lobe; temporal-lobe cases are distinguished by codes 61533 and 61534, depending on electrocorticography.

When is a focal excision code more appropriate?

Use the applicable epileptogenic-focus excision code when the surgeon removes a localized seizure focus rather than performing a lobectomy. Codes 61538 and 61539 distinguish whether electrocorticography is used.

What documentation supports reporting this code?

The operative report should establish that a lobe other than the temporal lobe was removed and describe the intraoperative electrocorticography.

How are other same-session procedures paid?

Under the standard multiple procedure reduction, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and other procedures in the session are paid at 50%. The surgery has a 90-day global period.

Can an assistant or co-surgeon be reported?

Assistant-at-surgery payment may be made. Co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation; team surgery is not 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 61537PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv, line 6,797 (RVU26D)

Open CMS sourceHow we calculate rates

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