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CPT code 61543: Seizure focus excision2026 Medicare rate & RVUs

Reports craniotomy to remove a brain area identified as an epileptogenic focus when intraoperative electrocorticography is not performed.

CMS RVU26DEffective Oct 1, 2026109 payment localities

Medicare pays $2,109.93 for 61543 nationally in a facility.

Medicare rate · 61543

Seizure focus excision

Office or facility?

Work RVUs
30.53
Total RVUs
63.17
Global days
090

National rate · 2026

$2,109.93

Facility setting, before claim adjustments.

See every locality for 61543 →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 61543 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 61543 covers

A neurosurgeon uses a craniotomy to remove brain tissue identified as the source of seizures. This operation is used in epilepsy surgery when the treatment plan calls for excision of a discrete epileptogenic focus and electrocorticography is not performed during the operation. The operative report should establish the seizure-related target and describe the tissue removed; a general brain lesion excision or a planned lobectomy may fit a different code.

Report one unit for the qualifying operation. Documentation should distinguish focus excision from lobectomy and state whether intraoperative electrocorticography was performed. CMS assigns 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 other procedures are subject to the standard multiple-procedure reduction. 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 61543 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

61543 office and facility rates by payment locality
Payment localityOfficeFacility
AlabamaUnavailable$1,840.62
AlaskaUnavailable$2,469.37
ArizonaUnavailable$2,027.49
ArkansasUnavailable$1,808.11
Atlanta, GAUnavailable$2,210.09
Austin, TXUnavailable$2,101.15
Bakersfield, CAUnavailable$2,024.30
Baltimore area, MDUnavailable$2,276.44
Beaumont, TXUnavailable$2,020.00
Brazoria, TXUnavailable$2,017.44

61543 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
61543 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 61543 rate is calculated

Each of 61543’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 · 61543

RVUs × geographic indexes × conversion factor

Office or facility?

Work30.53

30.53 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI

Practice expense19.75

19.75 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI

Malpractice12.89

12.89 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI

Adjusted RVUs

63.1700

Conversion factor

$33.4009

Medicare rate

$2,109.93

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

Payment rules and modifiers for 61543

61543 has a 90-day global period: related visits in that window are included in the surgery payment.

CMS payment indicators · 61543

Seizure focus excision

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 · 61543

Seizure focus excision

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

61543 without 51 · national facility

$2,109.93

Seizure focus excision

61543-51 · Second procedure: 50%

$1,054.97

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

61543 compared with similar codes

Compare codes · National

4 codes, side by side

Office or facility?

  • 61543

    Seizure focus excision30.53 wRVU

    Not priced

  • 61544

    Seizure focus excision26.68 wRVU

    Not priced

  • 61534

    Epilepsy surgery22.43 wRVU

    Not priced

  • 61545

    Brain tumor surgery45.27 wRVU

    Not priced

How to choose

61544Seizure focus excision
The key distinction is intraoperative electrocorticography: 61543 is for focus excision without it, while 61544 is for focus excision with it.
61534Epilepsy surgery
61534 describes temporal lobectomy without intraoperative electrocorticography. Use 61543 for excision of an epileptogenic focus when the operation is not documented as a temporal lobectomy.
61545Brain tumor surgery
61545 is for excision of a brain tumor. Choose 61543 when the operative target is an epileptogenic focus rather than a tumor.

Codes related to 61543

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

Codes related to 61543
CodeHow it relatesNational office range
Same family
61544Seizure focus excisionCorresponding epileptogenic-focus excision when intraoperative electrocorticography is performed.No office rate
Used instead
61534Epilepsy surgeryTemporal lobectomy without intraoperative electrocorticography, rather than excision of a discrete focus.No office rate
61535Electrode removalTemporal lobectomy with intraoperative electrocorticography, rather than excision of a discrete focus.No office rate
61545Brain tumor surgeryBrain tumor excision is selected for tumor surgery, not seizure-focus resection.No office rate

61543 billing questions

How does this code differ from 61544?

Both describe excision of an epileptogenic focus. Use 61543 when intraoperative electrocorticography is not performed; 61544 represents the corresponding procedure with electrocorticography.

Is this the right code for a temporal lobectomy?

Not when the operation is documented as a temporal lobectomy. Select the lobectomy code that matches the procedure and whether intraoperative electrocorticography was performed.

What documentation supports reporting 61543?

The operative report should identify the epileptogenic focus, describe the brain tissue excised, and support that intraoperative electrocorticography was not performed.

Can an assistant or co-surgeon be reported?

CMS allows payment for an assistant at surgery. Co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation; team surgery is not permitted.

How does the 90-day global period affect postoperative billing?

The global period includes the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care. Those included services are part of the surgical global package.

What happens when another procedure is performed in the same session?

CMS pays the highest-valued procedure in full and applies the standard multiple-procedure reduction to the other procedures.

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 61543PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv, line 6,802 (RVU26D)

Open CMS sourceHow we calculate rates

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