FeeBase
Log inGet started
Menu

Billing code 61737: Laser ablationMedicare rate & RVUs

Reports intracranial laser interstitial thermal therapy involving multiple trajectories or multiple or complex lesions, performed to thermally ablate selected brain lesions.

CMS RVU26DEffective Oct 1, 2026109 payment localities86 Medicare services in 2024

Medicare pays $1,350.06 for 61737 nationally in a facility.

Medicare rate · 61737

Laser ablation

Work RVUs
22.1
Total RVUs
40.42
Global days
000

National rate · 2026

$1,350.06

Facility setting, before claim adjustments.

See every locality for 61737 →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 61737 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 61737 covers

A neurosurgeon uses stereotactic planning to guide laser probes through one or more small cranial openings and heat targeted intracranial tissue. The technique may be used for selected brain tumors or epileptogenic lesions when thermal ablation is the planned treatment. This code represents the more involved LITT service, such as treatment requiring multiple trajectories or addressing multiple or complex lesions; it is not the single-trajectory, single-simple-lesion service.

Select the code from the operative plan and report: documentation should identify the lesion or lesions treated, their relevant complexity, the trajectories used, and the ablation performed. The stereotactic work integral to the LITT service is not separately reported as another portion of this procedure. CMS assigns a 0-day global period, so same-day preoperative and postoperative care is included. For a qualifying bilateral procedure, modifier 50 applies and Medicare pays at 150%. Assistant-at-surgery payment requires documented medical necessity; co-surgeons and team surgery are 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 61737 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

61737 office and facility rates by payment locality
Payment localityOfficeFacility
AlabamaUnavailable$1,177.28
Alaska*Unavailable$1,598.74
ArizonaUnavailable$1,295.88
ArkansasUnavailable$1,156.58
AtlantaUnavailable$1,419.72
AustinUnavailable$1,333.43
BakersfieldUnavailable$1,271.07
Baltimore/Surr. CntysUnavailable$1,457.65
BeaumontUnavailable$1,300.91
BrazoriaUnavailable$1,284.71

61737 rates by state

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

MEWIVTNHMTNDMNMINYMARIWAIDWYSDIAILINOHPANJCTORNVUTCONEMOKYWVVAMDDECAAZNMKSOKARTNNCSCDCTXLAMSALGAFLAKHI

Explore a state

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
61737 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 61737 rate is calculated

Each of 61737’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 · 61737

RVUs × geographic indexes × conversion factor

Work22.10

22.10 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI

Practice expense8.99

8.99 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI

Malpractice9.33

9.33 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI

Adjusted RVUs

40.4200

Conversion factor

$33.4009

Medicare rate

$1,350.06

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

Payment rules and modifiers for 61737

The CMS indicators that decide how 61737 is paid alongside other services.

CMS payment indicators · 61737

Laser ablation

RuleCMS valueWhat it means
Global period000Same-day global: pre- and post-op care on the day of the procedure is included.
Multiple procedures0No multiple-procedure reduction.
Bilateral (modifier 50)1Bilateral with modifier 50 pays 150% of the fee schedule amount.
Assistant at surgery (80/81/82/AS)0Not paid without supporting documentation.
Co-surgeons (62)0Not permitted.
Team surgery (66)0Not permitted.
Professional/technical0Physician service: no professional/technical split.

What modifiers do to the payment

Modifier 50 · payment effect

With and without the modifier

61737 without 50 · national facility

$1,350.06

Laser ablation

61737-50 · Bilateral: 150%

$2,025.09

Both sides on one line with modifier 50 are paid at 150% of the fee schedule amount (subject to multiple-procedure rules with other procedures).

When to use modifier 50

61737 compared with similar codes

Compare codes · National

4 codes, side by side

  • 61737

    Laser ablation22.1 wRVU

    Not priced

  • 61736

    Laser ablation18.58 wRVU

    Not priced

  • 61796

    Cranial radiosurgery13.58 wRVU

    Not priced

  • 61798

    Cranial radiosurgery19.35 wRVU

    Not priced

How to choose

61736Laser ablation
Use 61736 for one trajectory treating one simple lesion; use 61737 for multiple trajectories or multiple or complex lesions.
61796Cranial radiosurgery
61796 reports stereotactic radiosurgery for a simple cranial lesion. This code reports laser interstitial thermal ablation, not radiosurgery.
61798Cranial radiosurgery
61798 reports stereotactic radiosurgery for a complex cranial lesion. Choose this code when the performed treatment is LITT instead.

Codes related to 61737

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

Codes related to 61737
CodeHow it relatesNational office range
Same family
61736Laser ablationLITT for one trajectory and one simple intracranial lesion.No office rate
Used instead
61796Cranial radiosurgeryStereotactic radiosurgery is a different treatment method for a simple cranial lesion.No office rate
61798Cranial radiosurgeryStereotactic radiosurgery is a different treatment method for a complex cranial lesion.No office rate

61737 billing questions

How does this code differ from 61736?

61736 is for LITT using one trajectory to treat one simple lesion. Report 61737 when the service involves multiple trajectories or multiple or complex lesions.

Can stereotactic guidance be billed separately?

The stereotactic work integral to the LITT service is included in this procedure. Do not separately report that same work as a distinct service.

What documentation supports choosing 61737?

The operative report should describe the treated lesion or lesions, the reason the treatment is multiple or complex, the trajectories used, and the laser ablation performed.

How is a bilateral procedure reported?

For a qualifying bilateral procedure, report modifier 50; CMS pays the bilateral service at 150%.

Can an assistant or co-surgeon be reported?

Assistant-at-surgery payment is allowed only when medical necessity is documented. Co-surgeons and team surgery are 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 61737PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv, line 6,879 (RVU26D)

Open CMS sourceHow we calculate rates

Did this answer your question about what 61737 pays?

Tell us what you were actually trying to work out. We’ll answer you directly, or build the page that does.

Fee sheets

Put 61737 and the rest of your codes on one sheet

Build a fee sheet from your own code list at your locality, put your payer contracts beside Medicare, and see what changed each quarter.

Build my fee sheetOr price your code list free →