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Billing code 61782: Cranial navigationMedicare rate & RVUs

Reports computer-assisted navigation used during an extradural cranial operation to help the surgeon guide instruments using patient-specific imaging.

CMS RVU26DEffective Oct 1, 2026109 payment localities20K Medicare services in 2024

Medicare pays $144.29 for 61782 nationally in a facility.

Medicare rate · 61782

Cranial navigation

Swap in your local Medicare rate.

Work RVUs
3.1
Total RVUs
4.32
Global days
ZZZ

National rate · 2026

$144.29

Facility setting, before claim adjustments.

See every locality for 61782 → · 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 61782 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 61782 covers

This add-on describes computer-assisted navigation during cranial surgery performed outside the dura. The surgeon uses a registered imaging dataset and tracked instruments to orient the operative approach or guide work around structures such as the skull base. It may support an extradural anterior cranial fossa operation, including a craniofacial approach, when navigation is actually used. Neurosurgeons and other surgeons performing cranial procedures may use it in an operating room.

Report 61782 with the qualifying primary cranial procedure, not by itself. Documentation should identify the navigation service and its use during the extradural operation; routine review of imaging alone does not establish that the navigation service was performed. Select this code for extradural cranial navigation rather than the intradural cranial or spinal navigation sibling. CMS treats it as an add-on paid within the primary procedure's global period, so it is not a separately payable service outside that 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 61782 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

61782 office and facility rates by payment locality
Payment localityOfficeFacility
AlabamaUnavailable$134.45
Alaska*Unavailable$190.81
ArizonaUnavailable$141.29
ArkansasUnavailable$133.26
AtlantaUnavailable$148.10
AustinUnavailable$144.22
BakersfieldUnavailable$142.69
Baltimore/Surr. CntysUnavailable$151.44
BeaumontUnavailable$140.92
BrazoriaUnavailable$141.51

61782 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
61782 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 61782 rate is calculated

Each of 61782’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 · 61782

RVUs × geographic indexes × conversion factor

Swap in your local Medicare rate.

Work 3.10Practice expense 0.76Malpractice 0.46

4.3200 adjusted RVUs×$33.4009 conversion factor=$144.29

All indexes start at 1.000 (the national rate). Enter a ZIP or drag a slider.

Payment rules and modifiers for 61782

The CMS indicators that decide how 61782 is paid alongside other services.

CMS payment indicators · 61782

Cranial navigation

RuleCMS valueWhat it means
Global periodZZZAdd-on code: falls within the primary procedure’s global period.
Multiple procedures0No multiple-procedure reduction.
Bilateral (modifier 50)0The 150% bilateral adjustment doesn’t apply.
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.

61782 compared with similar codes

Compare codes

61782 vs 61781 vs 61783 vs 61751: national Medicare rates

Swap in your local Medicare rate.

  • 61782
    Cranial navigation · 3.1 wRVU
    —
  • 61781
    Cranial navigation · 3.66 wRVU
    —
  • 61783
    Spinal navigation · 3.66 wRVU
    —
  • 61751
    Brain biopsy · 18.32 wRVU
    —

How to choose

61781Cranial navigation
Use 61782 for extradural cranial navigation and 61781 for intradural cranial navigation. The distinction is the operative compartment.
61783Spinal navigation
61783 describes computer-assisted navigation for spinal procedures; 61782 is limited to extradural cranial procedures.
61751Brain biopsy
61751 describes stereotactic intracranial biopsy with CT and/or MR guidance. 61782 is an add-on for navigation during an extradural cranial operation, not a biopsy code.

Codes related to 61782

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

Codes related to 61782
CodeHow it relatesNational office range
Primary code
61580Craniofacial approachMay serve as the primary craniofacial approach for extradural anterior cranial fossa surgery.No office rate
61590Skull base approachAn extradural middle cranial fossa approach that may use cranial navigation.No office rate
Same family
61781Cranial navigationCranial navigation sibling for intradural procedures.No office rate
61783Spinal navigationNavigation sibling for spinal procedures.No office rate

61782 billing questions

How is 61782 different from 61781?

61782 is for computer-assisted navigation during an extradural cranial procedure. Use 61781 when the navigated cranial procedure is intradural.

Can 61782 be reported by itself?

No. It is an add-on code and must be reported with a qualifying primary procedure.

What documentation supports reporting 61782?

The operative record should establish that computer-assisted navigation was used during the extradural cranial procedure. Merely reviewing preoperative images does not describe the navigation service.

Is 61782 separately payable outside the primary procedure's global period?

No. CMS pays this add-on within the primary procedure's global period.

Is 61782 the right code for spinal navigation?

No. 61782 is for extradural cranial navigation; 61783 is the spinal navigation sibling.

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 61782PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv, line 6,885 (RVU26D)

Open CMS sourceHow we calculate rates

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