Billing code 77761: Intracavitary brachytherapyMedicare rate & RVUs

Medicare pays $424.19 for 77761 nationally in the office. Local office rates run $379.40–$563.14.

Medicare allowed amount for participating (non-QP) physicians, before deductible, coinsurance and claim adjustments. Not a patient’s bill or a hospital charge.

What 77761 covers

Code 77761 represents the simple-complexity level of intracavitary brachytherapy source application. A radiation oncologist positions an applicator or source within a body cavity to provide localized radiation. A familiar clinical setting is gynecologic brachytherapy, with an applicator placed in the uterine or cervical region as part of a planned radiation course. The code level reflects application complexity, not the cancer diagnosis or radiation dose.

Select 77761 when the procedure documentation supports simple application rather than the intermediate or complex sibling level. Document the cavity, applicator and source arrangement, procedural details, and basis for the complexity level. CMS assigns a 90-day global period, including the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care. Modifier 26 identifies the professional interpretation, modifier TC identifies the technical work, and an unmodified claim represents the global service. Modifier 50 is inappropriate. 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 77761 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

77761 rates by state

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

How the 77761 rate is calculated

Each of 77761’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 77761

77761 has a 90-day global period: related visits in that window are included in the surgery payment.

What modifiers do to the payment

When to use modifier 26

77761 compared with similar codes

How to choose

77762Intracavitary radiation

Use 77762 when the intracavitary application is documented at the intermediate level; 77761 is the simple-level sibling.

77763Brachytherapy application

Use 77763 for a documented complex intracavitary application, rather than the simple application represented by 77761.

77770HDR brachytherapy

77770 describes remote afterloading HDR brachytherapy involving one channel. Choose based on the treatment technique and channel count, not the simple intracavitary application level.

Codes related to 77761

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