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CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01

61151 Subdural tap Medicare reimbursement rates in Alaska

Reports a neurosurgical burr-hole or trephine approach to tap a subdural collection, rather than evacuating or draining a hematoma. Compare 61151 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in Alaska.

Amounts below use the non-QP conversion factor for participating physicians. These are base physician payments before claim-level adjustments, not patient costs or total hospital charges.

What does Medicare pay for 61151 in Alaska?

Alaska has 1 payment locality in this comparison. Use the service location to choose the applicable amount. These are the supported base rates for the payment area shown below, using the same CMS release.

Office / nonfacility

No supported rate

Facility setting

$1159.20

1 of 1 localities have a supported rate.

Payment area: Alaska*

One mapped payment locality.

These are locality ranges, not averages or address-specific quotes. A facility-setting amount covers the physician service; it does not include a hospital’s separate bill. Choose a locality below to inspect its calculation, compare other payment areas, or price a percentage of Medicare.

Find 61151 in your payment locality →

Neurosurgery

About 61151: Burr-hole subdural tap

Reports a neurosurgical burr-hole or trephine approach to tap a subdural collection, rather than evacuating or draining a hematoma.

A neurosurgeon creates a burr hole or uses a trephine to access the subdural space and perform a tap, typically to obtain or remove subdural fluid. The code distinguishes this limited tapping procedure from an operation that evacuates or establishes drainage for a subdural hematoma. It is generally performed in an operating-room setting.

Report 61151 when the operative record supports a subdural tap through a burr hole or trephine; document the target space, approach, and action performed. The 90-day global period includes the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care. For multiple procedures in the same session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and other procedures are subject to the standard 50% reduction. Modifier 50 is inappropriate. Medicare does not pay an assistant at surgery for this code, and co-surgeons and team surgery are not permitted.

CMS billing rules for 61151

Global period
Major surgery with a 90-day global period: the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care are included.
Multiple procedures
Standard multiple procedure reduction: the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and others at 50% when performed in the same session.
Bilateral procedures
Bilateral adjustment does not apply; the descriptor or anatomy makes modifier 50 inappropriate.
Assistant at surgery
Statutory restriction: assistant at surgery is not paid.
Co-surgeons
Co-surgeons not permitted.
Team surgery
Team surgery not permitted.

Where the value comes from

  • Work RVU13.15 · 44%
  • Practice expense (office) RVU11.20 · 37%
  • Malpractice RVU5.54 · 19%

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.

61151 compared with similar codes

Office rates for Alaska, from the same CMS release.

61105

Twist-drill puncture

Hematoma drainage

No office rate

61105 uses a twist-drill hole for subdural or ventricular puncture. 61151 is selected for a subdural tap through a burr hole or trephine.

61108

Subdural drainage

Twist-drill approach

No office rate

61108 describes twist-drill evacuation and/or drainage of a subdural hematoma. 61151 describes a tap through a burr hole or trephine.

61154

Hematoma drainage

Extradural or subdural

No office rate

Use 61154 when the surgeon evacuates and/or drains a subdural hematoma through a burr hole or trephine; 61151 is for tapping the subdural space.

61156

Burr-hole aspiration

Intracerebral hematoma or cyst

No office rate

61156 involves aspiration of an intracerebral hematoma or cyst. 61151 targets the subdural space.

Compare 61151 by payment locality

Find the payment area for your service address, then open its rate page for calculation inputs, release history and the percentage-of-Medicare tool. A city may cross payment-area boundaries; the ZIP lookup above helps resolve the location.

1 of 1 payment localities

Office and facility base rates · shared scale starting at $0

  • Alaska* →

    Office / nonfacility

    Unavailable

    Facility

    $1159.20

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How this local rate is calculated

Each RVU component is multiplied by its own geographic practice cost index (GPCI). The three adjusted components are added, then multiplied by the conversion factor. These are the inputs used for 61151 in Alaska*.

PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv

6,750

Code
61151
Physician work
13.15
Practice expense
11.20
Malpractice
5.54

GPCI2026.csv

5

Locality
Alaska*
Physician work
1.500
Practice expense
1.065
Malpractice
0.551
Facility calculation for 61151 in Alaska*
ComponentRVULocality factorAdjusted
Physician work13.15× 1.50019.7250
Practice expense11.20× 1.06511.9280
Malpractice5.54× 0.5513.0525
Total RVUs34.7055
Conversion factor× 33.4009

Facility rate, Alaska*$1159.20

Explore RVUs, geographic factors and the full formula

Facility

Facility calculation inputs
ComponentRVULocal GPCI
Work13.151.5
Practice expense11.21.065
Malpractice5.540.551

(13.15 × 1.5 + 11.2 × 1.065 + 5.54 × 0.551) × $33.4009 = $1159.20

The office and facility calculations use their respective practice-expense RVUs. The facility amount here is the physician fee, not a separate hospital or facility bill.

61151 billing questions

How is 61151 different from 61154?

61151 represents a subdural tap. Choose 61154 when the surgeon evacuates and/or drains a subdural hematoma.

When would 61105 be considered instead?

61105 describes a twist-drill approach for subdural or ventricular puncture. 61151 is for a tap performed through a burr hole or trephine.

Can the burr-hole access be billed separately?

The burr hole or trephine is part of the service described by 61151; do not report a separate access procedure for the same approach.

Should modifier 50 be used for bilateral taps?

No. CMS identifies bilateral adjustment as inappropriate for this code.

What documentation supports 61151?

The operative report should identify the subdural target, burr-hole or trephine approach, and that a tap was performed rather than hematoma evacuation or drainage.

How are other procedures in the same session paid?

Under the standard multiple-procedure reduction, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and other procedures are paid at 50% when performed in the same session.

Where these rates come from

FeeBase calculates base physician payments from CMS work, practice-expense, and malpractice RVUs, adjusted by each locality’s geographic indices and the applicable conversion factor. Unavailable or separately priced services are labeled rather than assigned a made-up amount.

Source: RVU26D. Effective 2026-10-01 through the day before 2027-01-01.

RVUs for 61151PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv, line 6,750 (RVU26D)
Geographic factors for Alaska*GPCI2026.csv, line 5 (RVU26D)
Open CMS sourceHow this rate is calculatedBuild a fee sheet