No office rate
Both involve cortical neurostimulator electrodes. 61850 uses a twist-drill or burr-hole approach; 61860 involves craniotomy or craniectomy.
On this page
CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
61860 Cortical electrodes Medicare reimbursement rates in California
Cranial surgery to place neurostimulator electrodes on the cerebral cortex when cortical electrode implantation requires a craniotomy or craniectomy. Compare 61860 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in California.
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 61860 in California?
California has 29 payment localities in this comparison. Use the service location to choose the applicable amount. These are the supported base rates for the 29 payment areas shown below, using the same CMS release.
Office / nonfacility
No supported rate
Facility setting
$1449.30–$1689.71
29 of 29 localities have a supported rate.
Lowest: Chico
Highest: San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara (San Benito Cnty)
A spread of $240.41 per service.
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.
Where 61860 pays more and less in California
Neurosurgery
About 61860: Cortical neurostimulator electrode implantation
Cranial surgery to place neurostimulator electrodes on the cerebral cortex when cortical electrode implantation requires a craniotomy or craniectomy.
A neurosurgeon exposes the cerebral cortex through a craniotomy or craniectomy and places neurostimulator electrodes at the planned cortical target. The procedure may be part of treatment planning for a patient who needs cortical neuromodulation, such as for epilepsy. It is performed in an operating room, typically in a hospital facility. The operative report should identify the cortical target and document the surgical exposure and electrode placement.
Report 61860 for cortical electrode implantation using craniotomy or craniectomy, rather than the burr-hole approach represented by 61850. The day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care are included in its 90-day global period. If other 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. Modifier 50 is inappropriate. Assistant-at-surgery services may be paid; co-surgeons and team surgery are not permitted.
CMS billing rules for 61860
- 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
- Assistant at surgery may be paid.
- Co-surgeons
- Co-surgeons not permitted.
- Team surgery
- Team surgery not permitted.
Where the value comes from
- Work RVU21.70 · 47%
- Practice expense (office) RVU14.97 · 33%
- Malpractice RVU9.17 · 20%
17
Medicare services in 2024 · #6019 by national volume
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.
61860 compared with similar codes
Office rates for California, from the same CMS release.
No office rate
61863 is for subcortical electrode-array implantation using a stereotactic frame. 61860 concerns electrodes placed at a cerebral cortical target.
No office rate
61867 involves subcortical electrode-array implantation with connection to a pulse generator or receiver during the session; 61860 is cortical electrode implantation.
Compare 61860 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.
29 of 29 payment localities
| Payment locality | Office | Facility |
|---|---|---|
| Bakersfield | Office Unavailable | Facility $1473.11 |
| Chico | Office Unavailable | Facility $1449.30 |
| El Centro | Office Unavailable | Facility $1450.83 |
| Fresno | Office Unavailable | Facility $1449.30 |
| Hanford-Corcoran | Office Unavailable | Facility $1449.30 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim (Los Angeles/Orange Cnty) | Office Unavailable | Facility $1549.40 |
| Madera | Office Unavailable | Facility $1449.30 |
| Merced | Office Unavailable | Facility $1449.30 |
| Modesto | Office Unavailable | Facility $1449.30 |
| Napa | Office Unavailable | Facility $1585.07 |
| Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura | Office Unavailable | Facility $1526.92 |
| Redding | Office Unavailable | Facility $1449.30 |
| Rest Of California | Office Unavailable | Facility $1449.30 |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario | Office Unavailable | Facility $1547.12 |
| Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom | Office Unavailable | Facility $1496.58 |
| Salinas | Office Unavailable | Facility $1490.95 |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad | Office Unavailable | Facility $1510.56 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley (Marin Cnty) | Office Unavailable | Facility $1639.26 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley (San Francisco/San Mateo/Alameda/Contra Costa Cnty) | Office Unavailable | Facility $1628.84 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara (San Benito Cnty) | Office Unavailable | Facility $1689.71 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara (Santa Clara Cnty) | Office Unavailable | Facility $1647.14 |
| San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles | Office Unavailable | Facility $1470.80 |
| Santa Cruz-Watsonville | Office Unavailable | Facility $1511.70 |
| Santa Maria-Santa Barbara | Office Unavailable | Facility $1492.28 |
| Santa Rosa-Petaluma | Office Unavailable | Facility $1524.73 |
| Stockton | Office Unavailable | Facility $1449.30 |
| Vallejo | Office Unavailable | Facility $1570.06 |
| Visalia | Office Unavailable | Facility $1449.30 |
| Yuba City | Office Unavailable | Facility $1449.30 |
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61860 billing questions
How does 61860 differ from 61850?
Both concern cortical neurostimulator electrode placement. Use 61860 when the electrodes are implanted through a craniotomy or craniectomy; 61850 represents a twist-drill or burr-hole approach.
Does 61860 include cranial pulse-generator placement?
61860 describes cortical electrode implantation. When a cranial pulse generator is also implanted in the same operative session, the applicable generator code may be reported separately.
Should modifier 50 be appended for electrodes on both sides?
No. The CMS bilateral adjustment does not apply to 61860, and modifier 50 is inappropriate.
What postoperative care is included?
The 90-day global period includes the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care.
Can an assistant surgeon be reported?
Assistant-at-surgery services may be paid. Co-surgeons and team surgery are not permitted for this code under the listed CMS rules.
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.
6,89261799,,Srs cran les complex addl,A,,4.69,1.63,NA,1.63,,1.93,8.25,8.25,0,ZZZ,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,0,2,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
6,89361800,,Apply srs headframe add-on,A,,2.19,1.25,NA,1.25,,0.92,4.36,4.36,0,ZZZ,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,0,2,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
6,89461850,,Implant neuroelectrodes,A,,13.01,11.15,NA,11.15,,5.48,29.64,29.64,0,090,0.11,0.76,0.13,2,0,2,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
6,89561860,,Implant neuroelectrodes,A,,21.70,14.97,NA,14.97,,9.17,45.84,45.84,0,090,0.11,0.76,0.13,2,0,2,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
6,89661863,,Implant neuroelectrode,A,,20.19,16.07,NA,16.07,,8.53,44.79,44.79,0,090,0.11,0.76,0.13,2,1,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
6,89761864,,Implant neuroelectrde addl,A,,4.38,1.54,NA,1.54,,1.84,7.76,7.76,0,ZZZ,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
6,89861867,,Implant neuroelectrode,A,,32.20,20.26,NA,20.26,,13.60,66.06,66.06,0,090,0.11,0.76,0.13,2,1,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00