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CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01

61321 Abscess drainage Medicare reimbursement rates in Connecticut

Reports open surgical drainage of an intracranial abscess below the tentorium, such as a cerebellar abscess, through a craniotomy or craniectomy. Compare 61321 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in Connecticut.

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 61321 in Connecticut?

Connecticut 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

$2227.72

1 of 1 localities have a supported rate.

Payment area: Connecticut

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 61321 in your payment locality →

Neurosurgery

About 61321: Infratentorial intracranial abscess drainage

Reports open surgical drainage of an intracranial abscess below the tentorium, such as a cerebellar abscess, through a craniotomy or craniectomy.

A neurosurgeon uses a craniotomy or craniectomy to reach and drain an abscess in the infratentorial compartment, which includes the posterior fossa and cerebellum. The operation is typically performed in a hospital operating room for a patient with an intracranial infection requiring open surgical drainage. This code distinguishes infratentorial abscess drainage from drainage of a supratentorial abscess.

Select the code based on the abscess location and the procedure performed, not merely on the incision site or the presence of infection. The operative report should identify the infratentorial target and document surgical drainage. The service has a 90-day global period, including the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care. When multiple procedures occur in the same session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and others at 50%. Modifier 50 is inappropriate. Assistant-at-surgery payment may be available; co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation, and team surgery is not permitted.

CMS billing rules for 61321

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 paid only with supporting documentation.
Team surgery
Team surgery not permitted.

Where the value comes from

  • Work RVU29.77 · 48%
  • Practice expense (office) RVU19.60 · 32%
  • Malpractice RVU12.58 · 20%

20

Medicare services in 2024 · #5930 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.

61321 compared with similar codes

Office rates for Connecticut, from the same CMS release.

61320

Abscess drainage

Supratentorial, open approach

No office rate

Both codes describe open drainage of an intracranial abscess; choose 61321 for an infratentorial target and 61320 for a supratentorial target.

61107

Ventricular catheter

Twist-drill access

No office rate

This code describes twist-drill drainage of an intracranial collection, including an abscess; 61321 describes open drainage through a craniotomy or craniectomy.

61750

Brain biopsy

Without CT/MR guidance

No office rate

This code describes stereotactic biopsy, aspiration, or excision of an intracranial lesion. Use 61321 when the abscess is drained through an open infratentorial approach.

61314

Hematoma evacuation

Infratentorial, extradural or subdural

No office rate

61314 concerns evacuation of an infratentorial extradural or subdural hematoma, not drainage of an abscess.

Compare 61321 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

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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 61321 in Connecticut.

PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv

6,765

Code
61321
Physician work
29.77
Practice expense
19.60
Malpractice
12.58

GPCI2026.csv

38

Locality
Connecticut
Physician work
1.020
Practice expense
1.077
Malpractice
1.210
Facility calculation for 61321 in Connecticut
ComponentRVULocality factorAdjusted
Physician work29.77× 1.02030.3654
Practice expense19.60× 1.07721.1092
Malpractice12.58× 1.21015.2218
Total RVUs66.6964
Conversion factor× 33.4009

Facility rate, Connecticut$2227.72

Values as parsed from CMS release RVU26D, effective 2026-10-01. The amount is rounded to the nearest cent only at the end.
Explore RVUs, geographic factors and the full formula

Facility

Facility calculation inputs
ComponentRVULocal GPCI
Work29.771.02
Practice expense19.61.077
Malpractice12.581.21

(29.77 × 1.02 + 19.6 × 1.077 + 12.58 × 1.21) × $33.4009 = $2227.72

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.

61321 billing questions

How does this code differ from 61320?

Use 61321 for an abscess below the tentorium, such as in the posterior fossa. Code 61320 is the corresponding service for a supratentorial abscess.

What documentation supports 61321?

The operative report should establish the infratentorial location and describe the open surgical drainage. A diagnosis of intracranial abscess alone does not establish the site distinction.

Can 61321 be reported with modifier 50?

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

How are assistant and co-surgeon services handled?

Assistant-at-surgery payment may be made. Co-surgeons are paid only when supporting documentation is provided; team surgery is not permitted.

What is included in the global period?

The 90-day global period includes the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care.

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 61321PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv, line 6,765 (RVU26D)
Geographic factors for ConnecticutGPCI2026.csv, line 38 (RVU26D)
Open CMS sourceHow this rate is calculatedBuild a fee sheet