No office rate
61150 is for operative drainage of a brain abscess or cyst; 61151 describes subsequent tapping of a cyst or abscess.
On this page
CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
61150 Intracranial drainage Medicare reimbursement rates in Delaware
A neurosurgeon creates a burr-hole or trephine opening to drain an intracranial abscess or cyst when operative drainage is performed. Compare 61150 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in Delaware.
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 61150 in Delaware?
Delaware 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
$1307.73
1 of 1 localities have a supported rate.
Payment area: Delaware
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.
Neurosurgery
About 61150: Burr-hole drainage of brain abscess or cyst
A neurosurgeon creates a burr-hole or trephine opening to drain an intracranial abscess or cyst when operative drainage is performed.
A neurosurgeon uses a burr hole or trephine opening to reach and drain an abscess or cyst within the brain. The service is generally performed in an operating room or hospital setting for a patient requiring operative treatment of an intracranial collection. This code identifies drainage; diagnostic sampling, ventricular access, and evacuation of a hematoma have different procedural purposes and should not be substituted based only on the type of skull opening.
Report the code when the operative record supports drainage of a brain abscess or cyst through the described approach. The major-surgery global period includes 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 other procedures are subject to the standard 50% reduction. Modifier 50 is inappropriate. Medicare does not pay an assistant at surgery for this service; co-surgeons require supporting documentation, and team surgery is not permitted.
CMS billing rules for 61150
- 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 paid only with supporting documentation.
- Team surgery
- Team surgery not permitted.
Where the value comes from
- Work RVU18.43 · 46%
- Practice expense (office) RVU13.82 · 35%
- Malpractice RVU7.76 · 19%
60
Medicare services in 2024 · #5242 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.
61150 compared with similar codes
Office rates for Delaware, from the same CMS release.
No office rate
Use 61140 when the burr hole or trephine is for biopsy of brain tissue or a lesion. Use 61150 when the intent is drainage of an abscess or cyst.
No office rate
61154 addresses evacuation or drainage of an extradural or subdural hematoma, not drainage of a brain abscess or cyst.
No office rate
61156 is for aspiration of an intracerebral hematoma or cyst. Distinguish it from 61150 by the documented procedure and target.
Compare 61150 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
Delaware →
Office / nonfacility
Unavailable
Facility
$1307.73
Need rates for a whole code list?
Fee-sheet and API access are in early access. Tell us which codes and locations your team needs.
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 61150 in Delaware.
PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv
6,749
- Code
- 61150
- Physician work
- 18.43
- Practice expense
- 13.82
- Malpractice
- 7.76
GPCI2026.csv
40
- Locality
- Delaware
- Physician work
- 1.005
- Practice expense
- 0.988
- Malpractice
- 0.899
| Component | RVU | Locality factor | Adjusted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Physician work | 18.43 | × 1.005 | 18.5221 |
| Practice expense | 13.82 | × 0.988 | 13.6542 |
| Malpractice | 7.76 | × 0.899 | 6.9762 |
| Total RVUs | 39.1525 | ||
| Conversion factor | × 33.4009 | ||
Facility rate, Delaware$1307.73
Explore RVUs, geographic factors and the full formula
Facility
| Component | RVU | Local GPCI |
|---|---|---|
| Work | 18.43 | 1.005 |
| Practice expense | 13.82 | 0.988 |
| Malpractice | 7.76 | 0.899 |
(18.43 × 1.005 + 13.82 × 0.988 + 7.76 × 0.899) × $33.4009 = $1307.73
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.
61150 billing questions
How is this different from 61151?
61150 represents operative drainage of a brain abscess or cyst. Use 61151 when the service is subsequent tapping of a cyst or abscess.
Can I report a brain biopsy instead?
No. Code 61140 describes a burr-hole or trephine biopsy of brain tissue or a lesion; 61150 is for drainage of an abscess or cyst.
Should modifier 50 be appended for bilateral work?
No. The CMS bilateral adjustment does not apply, and modifier 50 is inappropriate for this code.
How does the multiple-procedure reduction work?
For procedures performed in the same session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and other procedures are paid at 50% under the standard multiple-procedure rule.
Is an assistant surgeon payable?
Medicare does not pay an assistant at surgery for this service. Co-surgeons require supporting documentation, and team surgery is not permitted.
What postoperative care is included?
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.
6,7466110F,,Counsel prov driving risks,I,,0.00,0.00,,0.00,,0.00,0.00,0.00,9,XXX,0.00,0.00,0.00,9,9,9,9,9,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
6,74761120,,Burr hole for ventr puncture,A,,9.36,9.87,NA,9.87,,3.93,23.16,23.16,0,090,0.11,0.76,0.13,2,0,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
6,74861140,,Burr hole/treph bx brain/les,A,,16.80,14.14,NA,14.14,,7.02,37.96,37.96,0,090,0.11,0.76,0.13,2,0,2,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
6,74961150,,Bur hol/trph drg brn abs/cst,A,,18.43,13.82,NA,13.82,,7.76,40.01,40.01,0,090,0.11,0.76,0.13,2,0,1,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
6,75061151,,Burr hole/treph sbsq tapping,A,,13.15,11.20,NA,11.20,,5.54,29.89,29.89,0,090,0.11,0.76,0.13,2,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
6,75161154,,Burr hole w/evac&/drg hmtma,A,,16.64,14.89,NA,14.89,,6.99,38.52,38.52,0,090,0.11,0.76,0.13,2,1,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
6,75261156,,Burr hol aspir hmtm/cst icer,A,,17.01,12.52,NA,12.52,,7.12,36.65,36.65,0,090,0.11,0.76,0.13,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
3704112,CO,01,COLORADO,1.012,1.064,0.781
3813102,CT,00,CONNECTICUT,1.020,1.077,1.210
3912202,DC,01,DC + MD/VA SUBURBS,1.054,1.178,1.113
4012102,DE,01,DELAWARE,1.005,0.988,0.899
4109102,FL,03,FORT LAUDERDALE,1.000,1.013,1.808
4209102,FL,04,MIAMI,1.000,1.041,2.529
4309102,FL,99,REST OF FLORIDA,1.000,0.956,1.503