No office rate
Both describe stereotactic intracranial lesion biopsy. Choose 61751 when CT or MRI guidance is used; 61750 is for the procedure without that guidance.
On this page
CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
61751 Brain biopsy Medicare reimbursement rates in Delaware
Reports stereotactic sampling of an intracranial lesion using CT or MRI guidance, typically when tissue is needed to establish a brain lesion’s diagnosis. Compare 61751 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 61751 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
$1357.35
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 61751: CT- or MR-guided brain biopsy
Reports stereotactic sampling of an intracranial lesion using CT or MRI guidance, typically when tissue is needed to establish a brain lesion’s diagnosis.
A neurosurgeon uses stereotactic planning and CT or MRI guidance to direct instruments through a cranial opening to an intracranial lesion and obtain tissue. The service is typically performed in an operating room for a suspected brain tumor or another lesion that requires pathologic diagnosis; the specimen is sent for examination. The operative report should identify the target, the stereotactic approach, the imaging guidance used, and the tissue obtained.
Select this code when the biopsy is performed with CT or MRI guidance; distinguish it from stereotactic biopsy without that imaging guidance. The code has a 90-day global period: the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care are included. For multiple procedures in one session, Medicare pays the highest-valued procedure in full and reduces the others to 50%. Modifier 50 is inappropriate. Assistant-at-surgery payment is barred by statutory restriction; co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation, and team surgery is not permitted.
CMS billing rules for 61751
- 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 RVU18.32 · 44%
- Practice expense (office) RVU15.49 · 37%
- Malpractice RVU7.70 · 19%
1.3K
Medicare services in 2024 · #2790 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.
61751 compared with similar codes
Office rates for Delaware, from the same CMS release.
No office rate
61751 reports stereotactic tissue sampling with CT or MRI guidance. Code 61510 is for open excision of a supratentorial brain tumor.
No office rate
61751 obtains tissue for diagnosis. Code 61736 describes laser interstitial thermal treatment of an intracranial lesion.
Compare 61751 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
$1357.35
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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 61751 in Delaware.
PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv
6,881
- Code
- 61751
- Physician work
- 18.32
- Practice expense
- 15.49
- Malpractice
- 7.70
GPCI2026.csv
40
- Locality
- Delaware
- Physician work
- 1.005
- Practice expense
- 0.988
- Malpractice
- 0.899
| Component | RVU | Locality factor | Adjusted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Physician work | 18.32 | × 1.005 | 18.4116 |
| Practice expense | 15.49 | × 0.988 | 15.3041 |
| Malpractice | 7.70 | × 0.899 | 6.9223 |
| Total RVUs | 40.6380 | ||
| Conversion factor | × 33.4009 | ||
Facility rate, Delaware$1357.35
Explore RVUs, geographic factors and the full formula
Facility
| Component | RVU | Local GPCI |
|---|---|---|
| Work | 18.32 | 1.005 |
| Practice expense | 15.49 | 0.988 |
| Malpractice | 7.7 | 0.899 |
(18.32 × 1.005 + 15.49 × 0.988 + 7.7 × 0.899) × $33.4009 = $1357.35
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.
61751 billing questions
How does this differ from 61750?
Use 61751 for stereotactic intracranial biopsy performed with CT or MRI guidance. Code 61750 describes stereotactic biopsy without that imaging guidance.
What documentation supports 61751?
Document the intracranial target, stereotactic approach, use of CT or MRI to guide the biopsy, and tissue obtained.
Can modifier 50 be used for bilateral targets?
No. CMS identifies bilateral adjustment as inappropriate for this code, so modifier 50 is not suitable.
Is assistant-at-surgery payment available?
No. CMS lists a statutory restriction on assistant-at-surgery payment for 61751.
How are other procedures in the same session paid?
Under the standard multiple procedure reduction, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and the others are paid at 50%.
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.
6,87861736,,Litt icr 1 traj 1 smpl les,A,,18.58,7.75,NA,7.75,,7.85,34.18,34.18,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
6,87961737,,Litt icr mlt trj mlt/cplx ls,A,,22.10,8.99,NA,8.99,,9.33,40.42,40.42,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,1,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
6,88061750,,Incise skull/brain biopsy,A,,19.33,14.03,NA,14.03,,8.12,41.48,41.48,0,090,0.11,0.76,0.13,2,0,1,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
6,88161751,,Brain biopsy w/ct/mr guide,A,,18.32,15.49,NA,15.49,,7.70,41.51,41.51,0,090,0.11,0.76,0.13,2,0,1,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
6,88261760,,Implant brain electrodes,A,,21.83,15.49,NA,15.49,,9.21,46.53,46.53,0,090,0.11,0.76,0.13,2,0,1,2,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
6,88361770,,Incise skull for treatment,A,,22.61,15.29,NA,15.29,,9.55,47.45,47.45,0,090,0.11,0.76,0.13,2,0,1,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
6,88461781,,Scan proc cranial intra,A,,3.66,1.27,NA,1.27,,1.51,6.44,6.44,0,ZZZ,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,0,0,0,0,9,,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