No office rate
This code concerns access through shunt tubing or a reservoir. Code 61020 describes direct puncture of a brain ventricle for therapeutic drainage.
On this page
CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
61020 Ventricular drainage Medicare reimbursement rates in Florida
Reports direct puncture of a brain ventricle to drain fluid therapeutically, rather than accessing fluid through a shunt or another CSF space. Compare 61020 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in Florida.
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 61020 in Florida?
Florida has 3 payment localities in this comparison. Use the service location to choose the applicable amount. These are the supported base rates for the 3 payment areas shown below, using the same CMS release.
Office / nonfacility
No supported rate
Facility setting
$105.68–$125.91
3 of 3 localities have a supported rate.
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 61020 pays more and less in Florida
Neurosurgery
About 61020: Therapeutic ventricular fluid drainage
Reports direct puncture of a brain ventricle to drain fluid therapeutically, rather than accessing fluid through a shunt or another CSF space.
A neurosurgeon uses a needle or other ventricular access to remove fluid directly from a brain ventricle for therapeutic drainage. The service may be performed in a hospital or another setting with appropriate procedural support when ventricular fluid removal is clinically needed, such as managing hydrocephalus or elevated intracranial pressure. This code concerns direct ventricular access, not a tap of an existing shunt reservoir or drainage from the cisterna magna.
Report the service when the documented procedure is therapeutic drainage by direct ventricular puncture. The operative or procedure note should identify the ventricular access and the drainage performed; a shunt tap or an injection-only service calls for a different code. Medicare assigns a 0-day global period, so same-day preoperative and postoperative care is included. 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 and team surgery are not permitted.
CMS billing rules for 61020
- Global period
- Minor procedure with a 0-day global period: same-day preoperative and postoperative care is 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 RVU1.47 · 50%
- Practice expense (office) RVU0.97 · 33%
- Malpractice RVU0.51 · 17%
500
Medicare services in 2024 · #3564 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.
61020 compared with similar codes
Office rates for Florida, from the same CMS release.
No office rate
Code 61050 involves puncture of the cisterna magna. Code 61020 is selected when the documented drainage is from a brain ventricle.
No office rate
Code 61026 describes an injection into a brain canal; code 61020 reports therapeutic fluid drainage by direct ventricular puncture.
Compare 61020 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.
3 of 3 payment localities
Fort Lauderdale →
Office / nonfacility
Unavailable
Facility
$112.72
Miami →
Office / nonfacility
Unavailable
Facility
$125.91
Rest Of Florida →
Office / nonfacility
Unavailable
Facility
$105.68
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61020 billing questions
How is this different from a shunt tap?
This code is for direct puncture of a brain ventricle to drain fluid. When the provider accesses fluid through existing shunt tubing or a reservoir, consider the applicable shunt-puncture code instead.
When should a cisterna magna puncture be reported instead?
Use the cisterna magna code when the documented puncture and drainage involve that CSF space rather than a brain ventricle.
Is same-day preoperative or postoperative care separately payable?
No. The 0-day global period includes same-day preoperative and postoperative care.
Can modifier 50 be used for bilateral ventricular drainage?
No. The CMS bilateral adjustment does not apply, and modifier 50 is inappropriate for this service.
How does Medicare handle other procedures performed in the same session?
The highest-valued procedure is paid in full, and other procedures are subject to the standard multiple-procedure reduction. Medicare does not pay an assistant at surgery, and co-surgeon or team-surgery billing is not permitted.
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.
6,73461001,,Remove cranial cavity fluid,A,,1.45,1.12,NA,1.12,,0.60,3.17,3.17,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,2,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
6,7356100F,,Verify pt site pxd docd,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
6,7366101F,,Safety counseling dementia,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
6,73761020,,Remove brain cavity fluid,A,,1.47,0.97,NA,0.97,,0.51,2.95,2.95,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
6,73861026,,Injection into brain canal,A,,1.65,1.01,NA,1.01,,0.48,3.14,3.14,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
6,7396102F,,Safety counseling dem order,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
6,74061050,,Remove brain canal fluid,A,,1.47,0.46,NA,0.46,,0.14,2.07,2.07,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,0,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00