No office rate
Use 61615 for an extradural skull-base lesion; 61616 is the intradural counterpart. The operative report should establish the lesion's relationship to the dura.
On this page
CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
61616 Skull-base resection Medicare reimbursement rates in Indiana
Reports operative removal of an intradural skull-base lesion when the documented site and operative details support this skull-base resection code. Compare 61616 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in Indiana.
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 61616 in Indiana?
Indiana 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
$2790.02
1 of 1 localities have a supported rate.
Payment area: Indiana
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 61616: Intradural skull-base lesion resection
Reports operative removal of an intradural skull-base lesion when the documented site and operative details support this skull-base resection code.
A neurosurgeon or skull-base surgeon uses this code for operative removal of a lesion involving the skull base with work on the intradural side. Examples of skull-base lesions include meningiomas and schwannomas, but the operative anatomy and dural relationship—not the diagnosis alone—guide code selection. These procedures are generally performed in a hospital operating room, sometimes with neurosurgery and otolaryngology surgeons working together.
The operative report should identify the lesion, its skull-base location, its relationship to the dura, the approach, and the work performed. Distinguish this intradural service from the extradural counterpart, 61615, and from codes for specified cranial fossae. This major surgery has a 90-day global period, including the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care. When multiple procedures are performed 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 permitted.
CMS billing rules for 61616
- 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 permitted.
Where the value comes from
- Work RVU45.57 · 48%
- Practice expense (office) RVU32.19 · 34%
- Malpractice RVU16.71 · 18%
357
Medicare services in 2024 · #3830 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.
61616 compared with similar codes
Office rates for Indiana, from the same CMS release.
No office rate
61600 addresses lesion resection at the anterior cranial fossa. Choose between it and 61616 based on the documented site and applicable operative anatomy.
No office rate
61605 addresses lesion resection at the middle cranial fossa. The specific operative site helps distinguish it from the broader skull-base service represented by 61616.
No office rate
61607 addresses lesion resection at the posterior cranial fossa. Use the code whose documented site and descriptor match the procedure performed.
Compare 61616 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
Indiana →
Office / nonfacility
Unavailable
Facility
$2790.02
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 61616 in Indiana.
PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv
6,844
- Code
- 61616
- Physician work
- 45.57
- Practice expense
- 32.19
- Malpractice
- 16.71
GPCI2026.csv
52
- Locality
- Indiana
- Physician work
- 1.000
- Practice expense
- 0.927
- Malpractice
- 0.486
| Component | RVU | Locality factor | Adjusted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Physician work | 45.57 | × 1.000 | 45.5700 |
| Practice expense | 32.19 | × 0.927 | 29.8401 |
| Malpractice | 16.71 | × 0.486 | 8.1211 |
| Total RVUs | 83.5312 | ||
| Conversion factor | × 33.4009 | ||
Facility rate, Indiana$2790.02
Explore RVUs, geographic factors and the full formula
Facility
| Component | RVU | Local GPCI |
|---|---|---|
| Work | 45.57 | 1 |
| Practice expense | 32.19 | 0.927 |
| Malpractice | 16.71 | 0.486 |
(45.57 × 1 + 32.19 × 0.927 + 16.71 × 0.486) × $33.4009 = $2790.02
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.
61616 billing questions
How does 61616 differ from 61615?
The key distinction is whether the skull-base lesion is intradural or extradural. The operative report should support the lesion's relationship to the dura and the work performed.
How do I choose between 61616 and codes 61600 through 61608?
Those codes address lesions at specified cranial fossae. Select the code that matches the documented operative site and applicable code descriptor rather than relying on the diagnosis alone.
Can dural repair be reported separately?
A separate repair code may be relevant when a distinct repair service is performed and supported by the operative documentation. Code 61618 is associated with repair of a skull-base dural defect.
What documentation supports assistant or co-surgeon billing?
The operative record should show the surgeons' roles and the work each performed. Assistant-at-surgery payment may be made; co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation.
Does the 90-day global period include postoperative visits?
It includes related postoperative care for 90 days and the preoperative visit on the day before surgery. The global period applies to this major surgical service.
Can modifier 50 be used for bilateral work?
No. The bilateral adjustment does not apply to this code, and modifier 50 is inappropriate.
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.
6,84161611,,Transect artery sinus,A,,7.22,2.53,NA,2.53,,3.04,12.79,12.79,0,ZZZ,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,0,2,1,2,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
6,84261613,,Remove aneurysm sinus,A,,43.90,33.63,NA,33.63,,18.54,96.07,96.07,0,090,0.11,0.76,0.13,2,1,2,1,2,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
6,84361615,,Resect/excise lesion skull,A,,34.88,34.76,NA,34.76,,14.74,84.38,84.38,0,090,0.11,0.76,0.13,2,0,2,1,2,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
6,84461616,,Resect/excise lesion skull,A,,45.57,32.19,NA,32.19,,16.71,94.47,94.47,0,090,0.11,0.76,0.13,2,0,2,1,2,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
6,84561618,,Repair dura,A,,18.22,12.18,NA,12.18,,6.08,36.48,36.48,0,090,0.11,0.76,0.13,2,0,2,1,2,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
6,84661619,,Repair dura,A,,21.55,16.21,NA,16.21,,9.11,46.87,46.87,0,090,0.11,0.76,0.13,2,0,2,1,2,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
6,84761623,,Evasc temp balo artl occ h/n,A,,9.70,2.87,NA,2.87,,2.95,15.52,15.52,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
4906102,IL,12,EAST ST. LOUIS,1.000,0.920,2.014
5006102,IL,15,SUBURBAN CHICAGO,1.007,1.027,1.772
5106102,IL,99,REST OF ILLINOIS,1.000,0.913,1.563
5208102,IN,00,INDIANA,1.000,0.927,0.486
5305102,IA,00,IOWA,1.000,0.915,0.397
5405202,KS,00,KANSAS,1.000,0.904,0.504
5515102,KY,00,KENTUCKY,1.000,0.889,0.915