No office rate
61510 describes the supratentorial tumor excision. Report 61517 as an add-on when an intracavitary chemotherapy agent is also placed.
On this page
CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
61517 Brain drug implant Medicare reimbursement rates in Kansas
Report this add-on when a neurosurgeon places an intracavitary chemotherapy agent, such as a carmustine wafer, after brain tumor resection. Compare 61517 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in Kansas.
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 61517 in Kansas?
Kansas 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
$68.71
1 of 1 localities have a supported rate.
Payment area: Kansas
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 61517: Intracavitary brain chemotherapy implant
Report this add-on when a neurosurgeon places an intracavitary chemotherapy agent, such as a carmustine wafer, after brain tumor resection.
During brain tumor surgery, a neurosurgeon may place a chemotherapy agent directly into the cavity left by tumor removal. A familiar example is a carmustine wafer placed after resection of a malignant glioma. The service is performed in the operating room as part of the same surgical episode as the tumor resection; it is not a stand-alone drug administration or a separate office service.
Report 61517 with the eligible primary tumor-resection procedure, not by itself. The operative report should support the tumor resection and document placement of the intracavitary agent. Select the primary procedure based on the resection performed, including the tumor’s site and the applicable CPT surgical approach. CMS classifies 61517 as an add-on code: it is billed only with a primary procedure, and its payment falls within that procedure’s global period.
CMS billing rules for 61517
- Global period
- Add-on code: billed only together with a primary procedure and paid within that procedure's global period.
Where the value comes from
- Work RVU1.35 · 57%
- Practice expense (office) RVU0.47 · 20%
- Malpractice RVU0.56 · 24%
40
Medicare services in 2024 · #5506 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.
61517 compared with similar codes
Office rates for Kansas, from the same CMS release.
No office rate
61518 describes an infratentorial tumor excision. It is a primary resection code, whereas 61517 describes the additional intracavitary agent placement.
No office rate
61512 describes excision of a supratentorial meningioma. Code 61517 is for intracavitary chemotherapy-agent placement, not the tumor excision itself.
Compare 61517 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
Kansas →
Office / nonfacility
Unavailable
Facility
$68.71
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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 61517 in Kansas.
PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv
6,783
- Code
- 61517
- Physician work
- 1.35
- Practice expense
- 0.47
- Malpractice
- 0.56
GPCI2026.csv
54
- Locality
- Kansas
- Physician work
- 1.000
- Practice expense
- 0.904
- Malpractice
- 0.504
| Component | RVU | Locality factor | Adjusted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Physician work | 1.35 | × 1.000 | 1.3500 |
| Practice expense | 0.47 | × 0.904 | 0.4249 |
| Malpractice | 0.56 | × 0.504 | 0.2822 |
| Total RVUs | 2.0571 | ||
| Conversion factor | × 33.4009 | ||
Facility rate, Kansas$68.71
Explore RVUs, geographic factors and the full formula
Facility
| Component | RVU | Local GPCI |
|---|---|---|
| Work | 1.35 | 1 |
| Practice expense | 0.47 | 0.904 |
| Malpractice | 0.56 | 0.504 |
(1.35 × 1 + 0.47 × 0.904 + 0.56 × 0.504) × $33.4009 = $68.71
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.
61517 billing questions
Can 61517 be billed by itself?
No. It is an add-on for placement of an intracavitary chemotherapy agent during brain tumor surgery and must be reported with the primary procedure.
What documentation supports 61517?
The operative report should describe the brain tumor resection and the intracavitary chemotherapy agent placed in the resulting cavity.
Is the implant reported as a separate drug administration?
No. This code represents placement of the agent in the brain tumor cavity during surgery, not a separate infusion or office drug administration.
How does the primary procedure affect reporting?
Choose the primary tumor-resection code for the surgery performed, considering the tumor site and surgical approach. CMS pays 61517 within that primary procedure’s global period.
Does 61517 describe removal of the brain tumor?
No. The primary procedure describes the tumor resection; 61517 describes placement of the intracavitary chemotherapy agent after resection.
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.
6,78061512,,Crnec treph exc mngioma sttl,A,,36.21,22.34,NA,22.34,,15.21,73.76,73.76,0,090,0.11,0.76,0.13,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
6,78161514,,Crnec treph exc brn abs sttl,A,,26.55,18.01,NA,18.01,,11.05,55.61,55.61,0,090,0.11,0.76,0.13,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
6,78261516,,Crnec treph exc cyst sttl,A,,25.92,17.81,NA,17.81,,10.82,54.55,54.55,0,090,0.11,0.76,0.13,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
6,78361517,,Implt brn intrcv chemotx agt,A,,1.35,0.47,NA,0.47,,0.56,2.38,2.38,0,ZZZ,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
6,78461518,,Removal of brain lesion,A,,38.89,25.12,NA,25.12,,16.38,80.39,80.39,0,090,0.11,0.76,0.13,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
6,78561519,,Remove brain lining lesion,A,,42.34,24.43,NA,24.43,,17.73,84.50,84.50,0,090,0.11,0.76,0.13,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
6,78661520,,Removal of brain lesion,A,,55.66,27.93,NA,27.93,,21.17,104.76,104.76,0,090,0.11,0.76,0.13,2,0,2,2,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
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
5607202,LA,01,NEW ORLEANS,1.000,0.941,1.136
5707202,LA,99,REST OF LOUISIANA,1.000,0.885,0.958