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CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01

61533 Brain electrode placement Medicare reimbursement rates in Kentucky

Reports craniotomy-based placement of cortical electrodes, commonly for invasive seizure monitoring when noninvasive testing has not localized an epilepsy focus. Compare 61533 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in Kentucky.

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 61533 in Kentucky?

Kentucky 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

$1423.21

1 of 1 localities have a supported rate.

Payment area: Kentucky

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.

Find 61533 in your payment locality →

Neurosurgery

About 61533: Craniotomy for cortical electrode placement

Reports craniotomy-based placement of cortical electrodes, commonly for invasive seizure monitoring when noninvasive testing has not localized an epilepsy focus.

A neurosurgeon opens the skull and raises a bone flap to place electrodes on the cerebral cortex, often using subdural grids or strips to record seizure activity. The electrodes support presurgical evaluation when a patient with drug-resistant epilepsy needs more precise localization of a seizure focus. This is an intracranial monitoring procedure, not the later removal of electrodes or resection of brain tissue.

Report 61533 for cortical electrode placement through a craniotomy; placement through burr holes is reported with 61531. The operative report should support the craniotomy approach and electrode placement. Medicare assigns a 90-day global period, including the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care. For multiple procedures in one session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and others at 50%. No bilateral adjustment is made. Assistant-at-surgery payment may be available; co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation, and team surgery is not permitted.

CMS billing rules for 61533

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 not permitted.

Where the value comes from

  • Work RVU20.92 · 46%
  • Practice expense (office) RVU15.31 · 34%
  • Malpractice RVU8.83 · 20%

12

Medicare services in 2024 · #6152 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.

61533 compared with similar codes

Office rates for Kentucky, from the same CMS release.

61531

Brain electrode implant

Cortical neurostimulation

No office rate

Both codes concern cortical electrode placement. Choose 61533 for the craniotomy approach and 61531 for placement through burr holes.

61760

Depth electrodes

Long-term seizure monitoring

No office rate

This code is for stereotactic intracranial electrode placement, a different approach from craniotomy-based cortical electrode placement.

61535

Electrode removal

Intracranial electrodes

No office rate

61535 reports removal of previously placed brain electrodes; 61533 reports their initial placement through a craniotomy.

Compare 61533 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

Office and facility base rates · shared scale starting at $0

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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 61533 in Kentucky.

PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv

6,793

Code
61533
Physician work
20.92
Practice expense
15.31
Malpractice
8.83

GPCI2026.csv

55

Locality
Kentucky
Physician work
1.000
Practice expense
0.889
Malpractice
0.915
Facility calculation for 61533 in Kentucky
ComponentRVULocality factorAdjusted
Physician work20.92× 1.00020.9200
Practice expense15.31× 0.88913.6106
Malpractice8.83× 0.9158.0794
Total RVUs42.6100
Conversion factor× 33.4009

Facility rate, Kentucky$1423.21

Values as parsed from CMS release RVU26D, effective 2026-10-01. The amount is rounded to the nearest cent only at the end.
Explore RVUs, geographic factors and the full formula

Facility

Facility calculation inputs
ComponentRVULocal GPCI
Work20.921
Practice expense15.310.889
Malpractice8.830.915

(20.92 × 1 + 15.31 × 0.889 + 8.83 × 0.915) × $33.4009 = $1423.21

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.

61533 billing questions

How is 61533 distinguished from 61531?

61533 describes cortical electrode placement through a craniotomy with a bone flap. Use 61531 when cortical electrodes are placed through burr holes.

Does 61533 include later electrode removal?

No. Electrode removal is a separate procedure, reported with 61535 when performed.

When is 61533 used instead of resecting an epilepsy focus?

Use 61533 when electrodes are placed for invasive monitoring to help localize seizure onset. Resection of an identified epileptogenic focus is a different surgical service.

What documentation supports 61533?

The operative report should describe the craniotomy approach and cortical electrode placement. Include the clinical purpose, such as invasive seizure monitoring, when documented.

How do multiple procedures and surgical assistance affect reporting?

When procedures are performed in the same session, Medicare pays the highest-valued procedure in full and others at 50%. Assistant-at-surgery payment may be available; co-surgeon payment needs supporting documentation.

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.

RVUs for 61533PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv, line 6,793 (RVU26D)
Geographic factors for KentuckyGPCI2026.csv, line 55 (RVU26D)
Open CMS sourceHow this rate is calculatedBuild a fee sheet