No office rate
61001 describes ventricular access through an existing catheter or shunt for aspiration or drainage. Choose 61070 when the documented service is puncture of shunt tubing or its reservoir.
On this page
CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
61070 Shunt access Medicare reimbursement rates in Maine
Reports access to an implanted cerebrospinal fluid shunt for aspiration or injection, such as obtaining shunt fluid or administering medication. Compare 61070 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in Maine.
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 61070 in Maine?
Maine has 2 payment localities in this comparison. Use the service location to choose the applicable amount. These are the supported base rates for the 2 payment areas shown below, using the same CMS release.
Office / nonfacility
No supported rate
Facility setting
$48.15–$49.43
2 of 2 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.
Neurosurgery
About 61070: Shunt reservoir or tubing access
Reports access to an implanted cerebrospinal fluid shunt for aspiration or injection, such as obtaining shunt fluid or administering medication.
This service involves puncturing an implanted shunt’s tubing or reservoir to withdraw cerebrospinal fluid or inject a substance through the shunt system. It is typically performed by a neurosurgeon or another clinician experienced with CSF shunts, in an office or facility, when the patient’s condition calls for sampling or treatment through the existing device. The access route matters: this code describes entry through shunt tubing or its reservoir, not a new ventricular puncture.
Report the service when the record supports shunt access and documents the purpose, whether fluid was aspirated or an injection was performed, and the relevant findings or specimen. The 0-day global period includes same-day preoperative and postoperative care. When multiple procedures occur in one session, Medicare pays the highest-valued procedure in full and other procedures at 50%. Modifier 50 is inappropriate for this code. Medicare does not pay assistant-at-surgery services for it; co-surgeons and team surgery are not permitted.
CMS billing rules for 61070
- 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 RVU0.87 · 56%
- Practice expense (office) RVU0.52 · 34%
- Malpractice RVU0.15 · 10%
3.6K
Medicare services in 2024 · #2062 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.
61070 compared with similar codes
Office rates for Maine, from the same CMS release.
No office rate
61026 is for injection into the cerebral ventricles through an indwelling catheter. 61070 describes puncturing shunt tubing or a reservoir for aspiration or injection.
No office rate
61000 describes ventricular aspiration through a puncture route such as a fontanelle, suture, or burr hole; 61070 uses the existing shunt tubing or reservoir.
Compare 61070 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.
2 of 2 payment localities
Rest Of Maine →
Office / nonfacility
Unavailable
Facility
$48.15
Southern Maine →
Office / nonfacility
Unavailable
Facility
$49.43
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61070 billing questions
When is 61070 appropriate instead of a ventricular puncture code?
Use 61070 when the clinician punctures existing shunt tubing or its reservoir for aspiration or injection. A separate ventricular puncture code describes a different access route.
Can aspiration and injection both be reported under 61070?
The code covers shunt access for either aspiration or injection. Document the service performed and its purpose; do not infer a second service from the same access.
What documentation supports reporting 61070?
Record the implanted shunt access site, whether fluid was withdrawn or a substance injected, the clinical purpose, and pertinent results or specimen details.
How does the 0-day global period affect same-day care?
Same-day preoperative and postoperative care is included in the procedure’s 0-day global period.
What happens when another procedure is performed in the same session?
Medicare pays the highest-valued procedure in full and other procedures at 50%. Modifier 50 is not appropriate for 61070.
Can an assistant, co-surgeon, or surgical team be reported?
Medicare does not pay an assistant-at-surgery service for 61070. Co-surgeons and team surgery are 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.
6,7396102F,,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
6,74161055,,Injection into brain canal,A,,2.05,0.64,NA,0.64,,0.26,2.95,2.95,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
6,74261070,,Brain canal shunt procedure,A,,0.87,0.52,NA,0.52,,0.15,1.54,1.54,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
6,74361105,,Tdh sdrl/ventr pnxr,A,,5.31,7.38,NA,7.38,,2.23,14.92,14.92,0,090,0.11,0.76,0.13,2,0,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
6,74461107,,Tdh pnxr implt ventr cath,A,,4.87,1.70,NA,1.70,,2.04,8.61,8.61,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
6,74561108,,Tdh pnxr evac&/drg sdrl hmta,A,,11.35,11.88,NA,11.88,,4.58,27.81,27.81,0,090,0.11,0.76,0.13,2,0,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00