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CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01

61322 Cranial decompression Medicare reimbursement rates in New Mexico

Reports cranial decompression to relieve dangerous intracranial pressure from cerebral swelling when the operation does not include removal of a brain lobe. Compare 61322 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in New Mexico.

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 61322 in New Mexico?

New Mexico 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

$2338.23

1 of 1 localities have a supported rate.

Payment area: New Mexico

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 61322 in your payment locality →

Neurosurgery

About 61322: Decompressive cranial surgery without lobectomy

Reports cranial decompression to relieve dangerous intracranial pressure from cerebral swelling when the operation does not include removal of a brain lobe.

A neurosurgeon opens or removes part of the skull to create room for a swollen brain and reduce intracranial pressure. The operation may include opening or expanding the dura, but it does not include removal of a brain lobe. Typical situations include severe traumatic brain injury or a large cerebral infarction with dangerous swelling despite medical treatment. These operations are generally performed in a hospital operating room.

Report the code when the operative record supports decompression without lobectomy; document the indication, operative site and extent, dural work, and any brain tissue removed. The 90-day global period includes the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care. 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 for this service. An assistant at surgery may be paid; co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation, and team surgery is not permitted.

CMS billing rules for 61322

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 RVU33.40 · 48%
  • Practice expense (office) RVU21.53 · 31%
  • Malpractice RVU14.04 · 20%

858

Medicare services in 2024 · #3084 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.

61322 compared with similar codes

Office rates for New Mexico, from the same CMS release.

61323

Cranial decompression

With lobectomy

No office rate

Use 61322 when decompression is performed without lobectomy. Use 61323 when the operation includes removal of a brain lobe.

61312

Hematoma evacuation

Supratentorial, extra- or subdural

No office rate

61312 describes evacuation of a supratentorial extradural or subdural hematoma. This code describes decompression without lobectomy, not hematoma evacuation alone.

61314

Hematoma evacuation

Infratentorial, extradural or subdural

No office rate

61314 describes evacuation of an infratentorial extradural or subdural hematoma. This code is for decompression without lobectomy.

Compare 61322 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 61322 in New Mexico.

PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv

6,766

Code
61322
Physician work
33.40
Practice expense
21.53
Malpractice
14.04

GPCI2026.csv

77

Locality
New Mexico
Physician work
1.000
Practice expense
0.917
Malpractice
1.201
Facility calculation for 61322 in New Mexico
ComponentRVULocality factorAdjusted
Physician work33.40× 1.00033.4000
Practice expense21.53× 0.91719.7430
Malpractice14.04× 1.20116.8620
Total RVUs70.0051
Conversion factor× 33.4009

Facility rate, New Mexico$2338.23

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
Work33.41
Practice expense21.530.917
Malpractice14.041.201

(33.4 × 1 + 21.53 × 0.917 + 14.04 × 1.201) × $33.4009 = $2338.23

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.

61322 billing questions

How does this differ from 61323?

The key distinction is whether the operation includes removal of a brain lobe. This code is for decompression without lobectomy; 61323 is the related option when lobectomy is performed.

Can dural expansion be part of this service?

Yes. The decompression may include work to expand the dura; that alone does not make the operation a different code.

Can modifier 50 be reported?

No. The CMS bilateral adjustment does not apply because the service’s descriptor or anatomy makes modifier 50 inappropriate.

What documentation supports reporting the code?

Document the pressure-relief indication, the cranial site and extent of decompression, dural work, and whether brain tissue was removed. The record should make clear that the operation did not include lobectomy.

How are other procedures in the same session paid?

Under the standard multiple procedure reduction, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and other procedures are paid at 50% when performed in the same session.

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 61322PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv, line 6,766 (RVU26D)
Geographic factors for New MexicoGPCI2026.csv, line 77 (RVU26D)