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CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01

61531 Brain electrode implant Medicare reimbursement rates in Oklahoma

Reports craniectomy-based placement of cerebral cortical neurostimulator electrodes when a surgeon implants an electrode array for cortical stimulation. Compare 61531 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in Oklahoma.

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 61531 in Oklahoma?

Oklahoma 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

$1135.56

1 of 1 localities have a supported rate.

Payment area: Oklahoma

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 61531 in your payment locality →

Neurosurgery

About 61531: Cortical neurostimulator electrode implantation

Reports craniectomy-based placement of cerebral cortical neurostimulator electrodes when a surgeon implants an electrode array for cortical stimulation.

A neurosurgeon uses a craniectomy or bone-flap approach to place neurostimulator electrodes on the cerebral cortex. The service involves operative access and electrode placement for cortical stimulation, rather than temporary electrodes placed to monitor seizures. It is performed in an operating room, generally as part of a planned neurosurgical treatment involving cortical stimulation.

Select this code when the operative report supports implantation of cortical neurostimulator electrodes; document the cortical target, approach, and placement. The day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care are included in the 90-day global period. When multiple procedures are performed in the same session, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and other procedures are subject to the standard 50% multiple-procedure reduction. Modifier 50 is inappropriate for this service. CMS may pay for an assistant at surgery and permits co-surgeons; team surgery is not permitted.

CMS billing rules for 61531

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 permitted.
Team surgery
Team surgery not permitted.

Where the value comes from

  • Work RVU16.00 · 43%
  • Practice expense (office) RVU14.29 · 39%
  • Malpractice RVU6.74 · 18%

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.

61531 compared with similar codes

Office rates for Oklahoma, from the same CMS release.

61533

Brain electrode placement

Craniotomy approach

No office rate

Choose 61531 for cortical neurostimulator electrodes; 61533 describes electrode implantation for long-term seizure monitoring.

61863

Brain electrode placement

Subcortical, without microelectrode recording

No office rate

61531 concerns cortical electrode placement. 61863 describes stereotactic implantation of a neurostimulator electrode array at a subcortical site.

61535

Electrode removal

Intracranial electrodes

No office rate

61531 reports electrode implantation. 61535 describes removal of cerebral electrodes, a separate removal procedure.

Compare 61531 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 61531 in Oklahoma.

PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv

6,792

Code
61531
Physician work
16.00
Practice expense
14.29
Malpractice
6.74

GPCI2026.csv

86

Locality
Oklahoma
Physician work
1.000
Practice expense
0.893
Malpractice
0.777
Facility calculation for 61531 in Oklahoma
ComponentRVULocality factorAdjusted
Physician work16.00× 1.00016.0000
Practice expense14.29× 0.89312.7610
Malpractice6.74× 0.7775.2370
Total RVUs33.9980
Conversion factor× 33.4009

Facility rate, Oklahoma$1135.56

Explore RVUs, geographic factors and the full formula

Facility

Facility calculation inputs
ComponentRVULocal GPCI
Work161
Practice expense14.290.893
Malpractice6.740.777

(16 × 1 + 14.29 × 0.893 + 6.74 × 0.777) × $33.4009 = $1135.56

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.

61531 billing questions

How is this different from 61533?

61531 is for implantation of cortical neurostimulator electrodes. Use 61533 for electrodes placed for long-term seizure monitoring.

Can electrode placement for seizure monitoring be reported with 61531?

No. Seizure-monitoring electrodes are the distinct service represented by 61533; 61531 describes cortical neurostimulator electrode implantation.

Is modifier 50 appropriate?

No. The descriptor and anatomy do not support reporting this service as a bilateral procedure.

What postoperative care is included?

The 90-day global period includes the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care.

Can an assistant or co-surgeon be reported?

CMS permits payment for an assistant at surgery and permits co-surgeons. Team surgery is not permitted for this code.

What happens when another procedure is performed in the same session?

The highest-valued procedure is paid in full, and other procedures performed in that session are subject to the standard 50% multiple-procedure reduction.

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 61531PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv, line 6,792 (RVU26D)
Geographic factors for OklahomaGPCI2026.csv, line 86 (RVU26D)
Open CMS sourceHow this rate is calculatedBuild a fee sheet