No office rate
Use 61601 for intradural anterior cranial fossa lesion work that includes dural repair; 61600 describes extradural work at that site.
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CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
61601 Skull base resection Medicare reimbursement rates in Texas
Reports removal of an intradural lesion involving the anterior cranial fossa, including dural repair, during complex skull-base surgery. Compare 61601 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in Texas.
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 61601 in Texas?
Texas has 8 payment localities in this comparison. Use the service location to choose the applicable amount. These are the supported base rates for the 8 payment areas shown below, using the same CMS release.
Office / nonfacility
No 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.
Where 61601 pays more and less in Texas
Skull base surgery
About 61601: Intradural anterior cranial fossa lesion resection
Reports removal of an intradural lesion involving the anterior cranial fossa, including dural repair, during complex skull-base surgery.
Neurosurgeons use this operation to remove a neoplastic, vascular, or infectious lesion involving the anterior cranial fossa from within the dura; dural repair is part of the service. A typical case may involve an olfactory-groove meningioma or another lesion extending into the anterior skull base. The procedure is performed in a hospital operating room and may involve another surgical specialty participating in the approach.
Choose the code based on the lesion’s anterior cranial fossa location and intradural operative work, not simply its diagnosis. The operative report should establish the site, the lesion’s relationship to the dura, the resection performed, and dural repair. This major procedure has a 90-day global period, including the day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care. When multiple procedures are performed in the same session, the highest-valued is paid in full and other procedures are subject to the standard multiple procedure reduction. Assistant-at-surgery payment may be available; co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation. Team surgery is permitted.
CMS billing rules for 61601
- 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 permitted.
Where the value comes from
- Work RVU30.36 · 42%
- Practice expense (office) RVU29.56 · 41%
- Malpractice RVU11.95 · 17%
547
Medicare services in 2024 · #3475 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.
61601 compared with similar codes
Office rates for Texas, from the same CMS release.
No office rate
Both involve intradural lesion resection, but the operative site distinguishes them: anterior cranial fossa for 61601 and middle cranial fossa for 61606.
No office rate
61608 is the intradural lesion-resection code for the posterior cranial fossa; 61601 is for the anterior cranial fossa.
Compare 61601 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.
8 of 8 payment localities
| Payment locality | Office | Facility |
|---|---|---|
| Austin | Office Unavailable | Facility $2414.31 |
| Beaumont | Office Unavailable | Facility $2283.32 |
| Brazoria | Office Unavailable | Facility $2311.94 |
| Dallas | Office Unavailable | Facility $2349.02 |
| Fort Worth | Office Unavailable | Facility $2344.34 |
| Galveston | Office Unavailable | Facility $2333.07 |
| Houston | Office Unavailable | Facility $2551.80 |
| Rest Of Texas | Office Unavailable | Facility $2311.45 |
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61601 billing questions
How is 61601 distinguished from 61600?
61601 is for intradural work involving the anterior cranial fossa and includes dural repair. 61600 describes the corresponding extradural approach.
Does the code include dural repair?
Yes. Dural repair is part of the service represented by 61601, so it is not separately described as an additional repair within this code.
How does 61601 differ from 61606?
Both describe intradural cranial fossa lesion surgery, but 61601 applies to the anterior cranial fossa and 61606 to the middle cranial fossa.
What documentation supports reporting 61601?
Document the anterior cranial fossa site, the lesion’s intradural involvement, the resection performed, and dural repair. The operative report should make the location and extent of the skull-base work clear.
Can an assistant or co-surgeon be reported?
Assistant-at-surgery payment may be available. Co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation, and team surgery is 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.
6,83361597,,Transcondylar approach/skull,A,,39.80,32.18,NA,32.18,,16.81,88.79,88.79,0,090,0.11,0.76,0.13,2,1,2,1,2,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
6,83461598,,Transpetrosal approach/skull,A,,35.62,34.60,NA,34.60,,15.04,85.26,85.26,0,090,0.11,0.76,0.13,2,0,2,1,2,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
6,83561600,,Resect/excise cranial lesion,A,,29.26,21.58,NA,21.58,,6.49,57.33,57.33,0,090,0.11,0.76,0.13,2,0,2,1,2,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
6,83661601,,Resect/excise cranial lesion,A,,30.36,29.56,NA,29.56,,11.95,71.87,71.87,0,090,0.11,0.76,0.13,2,0,2,1,2,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
6,83761605,,Resect/excise cranial lesion,A,,31.76,19.93,NA,19.93,,5.57,57.26,57.26,0,090,0.11,0.76,0.13,2,0,2,1,2,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
6,83861606,,Resect/excise cranial lesion,A,,41.00,26.61,NA,26.61,,14.07,81.68,81.68,0,090,0.11,0.76,0.13,2,0,2,1,2,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
6,83961607,,Resect/excise cranial lesion,A,,39.91,23.47,NA,23.47,,11.26,74.64,74.64,0,090,0.11,0.76,0.13,2,0,2,1,2,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00