No office rate
Both codes concern spinal-shunt placement. Check the operative details against each code's full descriptor rather than choosing from the general indication alone.
On this page
CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
63741 Spinal shunt Medicare reimbursement rates in Vermont
Report spinal shunt placement when a surgeon surgically diverts cerebrospinal fluid from the spinal subarachnoid space through an implanted shunt. Compare 63741 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in Vermont.
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 63741 in Vermont?
Vermont 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
$654.79
1 of 1 localities have a supported rate.
Payment area: Vermont
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.
Neurosurgery
About 63741: Spinal cerebrospinal fluid shunt placement
Report spinal shunt placement when a surgeon surgically diverts cerebrospinal fluid from the spinal subarachnoid space through an implanted shunt.
A spinal shunt procedure places a catheter system to divert cerebrospinal fluid from the spinal subarachnoid space to another body compartment. Neurosurgeons typically perform the operation in a hospital operating room for patients who need CSF diversion. The operative report should identify the spinal access, shunt route and destination, and whether the surgeon placed a new system rather than revising or removing an existing one.
Report 63741 for the documented shunt installation, using the procedure details to distinguish it from other spinal-shunt codes. The service has a 90-day global period: the day-before preoperative visit and related postoperative care during that period are included. When multiple procedures are performed in the same session, Medicare pays the highest-valued procedure in full and reduces the others. Modifier 50 is inappropriate for this code. An assistant at surgery may be paid; co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation, and team surgery is not permitted.
CMS billing rules for 63741
- 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 RVU8.89 · 42%
- Practice expense (office) RVU9.11 · 43%
- Malpractice RVU3.35 · 16%
92
Medicare services in 2024 · #4943 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.
63741 compared with similar codes
Office rates for Vermont, from the same CMS release.
No office rate
63744 is for revising or replacing an existing spinal shunt; 63741 is for installing a shunt.
No office rate
63746 is for taking out a spinal shunt. It does not describe installation of a new shunt.
No office rate
62223 describes ventricular shunt placement, while 63741 concerns a spinal shunt; select according to the documented CSF diversion site.
Compare 63741 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
Vermont →
Office / nonfacility
Unavailable
Facility
$654.79
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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 63741 in Vermont.
PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv
7,093
- Code
- 63741
- Physician work
- 8.89
- Practice expense
- 9.11
- Malpractice
- 3.35
GPCI2026.csv
105
- Locality
- Vermont
- Physician work
- 1.000
- Practice expense
- 0.990
- Malpractice
- 0.506
| Component | RVU | Locality factor | Adjusted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Physician work | 8.89 | × 1.000 | 8.8900 |
| Practice expense | 9.11 | × 0.990 | 9.0189 |
| Malpractice | 3.35 | × 0.506 | 1.6951 |
| Total RVUs | 19.6040 | ||
| Conversion factor | × 33.4009 | ||
Facility rate, Vermont$654.79
Explore RVUs, geographic factors and the full formula
Facility
| Component | RVU | Local GPCI |
|---|---|---|
| Work | 8.89 | 1 |
| Practice expense | 9.11 | 0.99 |
| Malpractice | 3.35 | 0.506 |
(8.89 × 1 + 9.11 × 0.99 + 3.35 × 0.506) × $33.4009 = $654.79
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.
63741 billing questions
How do I distinguish placement from revision or removal?
Use 63741 when the surgeon installs a spinal shunt. Code 63744 describes revision or replacement, while 63746 describes removal.
What operative documentation supports 63741?
Document the shunt installation, spinal access, route and destination of CSF diversion, and whether the system is new. These details help distinguish placement from revision or removal.
Can modifier 50 be reported?
No. CMS identifies bilateral adjustment as inappropriate for this code, so modifier 50 should not be used to represent bilateral performance.
Can an assistant surgeon be paid?
CMS permits payment for an assistant at surgery for this code. Co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation.
How does the 90-day global period affect postoperative services?
The day-before preoperative visit and related postoperative care during the 90-day period are included in the surgical global package.
What happens if another procedure is performed in the same session?
Under the standard multiple-procedure reduction, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and the other procedures are paid at 50%.
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.
7,09063709,,Repair spinal fluid leakage,A,,15.26,11.99,NA,11.99,,5.23,32.48,32.48,0,090,0.11,0.76,0.13,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
7,09163710,,Graft repair of spine defect,A,,15.02,11.63,NA,11.63,,4.66,31.31,31.31,0,090,0.11,0.76,0.13,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
7,09263740,,Install spinal shunt,A,,12.31,12.73,NA,12.73,,5.17,30.21,30.21,0,090,0.11,0.76,0.13,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
7,09363741,,Install spinal shunt,A,,8.89,9.11,NA,9.11,,3.35,21.35,21.35,0,090,0.11,0.76,0.13,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
7,09463744,,Revision of spinal shunt,A,,8.72,9.65,NA,9.65,,3.67,22.04,22.04,0,090,0.11,0.76,0.13,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
7,09563746,,Removal of spinal shunt,A,,7.15,9.10,NA,9.10,,3.01,19.26,19.26,0,090,0.11,0.76,0.13,2,0,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
7,09664400,,Njx aa&/strd trigeminal nrv,A,,0.73,2.71,,0.48,,0.21,3.65,1.42,0,000,0.00,0.00,0.00,2,1,1,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
10204412,TX,18,HOUSTON,1.008,0.993,1.376
10304412,TX,99,REST OF TEXAS,1.000,0.949,0.903
10403502,UT,09,UTAH,1.000,0.940,0.898
10514512,VT,50,VERMONT,1.000,0.990,0.506
10611302,VA,00,VIRGINIA,1.000,0.983,0.706
10709202,VI,50,VIRGIN ISLANDS,1.000,1.011,0.985
10802402,WA,02,SEATTLE (KING CNTY),1.050,1.227,0.817