No office rate
Choose 61501 when the craniectomy treats skull osteomyelitis; choose 61500 for removal of a skull-bone tumor or other lesion.
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CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
61500 Skull lesion excision Medicare reimbursement rates in Virginia
Reports craniectomy to remove a tumor or other lesion arising in skull bone, rather than an intracranial tumor or other brain lesion. Compare 61500 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in Virginia.
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 61500 in Virginia?
Virginia 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
$1137.46–$1322.59
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 61500: Craniectomy for skull bone lesion
Reports craniectomy to remove a tumor or other lesion arising in skull bone, rather than an intracranial tumor or other brain lesion.
Code 61500 describes an operation in which a surgeon removes skull bone containing a tumor or other lesion. Neurosurgeons commonly perform it in a hospital operating room when the abnormality arises in the calvarial bone. The operative target is the skull itself, distinguishing this service from procedures that remove a tumor, abscess, or other lesion within the brain.
Report the code when the operative documentation supports removal of a skull-bone lesion by craniectomy. The note should identify the lesion’s location and nature and describe the bone removal. Medicare assigns a 90-day global period, including 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% multiple-procedure reduction. 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 61500
- 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 RVU18.70 · 52%
- Practice expense (office) RVU11.62 · 32%
- Malpractice RVU5.57 · 16%
869
Medicare services in 2024 · #3067 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.
61500 compared with similar codes
Office rates for Virginia, from the same CMS release.
No office rate
Code 61510 concerns excision of a supratentorial brain tumor. Code 61500 targets a lesion arising in skull bone.
No office rate
Code 61512 is for removal of a supratentorial meningioma; 61500 is for a lesion of the skull bone itself.
No office rate
Code 61514 concerns excision of a supratentorial brain abscess. Use 61500 when the lesion being removed arises in skull bone.
Compare 61500 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
Dc + Md/Va Suburbs →
Office / nonfacility
Unavailable
Facility
$1322.59
Virginia →
Office / nonfacility
Unavailable
Facility
$1137.46
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61500 billing questions
How is this code distinguished from craniectomy for osteomyelitis?
Use 61500 for excision of a tumor or other lesion arising in skull bone. Code 61501 is for craniectomy performed for skull osteomyelitis.
Does a brain tumor removal belong under this code?
No. Code 61500 is for a lesion arising in skull bone; codes such as 61510 or 61512 address specified intracranial tumors.
Can modifier 50 be reported?
No. CMS identifies bilateral adjustment as inappropriate for this code.
How does the 90-day global period affect postoperative care?
The day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care are included in the global period.
What assistant and co-surgeon rules should be considered?
An assistant at surgery may be paid. Co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation; team surgery is not permitted.
What happens when this is performed with other procedures in the same session?
The highest-valued procedure is paid in full, and other procedures are subject to the standard 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.
6,77361450,,Crnec stpl sctj cmprn/dcmprn,A,,27.00,17.45,NA,17.45,,11.41,55.86,55.86,0,090,0.11,0.76,0.13,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
6,77461458,,Crnec sopl xpl/dcmpr crl nrv,A,,28.12,18.84,NA,18.84,,11.83,58.79,58.79,0,090,0.11,0.76,0.13,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
6,77561460,,Crnec sopl sctj 1+crnl nrv,A,,29.48,19.38,NA,19.38,,12.46,61.32,61.32,0,090,0.11,0.76,0.13,2,0,2,2,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
6,77661500,,Crnec exc tum/bone les skull,A,,18.70,11.62,NA,11.62,,5.57,35.89,35.89,0,090,0.11,0.76,0.13,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
6,77761501,,Craniectomy f/osteomyelitis,A,,15.94,10.99,NA,10.99,,4.69,31.62,31.62,0,090,0.11,0.76,0.13,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
6,7786150F,,Pt notrcvng1st antitnf txmnt,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
6,77961510,,Crnec treph exc brn tum sttl,A,,30.06,22.01,NA,22.01,,12.64,64.71,64.71,0,090,0.11,0.76,0.13,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00