No office rate
Both involve temporal-lobe resection for epilepsy. Use 61538 when intraoperative electrocorticography is performed; use 61537 when it is not.
On this page
CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
61538 Temporal lobectomy Medicare reimbursement rates in Washington
Reports surgical removal of temporal-lobe tissue for seizure treatment when intraoperative electrocorticography is performed as part of the procedure. Compare 61538 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in Washington.
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 61538 in Washington?
Washington 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
$2469.21–$2671.90
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 61538: Temporal lobectomy with electrocorticography
Reports surgical removal of temporal-lobe tissue for seizure treatment when intraoperative electrocorticography is performed as part of the procedure.
A neurosurgeon reports this service for a temporal lobectomy performed to treat epilepsy when electrocorticography is used during the operation to assess brain electrical activity. The procedure is typically performed in a hospital operating room. The code distinguishes this operation from temporal-lobe resection without electrocorticography and from resections involving other brain regions.
The operative report should support the temporal-lobe resection, the epilepsy-related treatment, and use of intraoperative electrocorticography. The code carries 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 procedure is paid in full and other procedures are subject to the standard 50% multiple-procedure reduction. Assistant-at-surgery payment may be available; co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation, and team surgery is not permitted.
CMS billing rules for 61538
- 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 RVU38.46 · 50%
- Practice expense (office) RVU21.47 · 28%
- Malpractice RVU16.24 · 21%
36
Medicare services in 2024 · #5557 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.
61538 compared with similar codes
Office rates for Washington, from the same CMS release.
No office rate
This code is for lobectomy outside the temporal lobe without electrocorticography. 61538 is for temporal-lobe resection with electrocorticography.
No office rate
Both include electrocorticography, but 61540 is for lobectomy outside the temporal lobe; 61538 is for temporal-lobe resection.
No office rate
61541 describes excision of an epileptogenic focus rather than a temporal-lobe lobectomy. Select based on the operation performed and documented.
Compare 61538 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
Rest Of Washington →
Office / nonfacility
Unavailable
Facility
$2469.21
Seattle (King Cnty) →
Office / nonfacility
Unavailable
Facility
$2671.90
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61538 billing questions
How does this differ from 61537?
Both describe temporal-lobe resection for epilepsy. Report 61538 when intraoperative electrocorticography is performed; 61537 is the corresponding code without it.
Can I report 61538 for a lobectomy outside the temporal lobe?
No. This code is for temporal-lobe resection. Codes 61539 and 61540 address lobectomy in a brain region other than the temporal lobe, with the electrocorticography distinction determining which applies.
What documentation supports reporting this code?
The operative report should identify the temporal-lobe resection and document intraoperative electrocorticography. It should also describe the epilepsy-related surgical treatment.
Is routine postoperative care separately reported during the global period?
The day-before preoperative visit and 90 days of related postoperative care are included in the global period.
Should modifier 50 be used?
No. Modifier 50 is inappropriate for this procedure under the CMS bilateral adjustment rules.
Can an assistant or co-surgeon be reported?
Assistant-at-surgery payment may be available. Co-surgeon payment requires supporting documentation; team surgery is not 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.
6,79561535,,Remove brain electrodes,A,,12.82,12.47,NA,12.47,,5.40,30.69,30.69,0,090,0.11,0.76,0.13,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
6,79661536,,Removal of brain lesion,A,,36.78,21.94,NA,21.94,,15.53,74.25,74.25,0,090,0.11,0.76,0.13,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
6,79761537,,Removal of brain tissue,A,,35.54,19.96,NA,19.96,,15.01,70.51,70.51,0,090,0.11,0.76,0.13,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
6,79861538,,Removal of brain tissue,A,,38.46,21.47,NA,21.47,,16.24,76.17,76.17,0,090,0.11,0.76,0.13,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
6,79961539,,Removal of brain tissue,A,,33.42,20.76,NA,20.76,,14.12,68.30,68.30,0,090,0.11,0.76,0.13,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
6,80061540,,Removal of brain tissue,A,,30.64,19.70,NA,19.70,,12.95,63.29,63.29,0,090,0.11,0.76,0.13,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
6,80161541,,Incision of brain tissue,A,,30.17,19.62,NA,19.62,,12.74,62.53,62.53,0,090,0.11,0.76,0.13,2,0,2,1,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00