go back

Cutting A Cranial Nerve At The Skull Base

North Carolina rates for HCPCS 61460

Opens the skull at the base of the back of the head to reach the nerves emerging from the brainstem, and deliberately divides one or more of them. Cutting the nerve stops the signals it carries, which is done to relieve severe pain or uncontrollable activity that has not responded to medication. It is major neurosurgery under general anesthesia with a hospital stay.

Rates data updated July 2026.

How much does Cutting A Cranial Nerve At The Skull Base cost?

$5,691

Typical total for the visit. In North Carolina, July 2026.

Insurers have agreed to pay about $5,691 for this procedure. That total is two separate charges: $2,455 to the doctor who performs it, and $3,236 to the hospital or surgery center where it takes place. Done somewhere without a facility charge, you pay only the first.

These are rates insurers have negotiated with providers, not the amount a patient is billed. What you owe depends on your plan's deductible and coinsurance. Based on rates published by 6 insurance carriers under federal price transparency rules.

What's inside this number

Part of the billTypicalRange
Physician feeThe doctor who performs it$2,455$2,188 to $4,074
Facility feeThe hospital or surgery center$3,236$2,042 to $6,761

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $3,236 · 10th to 90th $1,660 to $7,943Professionalmedian $2,455 · 10th to 90th $2,042 to $6,026
$1K$2K$5K$10Kfacility $3,236professional $2,455

Distribution of negotiated rates across all payers (price axis is log-scale). Each curve is scaled to its own total: facility and professional rates are different services, shown together to compare where they cluster. Need provider-level prices or 24+ months of history? Contact us.

Rates by insurance carrier

Insurance Carrier
Aetna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$1,659.59
Median
$6,456.54
Typical High
$8,709.64
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$2,041.74
Median
$2,398.83
Typical High
$6,025.60
BCBS
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$2,398.83
Median
$2,951.21
Typical High
$5,495.41
Cigna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$2,187.76
Median
$3,090.30
Typical High
$5,370.32
Medcost
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$2,041.74
Median
$2,691.53
Typical High
$3,981.07
Medcost
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$2,754.23
Median
$2,754.23
Typical High
$5,754.40
United
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$1,288.25
Median
$3,981.07
Typical High
$7,079.46
United
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$1,862.09
Median
$2,570.40
Typical High
$4,677.35
Wellcare
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$56.23
Median
$12,882.50
Typical High
$12,882.50
Wellcare
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$14,791.08
Median
$14,791.08
Typical High
$19,054.61

Where North Carolina sits

The same service costs 10.5 times more in Maine than in Maryland. Every bar is a state, most expensive first. Touch or drag across it to read any state, then open that state for its carriers and full range.

Physician feeFacility fee

North Carolina· 41st of 50

$5,691

$2,455 physician + $3,236 facility

ME $29,799MD $2,848

Median negotiated rate in each state, from every insurer that publishes one. States where no insurer publishes a rate for this service are not shown.