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Cutting A Cranial Nerve At The Skull Base

New Jersey 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 October 2026.

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

$4,250

Typical total for the visit. In New Jersey, October 2026.

Insurers have agreed to pay about $4,250 for this procedure. That total is two separate charges: $2,344 to the doctor who performs it, and $1,905 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 5 insurance carriers under federal price transparency rules.

What's inside this number

Part of the billTypicalRange
Physician feeThe doctor who performs it$2,344$2,089 to $3,388
Facility feeThe hospital or surgery center$1,905$977 to $4,266

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $1,905 · 10th to 90th $380 to $8,511Professionalmedian $2,344 · 10th to 90th $1,995 to $6,310
$200$500$1K$2K$5K$10Kfacility $1,905professional $2,344

Distribution of negotiated rates across all payers (price axis is log-scale). Need provider-level prices or 24+ months of history? Contact us.

Rates by insurance carrier

Insurance Carrier
Aetna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$4,365.16
Median
$6,918.31
Typical High
$12,882.50
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$2,041.74
Median
$2,041.74
Typical High
$2,691.53
Cigna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$1,071.52
Median
$2,137.96
Typical High
$2,818.38
Cigna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$2,089.30
Median
$3,388.44
Typical High
$7,244.36
Emblem Health
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$2,398.83
Median
$3,235.94
Typical High
$3,388.44
Horizon BCBS
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$2,187.76
Median
$2,344.23
Typical High
$6,918.31
United
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$331.13
Median
$1,479.11
Typical High
$5,495.41
United
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$1,862.09
Median
$2,454.71
Typical High
$10,471.29
6 more rates with less common billing modifiers

A modifier changes what was billed, for example a reduced or repeated service. Each of these modifiers carries under 10% of the published rates for this code. Modifier combinations, and modifiers with fewer than 30 rates for a carrier, are not listed.

Insurance Carrier
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
52 · Reduced service
Typical Low
$1,023.29
Median
$1,023.29
Typical High
$1,174.90
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
53 · Discontinued
Typical Low
$407.38
Median
$407.38
Typical High
$467.74
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
54 · Surgery only
Typical Low
$1,513.56
Median
$1,513.56
Typical High
$1,778.28
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
55 · Aftercare only
Typical Low
$309.03
Median
$309.03
Typical High
$354.81
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
56 · Pre-op care only
Typical Low
$204.17
Median
$204.17
Typical High
$234.42
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
78 · Unplanned return to OR
Typical Low
$1,412.54
Median
$1,412.54
Typical High
$1,659.59

Where New Jersey sits

The same service costs 14.0 times more in Maine than in Texas. 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

New Jersey· 35th of 51

$4,250

$2,344 physician + $1,905 facility

ME $35,243TX $2,509

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.