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Brain Cyst Removal Or Drainage, Upper Brain

Alabama rates for HCPCS 61516

Opens the skull to reach a fluid-filled cyst in the upper part of the brain and either takes it out or cuts a lasting opening in its wall so the fluid drains into the surrounding spaces. Relieving the cyst takes pressure off the brain tissue around it. The opening may be a small drilled hole, a piece of bone taken out and left out, or a bone flap lifted and put back at the end.

Rates data updated October 2026.

How much does Brain Cyst Removal Or Drainage, Upper Brain cost?

$8,254

Typical total for the visit. In Alabama, October 2026.

Insurers have agreed to pay about $8,254 for this procedure. That total is two separate charges: $2,630 to the doctor who performs it, and $5,623 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 4 insurance carriers under federal price transparency rules.

What's inside this number

Part of the billTypicalRange
Physician feeThe doctor who performs it$2,630$1,862 to $2,818
Facility feeThe hospital or surgery center$5,623$955 to $5,623

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $5,623 · 10th to 90th $513 to $5,623Professionalmedian $2,630 · 10th to 90th $1,660 to $3,236
$200$500$1K$2K$5Kfacility $5,623professional $2,630

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
$776.25
Median
$1,258.93
Typical High
$2,630.27
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$2,818.38
Median
$2,818.38
Typical High
$2,818.38
BCBS Alabama
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$5,623.41
Median
$5,623.41
Typical High
$5,623.41
BCBS Alabama
Setting
Professional
Modifier
21 + 22 · Increased work + 24 · Unrelated visit after surgery
Typical Low
$2,454.71
Median
$2,818.38
Typical High
$3,388.44
Cigna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$446.68
Median
$549.54
Typical High
$1,202.26
Cigna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$2,238.72
Median
$2,630.27
Typical High
$3,467.37
United
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$371.54
Median
$954.99
Typical High
$3,801.89
United
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$1,479.11
Median
$1,778.28
Typical High
$2,951.21
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
$1,412.54
Median
$1,412.54
Typical High
$1,412.54
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
53 · Discontinued
Typical Low
$562.34
Median
$562.34
Typical High
$562.34
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
54 · Surgery only
Typical Low
$2,137.96
Median
$2,137.96
Typical High
$2,137.96
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
55 · Aftercare only
Typical Low
$426.58
Median
$426.58
Typical High
$426.58
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
56 · Pre-op care only
Typical Low
$281.84
Median
$281.84
Typical High
$281.84
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
78 · Unplanned return to OR
Typical Low
$1,995.26
Median
$1,995.26
Typical High
$1,995.26

Where Alabama sits

The same service costs 13.4 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

Alabama· 9th of 51

$8,254

$2,630 physician + $5,623 facility

ME $34,930MD $2,604

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.