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Brain Cyst Removal Or Drainage, Upper Brain

Utah 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?

$4,300

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

Insurers have agreed to pay about $4,300 for this procedure. That total is two separate charges: $1,349 to the doctor who performs it, and $2,951 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 7 insurance carriers under federal price transparency rules.

What's inside this number

Part of the billTypicalRange
Physician feeThe doctor who performs it$1,349$1,047 to $1,698
Facility feeThe hospital or surgery center$2,951$2,630 to $4,571

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $2,951 · 10th to 90th $575 to $13,804Professionalmedian $1,349 · 10th to 90th $170 to $2,630
$200$500$1K$2K$5K$10Kfacility $2,951professional $1,349

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
$2,630.27
Median
$3,162.28
Typical High
$6,025.60
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$1,778.28
Median
$2,630.27
Typical High
$2,630.27
Cigna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$630.96
Median
$630.96
Typical High
$630.96
Cigna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$2,187.76
Median
$2,238.72
Typical High
$4,073.80
Molina
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$165.96
Median
$1,288.25
Typical High
$1,737.80
Regence BlueShield
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$3,019.95
Median
$3,548.13
Typical High
$5,495.41
Select Health
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$4,570.88
Median
$4,570.88
Typical High
$4,570.88
Select Health
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$1,584.89
Median
$1,584.89
Typical High
$1,584.89
U of Utah Health Plan
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$1,621.81
Median
$3,162.28
Typical High
$6,165.95
United
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$199.53
Median
$2,951.21
Typical High
$13,803.84
United
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$1,778.28
Median
$2,089.30
Typical High
$3,890.45
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
$977.24
Median
$1,318.26
Typical High
$1,318.26
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
53 · Discontinued
Typical Low
$389.05
Median
$524.81
Typical High
$524.81
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
54 · Surgery only
Typical Low
$1,445.44
Median
$1,995.26
Typical High
$1,995.26
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
55 · Aftercare only
Typical Low
$295.12
Median
$398.11
Typical High
$398.11
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
56 · Pre-op care only
Typical Low
$194.98
Median
$263.03
Typical High
$263.03
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
78 · Unplanned return to OR
Typical Low
$1,348.96
Median
$1,862.09
Typical High
$1,862.09

Where Utah 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

Utah· 30th of 51

$4,300

$1,349 physician + $2,951 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.