go back

Brain Electrode Strip Placed Through Burr Holes

South Carolina rates for HCPCS 61531

Placement of a strip of recording electrodes onto the surface of the brain through small holes drilled in the skull, rather than by lifting out a section of bone. The electrodes stay in place for days so that seizures can be recorded and their starting point identified. The wires are led out through the scalp and connected to a recorder.

Rates data updated July 2026.

How much does Brain Electrode Strip Placed Through Burr Holes cost?

$1,413

Typical negotiated rate. In South Carolina, July 2026.

Insurers have agreed to pay about $1,413 for this service. The price depends on where it is billed: about $1,413 from a physician practice, and about $3,162 from a hospital or other facility. The two figures are alternatives, not parts of one bill.

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.

Where it's billed changes the price

Billed byTypicalRange
Physician practiceA doctor's office, clinic or independent provider$1,413$1,202 to $1,549
FacilityA hospital or hospital-owned outpatient department$3,162$1,413 to $9,772

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $3,162 · 10th to 90th $1,380 to $22,909Professionalmedian $1,413 · 10th to 90th $1,096 to $2,344
$50$200$1K$5K$20Kfacility $3,162professional $1,413

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
$1,412.54
Median
$9,120.11
Typical High
$22,908.68
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$1,096.48
Median
$1,412.54
Typical High
$1,584.89
BCBS
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$1,202.26
Median
$1,862.09
Typical High
$2,691.53
Cigna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$1,148.15
Median
$1,548.82
Typical High
$2,691.53
Medcost
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$1,202.26
Median
$1,621.81
Typical High
$2,884.03
Molina
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$32.36
Median
$32.36
Typical High
$33.11
United
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$707.95
Median
$5,888.44
Typical High
$9,772.37
United
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$977.24
Median
$1,348.96
Typical High
$2,398.83

Where South Carolina sits

The same service costs 5.0 times more in California than in Kentucky. 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.

South Carolina· 40th of 51

$1,413

CA $5,888KY $1,175

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.