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Skull Base Surgical Approach

Alabama rates for HCPCS 61596

This service is a surgical approach used to reach a tumor or growth located deep at the base of the skull, an area that is otherwise difficult to access. It is performed as one stage of a larger operation, opening a pathway so the growth itself can be removed in the same procedure or a following one. This kind of surgery generally requires a team with specialized head and neck or neurosurgical training.

Rates data updated October 2026.

How much does Skull Base Surgical Approach cost?

$10,005

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

Insurers have agreed to pay about $10,005 for this procedure. That total is two separate charges: $3,548 to the doctor who performs it, and $6,457 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$3,548$2,455 to $3,802
Facility feeThe hospital or surgery center$6,457$955 to $6,457

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $6,457 · 10th to 90th $513 to $6,457Professionalmedian $3,548 · 10th to 90th $2,138 to $3,890
$200$500$1K$2K$5Kfacility $6,457professional $3,548

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
$3,801.89
Median
$3,801.89
Typical High
$3,801.89
BCBS Alabama
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$6,456.54
Median
$6,456.54
Typical High
$6,456.54
BCBS Alabama
Setting
Professional
Modifier
21 + 22 · Increased work + 24 · Unrelated visit after surgery
Typical Low
$2,398.83
Median
$3,311.31
Typical High
$4,168.69
Cigna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$446.68
Median
$549.54
Typical High
$1,202.26
Cigna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$2,818.38
Median
$3,548.13
Typical High
$3,981.07
United
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$371.54
Median
$954.99
Typical High
$3,801.89
United
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$1,905.46
Median
$2,398.83
Typical High
$3,981.07
7 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
$1,905.46
Median
$1,905.46
Typical High
$1,905.46
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
53 · Discontinued
Typical Low
$758.58
Median
$758.58
Typical High
$758.58
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
54 · Surgery only
Typical Low
$2,818.38
Median
$2,818.38
Typical High
$2,818.38
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
55 · Aftercare only
Typical Low
$562.34
Median
$562.34
Typical High
$562.34
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
56 · Pre-op care only
Typical Low
$380.19
Median
$380.19
Typical High
$380.19
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
78 · Unplanned return to OR
Typical Low
$2,630.27
Median
$2,630.27
Typical High
$2,630.27
BCBS Alabama
Setting
Facility
Modifier
50 · Both sides
Typical Low
$9,772.37
Median
$9,772.37
Typical High
$9,772.37

Where Alabama sits

The same service costs 13.0 times more in Maine than in Washington. 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

$10,005

$3,548 physician + $6,457 facility

ME $35,671WA $2,745

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.