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Skull Base Surgical Approach

Arizona 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?

$4,496

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

Insurers have agreed to pay about $4,496 for this procedure. That total is two separate charges: $2,455 to the doctor who performs it, and $2,042 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$2,455$2,188 to $3,631
Facility feeThe hospital or surgery center$2,042$977 to $4,677

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $2,042 · 10th to 90th $174 to $7,762Professionalmedian $2,455 · 10th to 90th $2,138 to $18,197
$100$500$2K$10Kfacility $2,042professional $2,455

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
$977.24
Median
$3,715.35
Typical High
$7,585.78
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$2,137.96
Median
$2,137.96
Typical High
$2,344.23
BCBS Arizona
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$1,659.59
Median
$3,981.07
Typical High
$10,232.93
BCBS Arizona
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$2,187.76
Median
$2,344.23
Typical High
$4,786.30
Cigna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$602.56
Median
$2,089.30
Typical High
$2,691.53
Cigna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$2,290.87
Median
$2,454.71
Typical High
$4,265.80
Medica
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$104.71
Median
$1,096.48
Typical High
$5,128.61
Medica
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$2,238.72
Median
$3,311.31
Typical High
$18,197.01
United
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$104.71
Median
$1,148.15
Typical High
$5,128.61
United
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$2,137.96
Median
$2,511.89
Typical High
$4,677.35
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
$1,071.52
Median
$1,071.52
Typical High
$1,174.90
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
53 · Discontinued
Typical Low
$426.58
Median
$426.58
Typical High
$467.74
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
54 · Surgery only
Typical Low
$1,584.89
Median
$1,584.89
Typical High
$1,737.80
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
55 · Aftercare only
Typical Low
$316.23
Median
$316.23
Typical High
$346.74
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
56 · Pre-op care only
Typical Low
$213.80
Median
$213.80
Typical High
$234.42
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
78 · Unplanned return to OR
Typical Low
$1,479.11
Median
$1,479.11
Typical High
$1,621.81

Where Arizona 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

Arizona· 38th of 51

$4,496

$2,455 physician + $2,042 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.