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Skull Base Surgical Approach

Illinois 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?

$4,900

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

Insurers have agreed to pay about $4,900 for this procedure. That total is two separate charges: $3,162 to the doctor who performs it, and $1,738 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 6 insurance carriers under federal price transparency rules.

What's inside this number

Part of the billTypicalRange
Physician feeThe doctor who performs it$3,162$2,570 to $4,074
Facility feeThe hospital or surgery center$1,738$708 to $4,169

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $1,738 · 10th to 90th $513 to $16,596Professionalmedian $3,162 · 10th to 90th $2,291 to $5,248
$100$1K$10Kfacility $1,738professional $3,162

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
$933.25
Median
$2,454.71
Typical High
$7,762.47
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$2,089.30
Median
$2,454.71
Typical High
$2,884.03
BCBS Illinois
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$16,595.87
Median
$35,481.34
Typical High
$70,794.58
BCBS Illinois
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$2,570.40
Median
$3,388.44
Typical High
$4,073.80
Cigna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$512.86
Median
$758.58
Typical High
$2,511.89
Cigna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$2,511.89
Median
$3,019.95
Typical High
$4,570.88
Hally Health
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$2,454.71
Median
$3,890.45
Typical High
$10,715.19
Hally Health
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$100.00
Median
$100.00
Typical High
$100.00
Hally Health
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$2,884.03
Median
$3,090.30
Typical High
$3,388.44
Molina
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$33.11
Median
$33.11
Typical High
$33.11
United
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$489.78
Median
$1,258.93
Typical High
$7,079.46
United
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$2,511.89
Median
$3,715.35
Typical High
$5,623.41
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
$1,047.13
Median
$1,202.26
Typical High
$1,258.93
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
53 · Discontinued
Typical Low
$416.87
Median
$489.78
Typical High
$512.86
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
54 · Surgery only
Typical Low
$1,584.89
Median
$1,819.70
Typical High
$1,905.46
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
55 · Aftercare only
Typical Low
$316.23
Median
$363.08
Typical High
$380.19
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
56 · Pre-op care only
Typical Low
$208.93
Median
$245.47
Typical High
$257.04
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
78 · Unplanned return to OR
Typical Low
$1,479.11
Median
$1,698.24
Typical High
$1,778.28

Where Illinois 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

Illinois· 33rd of 51

$4,900

$3,162 physician + $1,738 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.