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Skull Base Surgical Approach

Louisiana 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 July 2026.

How much does Skull Base Surgical Approach cost?

$6,710

Typical total for the visit. In Louisiana, July 2026.

Insurers have agreed to pay about $6,710 for this procedure. That total is two separate charges: $3,548 to the doctor who performs it, and $3,162 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$3,548$2,754 to $3,715
Facility feeThe hospital or surgery center$3,162$1,202 to $3,715

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $3,162 · 10th to 90th $891 to $4,677Professionalmedian $3,548 · 10th to 90th $2,188 to $3,890
$100.0$1.0K$10.0K$100.0Kfacility $3,162professional $3,548

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
$933.25
Median
$3,311.31
Typical High
$4,365.16
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$2,187.76
Median
$3,548.13
Typical High
$3,890.45
BCBS
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$2,691.53
Median
$3,235.94
Typical High
$4,073.80
Christus
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$39.81
Median
$39.81
Typical High
$39.81
Cigna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$1,819.70
Median
$3,090.30
Typical High
$4,265.80
United
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$389.05
Median
$1,348.96
Typical High
$6,606.93
United
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$2,187.76
Median
$2,951.21
Typical High
$5,128.61

Where Louisiana sits

The same service costs 9.5 times more in Maine than in Maryland. Every bar is a state, most expensive first. Pick one to see its carriers and full range.

Physician feeFacility feeLouisiana $6,710 · 36th of 50
ME $30,078MD $3,173

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.