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Skull Base Surgical Approach

Massachusetts 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?

$6,325

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

Insurers have agreed to pay about $6,325 for this procedure. That total is two separate charges: $3,981 to the doctor who performs it, and $2,344 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 9 insurance carriers under federal price transparency rules.

What's inside this number

Part of the billTypicalRange
Physician feeThe doctor who performs it$3,981$2,884 to $7,079
Facility feeThe hospital or surgery center$2,344$794 to $3,311

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $2,344 · 10th to 90th $407 to $4,169Professionalmedian $3,981 · 10th to 90th $2,512 to $16,596
$100$200$500$1K$2K$5K$10Kfacility $2,344professional $3,981

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
$2,691.53
Median
$3,090.30
Typical High
$5,623.41
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$2,570.40
Median
$2,570.40
Typical High
$7,079.46
AllWays Health Partners
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$346.74
Median
$1,047.13
Typical High
$5,495.41
AllWays Health Partners
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$2,511.89
Median
$6,606.93
Typical High
$16,595.87
BCBS Massachusetts
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$3,981.07
Median
$3,981.07
Typical High
$3,981.07
Cigna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$50.12
Median
$954.99
Typical High
$1,380.38
Cigna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$3,388.44
Median
$3,388.44
Typical High
$6,606.93
Fallon Health
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$2,344.23
Median
$2,884.03
Typical High
$3,630.78
Fallon Health
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$2,454.71
Median
$2,884.03
Typical High
$3,548.13
Harvard Pilgrim
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$295.12
Median
$954.99
Typical High
$4,073.80
Harvard Pilgrim
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$2,511.89
Median
$4,570.88
Typical High
$7,079.46
Mass General Brigham
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$346.74
Median
$1,047.13
Typical High
$5,495.41
Mass General Brigham
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$2,511.89
Median
$6,606.93
Typical High
$16,595.87
United
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$295.12
Median
$1,023.29
Typical High
$4,073.80
United
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$2,754.23
Median
$3,801.89
Typical High
$10,232.93
Well Sense
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$1,819.70
Median
$2,511.89
Typical High
$3,801.89
Well Sense
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$1,819.70
Median
$1,819.70
Typical High
$2,187.76
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
$1,258.93
Median
$1,258.93
Typical High
$3,548.13
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
53 · Discontinued
Typical Low
$512.86
Median
$512.86
Typical High
$1,412.54
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
54 · Surgery only
Typical Low
$1,905.46
Median
$1,905.46
Typical High
$5,370.32
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
55 · Aftercare only
Typical Low
$380.19
Median
$380.19
Typical High
$1,071.52
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
56 · Pre-op care only
Typical Low
$257.04
Median
$257.04
Typical High
$707.95
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
78 · Unplanned return to OR
Typical Low
$1,778.28
Median
$1,778.28
Typical High
$5,011.87

Where Massachusetts 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

Massachusetts· 23rd of 51

$6,325

$3,981 physician + $2,344 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.