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Growth Removal at the Base of the Back of the Skull

Iowa rates for HCPCS 61616

Removal of a tumor, an abnormal tangle of blood vessels, or an area of infection from the base of the skull toward the back, around the opening where the spinal cord leaves the head and the channel carrying the large draining vein. The surrounding structures are packed tightly together there, so the growth is taken out under a microscope. This covers taking out the lesion itself, not the work of opening a path down to it.

Rates data updated October 2026.

How much does Growth Removal at the Base of the Back of the Skull cost?

$11,510

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

Insurers have agreed to pay about $11,510 for this procedure. That total is two separate charges: $7,244 to the doctor who performs it, and $4,266 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 7 insurance carriers under federal price transparency rules.

What's inside this number

Part of the billTypicalRange
Physician feeThe doctor who performs it$7,244$4,898 to $8,128
Facility feeThe hospital or surgery center$4,266$1,514 to $6,918

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $4,266 · 10th to 90th $603 to $7,943Professionalmedian $7,244 · 10th to 90th $3,631 to $10,233
$100$500$2K$10K$50Kfacility $4,266professional $7,244

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
$4,265.80
Median
$5,888.44
Typical High
$7,943.28
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$2,884.03
Median
$4,466.84
Typical High
$4,466.84
Cigna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$7,079.46
Median
$7,585.78
Typical High
$9,332.54
Hally Health
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$3,090.30
Median
$4,897.79
Typical High
$10,232.93
Medica
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$588.84
Median
$4,265.80
Typical High
$9,120.11
Medica
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$3,890.45
Median
$7,244.36
Typical High
$23,988.33
Midlands
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$7,413.10
Median
$7,585.78
Typical High
$9,332.54
Midlands
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$6,456.54
Median
$9,120.11
Typical High
$10,471.29
United
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$588.84
Median
$2,344.23
Typical High
$6,918.31
United
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$3,467.37
Median
$5,370.32
Typical High
$10,232.93
Wellmark
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$6,309.57
Median
$6,309.57
Typical High
$7,413.10

Where Iowa sits

The same service costs 10.2 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

Iowa· 11th of 51

$11,510

$7,244 physician + $4,266 facility

ME $36,930WA $3,618

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.