go back

Telescope Surgery Inside the Brain's Fluid Spaces

Louisiana rates for HCPCS 62161

A narrow telescope is passed through a small opening in the skull into the fluid-filled chambers inside the brain, so the surgeon can divide scar bands and open windows between chambers or into a cyst. This lets trapped fluid flow freely again and relieves the pressure it has been causing. A drainage tube may be placed, replaced, or taken out during the same procedure.

Rates data updated October 2026.

How much does Telescope Surgery Inside the Brain's Fluid Spaces cost?

$3,143

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

Insurers have agreed to pay about $3,143 for this procedure. That total is two separate charges: $2,188 to the doctor who performs it, and $955 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$2,188$1,778 to $2,455
Facility feeThe hospital or surgery center$955$550 to $2,291

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $955 · 10th to 90th $389 to $3,890Professionalmedian $2,188 · 10th to 90th $1,445 to $2,692
$500$1K$2K$5K$10Kfacility $955professional $2,188

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
$676.08
Median
$2,691.53
Typical High
$3,890.45
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$1,995.26
Median
$2,290.87
Typical High
$2,454.71
BCBS Louisiana
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$1,949.84
Median
$2,344.23
Typical High
$2,570.40
Christus
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$39.81
Median
$39.81
Typical High
$39.81
Cigna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$524.81
Median
$1,047.13
Typical High
$1,621.81
Cigna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$1,148.15
Median
$1,862.09
Typical High
$2,630.27
United
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$354.81
Median
$724.44
Typical High
$4,073.80
United
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$1,318.26
Median
$1,862.09
Typical High
$2,951.21
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
$1,000.00
Median
$1,148.15
Typical High
$1,230.27
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
53 · Discontinued
Typical Low
$398.11
Median
$457.09
Typical High
$501.19
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
54 · Surgery only
Typical Low
$1,513.56
Median
$1,698.24
Typical High
$1,862.09
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
55 · Aftercare only
Typical Low
$302.00
Median
$346.74
Typical High
$371.54
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
56 · Pre-op care only
Typical Low
$199.53
Median
$229.09
Typical High
$245.47
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
78 · Unplanned return to OR
Typical Low
$1,412.54
Median
$1,584.89
Typical High
$1,737.80

Where Louisiana sits

The same service costs 15.5 times more in Maine than in Maryland. 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

Louisiana· 38th of 51

$3,143

$2,188 physician + $955 facility

ME $34,449MD $2,222

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.