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Telescope Surgery Inside the Brain's Fluid Spaces

New Jersey 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?

$3,477

Typical total for the visit. In New Jersey, October 2026.

Insurers have agreed to pay about $3,477 for this procedure. That total is two separate charges: $1,698 to the doctor who performs it, and $1,778 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$1,698$1,514 to $2,399
Facility feeThe hospital or surgery center$1,778$1,000 to $4,266

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $1,778 · 10th to 90th $380 to $8,511Professionalmedian $1,698 · 10th to 90th $1,445 to $4,467
$200$500$1K$2K$5K$10Kfacility $1,778professional $1,698

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
$1,548.82
Median
$5,623.41
Typical High
$11,748.98
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$1,513.56
Median
$1,513.56
Typical High
$1,905.46
Cigna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$1,071.52
Median
$2,137.96
Typical High
$2,818.38
Cigna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$1,479.11
Median
$2,454.71
Typical High
$5,370.32
Emblem Health
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$1,737.80
Median
$2,398.83
Typical High
$2,511.89
Horizon BCBS
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$1,584.89
Median
$1,698.24
Typical High
$5,011.87
United
Setting
Facility
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$331.13
Median
$1,479.11
Typical High
$5,495.41
United
Setting
Professional
Modifier
None
Typical Low
$1,348.96
Median
$1,778.28
Typical High
$7,413.10
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
$758.58
Median
$758.58
Typical High
$851.14
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
53 · Discontinued
Typical Low
$302.00
Median
$302.00
Typical High
$338.84
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
54 · Surgery only
Typical Low
$1,148.15
Median
$1,148.15
Typical High
$1,288.25
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
55 · Aftercare only
Typical Low
$229.09
Median
$229.09
Typical High
$257.04
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
56 · Pre-op care only
Typical Low
$151.36
Median
$151.36
Typical High
$169.82
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
78 · Unplanned return to OR
Typical Low
$1,071.52
Median
$1,071.52
Typical High
$1,202.26

Where New Jersey 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

New Jersey· 34th of 51

$3,477

$1,698 physician + $1,778 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.