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Procedure price report · Incision and excision of CNS

Brain fluid drainage through an existing skull opening

CPT 61020the billing code this page is about

Needle puncture of a fluid chamber of the brain through a previously made skull hole to withdraw fluid, without injecting any medication or dye.

Hospitals typically charge $1,019 cash for this outpatient procedure — the median across 599 hospitals that filed a usable cash price; the average of the middle 60% is $1,033. Most fall between $339 and $1,827 (20th–80th percentile).

Hospitals
599
States
49
Filings dated
Jun 2024 – Sep 2026
Computed
September 25, 2026
Prices checked
through September 24, 2026

Median: half of hospitals filed less, half more — and it is a price some hospital actually filed. Average of the middle 60%: the mean of the prices between the 20th and 80th percentiles. We never publish the plain average, the lowest or the highest price: the extremes in hospital price files are chargemaster artefacts, not prices anyone pays.

What hospitals charge, from cheapest to most expensive

Cash price percentiles, outpatient, across 599 hospitals. Each figure is a price a hospital filed. 10th: one in ten hospitals charges less; 25th: a quarter charge less; Median: half charge less; 75th: three quarters charge less; 90th: nine in ten charge less.
10th25thMedian75th90th
$196$451$1,019$1,678$2,878

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 15× what the cheapest tenth charges ($196 vs $2,878).

How the prices are spread

$116 – $165: 11 hospitals$116$165 – $235: 42 hospitals$235 – $335: 32 hospitals$235$335 – $477: 38 hospitals$477 – $679: 45 hospitals$477$679 – $968: 64 hospitals$968 – $1,380: 144 hospitals$968$1,380 – $1,966: 99 hospitals$1,966 – $2,802: 34 hospitals$1,966$2,802 – $3,993: 32 hospitals$2,802median $1,019price bands are equal on a log scale
Hospitals per price band (541 of 599 — the bands cover the 5th to 95th percentile)
FromToHospitals
$116$16511
$165$23542
$235$33532
$335$47738
$477$67945
$679$96864
$968$1,380144
$1,380$1,96699
$1,966$2,80234
$2,802$3,99332

Against Medicare

Medicare pays (OPPS 2026, national rate)$904
Median cash price$1,019
Cash as a multiple of Medicare1.13×

The Medicare figure is the national unadjusted OPPS rate for this code — what Medicare itself pays a hospital before local wage adjustment. It is a benchmark, not a price anyone is charged.

By state

The median cash price in each state, against the national median of $1,019.

Alaska: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureAKMaine: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMEVermont: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureVTNew Hampshire: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNHWashington: median $1,230 across 23 hospitalsWA$1,230Idaho: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureIDMontana: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMTNorth Dakota: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNDMinnesota: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMNIllinois: median $772 across 26 hospitalsIL$772Wisconsin: median $605 across 17 hospitalsWI$605Michigan: median $973 across 25 hospitalsMI$973New York: median $1,054 across 36 hospitalsNY$1,054Massachusetts: 8 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMAOregon: median $1,628 across 24 hospitalsOR$1,628Nevada: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNVWyoming: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureWYSouth Dakota: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureSDIowa: median $250 across 15 hospitalsIA$250Indiana: median $488 across 14 hospitalsIN$488Ohio: median $833 across 26 hospitalsOH$833Pennsylvania: median $1,017 across 26 hospitalsPA$1,017New Jersey: median $3,786 across 25 hospitalsNJ$3,786Connecticut: 8 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureCTRhode Island: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureRICalifornia: median $1,711 across 68 hospitalsCA$1,711Utah: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureUTColorado: 9 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureCONebraska: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNEMissouri: median $840 across 16 hospitalsMO$840Kentucky: 9 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureKYWest Virginia: median $1,017 across 10 hospitalsWV$1,017Virginia: 9 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureVAMaryland: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMDDelaware: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureDEArizona: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureAZNew Mexico: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNMKansas: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureKSArkansas: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureARTennessee: median $384 across 12 hospitalsTN$384North Carolina: median $1,019 across 14 hospitalsNC$1,019South Carolina: 5 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureSCOklahoma: median $176 across 15 hospitalsOK$176Louisiana: median $395 across 13 hospitalsLA$395Mississippi: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMSAlabama: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureALGeorgia: median $1,007 across 12 hospitalsGA$1,007Hawaii: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceHITexas: median $1,013 across 34 hospitalsTX$1,013Florida: median $1,230 across 29 hospitalsFL$1,230
Cash price by state, most expensive first. National median $1,019. A state needs at least 10 hospitals with a usable price to show a figure.
StateHospitalsMedianvs national20th–80th
New Jersey NJ25$3,786+272%$985 – $5,339
California CA68$1,711+68%$1,139 – $3,338
Oregon OR24$1,628+60%$196 – $2,436
Florida FL29$1,230+21%$900 – $1,871
Washington WA23$1,230+21%$977 – $1,948
New York NY36$1,054+3%$213 – $2,238
North Carolina NC14$1,0190%$1,019 – $1,061
West Virginia WV10$1,0170%$1,017 – $1,114
Pennsylvania PA26$1,0170%$69 – $1,678
Texas TX34$1,013−1%$732 – $1,369
Georgia GA12$1,007−1%$839 – $1,600
Michigan MI25$973−4%$378 – $973
Missouri MO16$840−18%$455 – $2,049
Ohio OH26$833−18%$667 – $1,109
Illinois IL26$772−24%$212 – $1,392
Wisconsin WI17$605−41%$494 – $990
Indiana IN14$488−52%$423 – $694
Louisiana LA13$395−61%$331 – $864
Tennessee TN12$384−62%$148 – $522
Iowa IA15$250−75%$250 – $250
Oklahoma OK15$176−83%$111 – $176
Colorado CO9not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Kentucky KY9not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Virginia VA9not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Connecticut CT8not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Massachusetts MA8not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Idaho ID6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Minnesota MN6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Mississippi MS6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Nebraska NE6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Arkansas AR5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Maine ME5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Montana MT5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
South Carolina SC5not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Alaska AK4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
New Hampshire NH4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Alabama AL3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Arizona AZ3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
North Dakota ND3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Vermont VT3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
New Mexico NM2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Nevada NV2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Wyoming WY2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Delaware DE1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Kansas KS1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Maryland MD1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Rhode Island RI1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
South Dakota SD1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Utah UT1not enough hospitals filed a usable price

Hospitals like yours

The same distribution cut by the kind of hospital. Hospital type and ownership come from CMS; a hospital counts as part of a system when its price file is shared with at least one other hospital under the same brand. The national median is $1,019.

Cash price by hospital segment. A segment needs at least 20 hospitals to show a figure.
SegmentHospitalsMedian20th–80th
Hospital type
Acute care508$1,054$365 – $1,850
Children’s21$840$360 – $1,366
Critical access69$667$247 – $1,520
Ownership
For-profit38$1,132$232 – $1,793
Government81$1,019$384 – $1,528
Non-profit479$1,013$339 – $1,850
System affiliation
Part of a system523$1,019$360 – $1,844
Independent76$914$225 – $1,571

Cash price vs list price

Median list price (chargemaster)$1,913
Median cash price$1,019
Cash as a share of list, median hospital60%

At the typical hospital, asking for the cash price cuts the list price by about 40%. The share is the median of each hospital’s own cash ÷ list ratio, over hospitals that filed both — not the ratio of the two medians above.

The same procedure, inpatient

416 hospitals filed a usable inpatient cash price for this code. The median is $1,020 and the average of the middle 60% is $1,073; most fall between $322 and $1,827.

Cash price percentiles, inpatient, across 416 hospitals. Each figure is a price a hospital filed. 10th: one in ten hospitals charges less; 25th: a quarter charge less; Median: half charge less; 75th: three quarters charge less; 90th: nine in ten charge less.
10th25thMedian75th90th
$196$384$1,020$1,711$2,436

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 12× what the cheapest tenth charges ($196 vs $2,436).

Of the 444 hospitals that filed this code inpatient, 416 gave a usable cash price; 16 carried a plausibility flag, 0 filed a number their own filing marks as not a price, 0 gave an estimate, and 12 a list price only.

How complete is this

599 of the 3,956 hospitals with a price file in our corpus (15%) filed a usable outpatient cash price for this code, and those are the hospitals every figure on this page is computed from.

What the 649 hospitals that filed this code at all gave us
Usable cash price — counted599
Cash price carrying a plausibility flag — shown on the compare tool, excluded here31
A number the filing itself marks as not a price (a placeholder, a ratio) — excluded1
An estimate rather than a filed cash price — excluded0
A list price only, no cash figure — excluded18
Hospitals that filed this code649

Sections not shown for this setting

  • Since our last snapshot: there is no earlier snapshot at least 90 days older than this one yet.

We last checked these hospitals’ price files for changes between September 4, 2026 and September 24, 2026; the figures were computed September 25, 2026 from filings loaded through September 24, 2026. The percentiles and averages use only the “counted” row.

Related procedures

Part of the Incision and excision of CNS family.

Hospitals file this code under descriptions such as Ventricular Puncture Previous Burr Hole W/O Njx.

Method

Source
The machine-readable price files every U.S. hospital is required by CMS to publish, parsed per hospital. Nothing is surveyed, sampled or modelled.
What counts
One cash (self-pay) price per hospital for this code and setting. A hospital’s own filing can rule its number out — a placeholder, a “not applicable” note, a list price standing in for cash — and our plausibility checks can flag a price far below what every other hospital files. Both kinds are disclosed above and excluded from the statistics; on the compare tool a flagged price is still shown.
Statistics
Percentiles are discrete: each is a price some hospital filed. The average is the mean of the prices between the 20th and 80th percentiles. We never publish the plain mean, the minimum or the maximum. A state needs 10 hospitals and a segment 20 to show a figure; otherwise the row shows its count and no number. Medicare is the national unadjusted OPPS rate where one exists.
Names
Procedure names on these pages are our own plain-language titles, not the AMA’s copyrighted CPT descriptors. The code is the identity.

The full rules — sources, statistics, thresholds, limitations — are on the methodology page.

Download this page’s figures: JSON · CSV. Aggregates only — the per-hospital prices are on the compare tool.

Cite: HospitalRates.com, “Brain fluid drainage through an existing skull opening (CPT 61020) — cash price report,” computed September 25, 2026. https://hospitalrates.com/procedures/cpt-61020-brain-fluid-drainage-through-an-existing-skull-opening