CPT 00211: Anesthesia for Intracranial Hematoma Evacuation
CPT code 00211 represents anesthesia services provided during intracranial procedures to remove a portion of skull bone for evacuation of a hematoma or intracranial blood clot. This code captures perioperative anesthetic management for complex neurosurgical interventions and is relevant to hospitals, anesthesia groups, and payers because of the high acuity, resource intensity, and operative setting associated with these cases. Key national payers included in this analysis are Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna Health, UnitedHealthcare, and Medicare. Readers will find a concise overview of the clinical context for 00211, typical sites of service, and the payer mix addressed in benchmarking and policy discussions. The publication also outlines common billing considerations tied to the clinical scenario, related surgical codes frequently billed on the same claim, and the provider specialties typically involved. Content is organized for operational leaders, billing and coding specialists, and clinical teams seeking clear background on the code’s purpose, common use cases, and where it fits in neurosurgical perioperative care.
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Billing Code Overview
CPT code 00211 describes anesthesia services for intracranial procedures involving removal of a portion of skull bone to evacuate a hematoma or blood clot from within the brain or surrounding tissues. The service type is anesthesia for intracranial hematoma evacuation. The typical site of service is an inpatient or operating room setting where neurosurgical craniotomy or craniectomy procedures are performed.
National Reimbursement Benchmarks
BUCA (average commercial) sits near the center of the national commercial distribution for CPT 00211 with a mean of $72.30 and an interquartile context consistent with other national payers. Among named commercial carriers, Cigna posts the highest mean at $93.10 while Blue Cross Blue Shield averages $64.30 and UnitedHealth Group averages $67.30; Aetna’s mean is $80.50. This positions BUCA as a moderate anchor between Cigna’s upper-tier pricing and BCBS/UnitedHealth Group’s mid-tier levels.
Dispersion measured by the interquartile range (P75 minus P25) is widest for Cigna at $53.20 (P75 $119.90 minus P25 $67.70), indicating greater variability in commercial contract rates, while UnitedHealth Group is the tightest at $27.80 (P75 $80.80 minus P25 $52.00). Blue Cross Blue Shield and Aetna show intermediate dispersion of $39.00 and $53.00 respectively, with BUCA’s IQR at $41.10, reflecting moderate spread around the average commercial rate.