Find policies, billing codes, payers, states, and providers
CPT 00220: Anesthesia for Intracranial Cerebrospinal Fluid Shunting
CPT code 00220 identifies anesthesia services rendered for intracranial procedures that establish or revise cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) shunting. This code is used nationally to capture perioperative anesthesia care for neurosurgical shunt placement and related intracranial interventions and is important for clinical billing, quality measurement, and resource planning in complex neurosurgical cases. Major payers included in national analyses are Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna Health, UnitedHealthcare, and Medicare.
Readers will learn the clinical context for use of CPT code 00220, typical sites and service settings where it is billed, and how it relates to other anesthesia codes for intracranial procedures. The publication also covers common payer coverage considerations and typical coding relationships to adjacent intracranial anesthesia codes. Practical benchmarks and policy-relevant details are provided to help hospital billing teams, anesthesiology groups, and revenue cycle stakeholders understand where this code fits within neurosurgical anesthesia coding and reimbursement frameworks.
Customize your policy alerts
Sign up for cpt 00220 policy alerts
Get alerted when payer policies referencing 00220 are released or updated.
Monitor payer policy activity
Billing Code Overview
CPT code 00220 describes anesthesia services provided for patients undergoing intracranial procedures for cerebrospinal fluid shunting. The service type is anesthesia for intracranial cerebrospinal fluid shunt procedures, typically delivered in an inpatient or operating room setting where neurosurgical shunting procedures are performed.
National Reimbursement Benchmarks
National commercial rates for CPT 00220 cluster around the BUCA average of $77.30, with payer-specific medians that are both above and below that benchmark. Blue Cross Blue Shield’s interquartile spread ($83.50 - $46.30 = $37.20) and Cigna’s spread ($120.00 - $67.80 = $52.20) indicate moderate to wide dispersion, while UnitedHealth Group’s interquartile spread ($80.80 - $52.00 = $28.80) and Aetna’s spread ($155.70 - $48.00 = $107.70) show contrasting variability — Aetna exhibiting the widest IQR and UnitedHealth Group the tightest among those with full quartile data.
Looking across payer means and medians, Aetna posts the highest maximum at $335.70 while Cigna and Aetna have higher central tendencies ($93.10 and $111.50 mean, respectively) than BUCA’s average. Blue Cross Blue Shield and UnitedHealth Group cluster closer to BUCA on median values ($58.20 and $64.00), reflecting more compact commercial pricing around the BUCA benchmark.