CPT code 59051: Fetal monitoring, interpretation only during labor2026 Medicare rate & RVUs in California
Reports a consulting physician’s interpretation of fetal monitoring during labor when the service is limited to interpretation rather than interpretation with a report.
CMS doesn’t publish an office rate for 59051 in California.
Medicare allowed amount for participating (non-QP) physicians, before deductible, coinsurance and claim adjustments. Not a patient’s bill or a hospital charge.
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What 59051 covers
A physician consulted during labor reviews fetal monitoring, including the fetal heart-rate tracing, and provides a clinical interpretation. The service is specific to intrapartum monitoring; it is not an antepartum nonstress test or the performance of a procedure such as fetal scalp blood sampling. It may be relevant when the clinician managing labor requests another physician’s assessment of the tracing.
Choose this code when the service is interpretation only. Use 59050 when the consulting physician’s service includes interpretation and a report. Documentation should identify the labor-related consultation, the tracing assessed, the physician’s interpretation, and the resulting clinical assessment. The claim should represent the interpretation service actually provided, rather than the broader interpretation-and-report service.
This summary was written with AI assistance from CMS physician fee schedule data and checked against the CMS billing rules shown here. Rates on this page come directly from CMS files.
Where 59051 pays more and less in California
The same RVUs, adjusted for each area’s costs. Open a locality for its calculation, history and nearby areas.
29 of 29 payment localities
| Payment locality | Office | Facility |
|---|---|---|
| Bakersfield, CA | Unavailable | $34.47 |
| Chico, CA | Unavailable | $33.89 |
| El Centro, CA | Unavailable | $33.92 |
| Fresno, CA | Unavailable | $33.89 |
| Hanford, CA | Unavailable | $33.89 |
| Los Angeles, CA | Unavailable | $35.84 |
| Madera, CA | Unavailable | $33.89 |
| Marin County, CA | Unavailable | $36.77 |
| Merced, CA | Unavailable | $33.89 |
| Modesto, CA | Unavailable | $33.89 |
| Napa, CA | Unavailable | $35.90 |
| Oxnard, CA | Unavailable | $35.22 |
| Redding, CA | Unavailable | $33.89 |
| Rest of California | Unavailable | $33.89 |
| Riverside, CA | Unavailable | $36.24 |
| Sacramento, CA | Unavailable | $34.68 |
| Salinas, CA | Unavailable | $34.54 |
| San Benito County, CA | Unavailable | $37.86 |
| San Diego, CA | Unavailable | $34.74 |
| San Francisco, CA | Unavailable | $36.52 |
| San Luis Obispo, CA | Unavailable | $34.10 |
| Santa Clara County, CA | Unavailable | $36.84 |
| Santa Cruz, CA | Unavailable | $34.58 |
| Santa Maria, CA | Unavailable | $34.50 |
| Santa Rosa, CA | Unavailable | $34.86 |
| Stockton, CA | Unavailable | $33.89 |
| Vallejo, CA | Unavailable | $35.54 |
| Visalia, CA | Unavailable | $33.89 |
| Yuba City, CA | Unavailable | $33.89 |
How the 59051 rate is calculated
Each of 59051’s three RVUs is multiplied by a geographic index (GPCI) for the payment locality, added up, and multiplied by the conversion factor. Drag the indexes or enter a ZIP to see what moves the rate.
How the rate is built · 59051
RVUs × geographic indexes × conversion factor
Work0.72
0.72 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI
Practice expense0.15
0.15 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI
Malpractice0.22
0.22 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI
Adjusted RVUs
1.0900
Conversion factor
$33.4009
Medicare rate
$36.41
Every GPCI starts at 1.000, the national rate. Enter a ZIP or drag a slider.
Payment rules and modifiers for 59051
59051 has no global surgery period, no multiple-procedure, bilateral or assistant-at-surgery adjustment, and no professional/technical split. What changes the payment is where the service happens: the place of service on the claim decides whether Medicare pays the office or the facility rate.
Place of service · 59051
Which rate does Medicare pay?
The POS code on the claim line (CMS-1500 box 24B).
POS 11 · non-facility rate · national
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59051 isn’t priced in this setting.
59051 compared with similar codes
Compare codes · National
4 codes, side by side
How to choose
- 59050Labor monitoringConsultant monitoring and report
- Use 59051 for the consulting physician’s interpretation-only service. Use 59050 when the service includes interpretation and a report.
- 59025Fetal testingNonstress test
- 59025 describes an antepartum nonstress test. 59051 concerns a physician’s interpretation of fetal monitoring during labor.
- 59020Fetal stress testContraction-induced monitoring
- 59020 is a contraction stress test used for antepartum fetal surveillance; 59051 is interpretation of intrapartum monitoring.
59051 billing questions
How does 59051 differ from 59050?
59051 represents interpretation only. 59050 represents fetal monitoring during labor with interpretation and a report.
Can 59051 be used for an antepartum nonstress test?
No. 59051 is for interpretation of fetal monitoring during labor; 59025 describes an antepartum fetal nonstress test.
What should the record support?
Document the labor-related consultation, the tracing reviewed, the physician’s interpretation, and the resulting clinical assessment.
Does this code describe operating the fetal monitor?
No. It identifies the consulting physician’s interpretation-only service, not the technical act of monitoring.
Where these rates come from
FeeBase calculates base physician payments from CMS work, practice-expense and malpractice RVUs, adjusted by each locality’s geographic indexes and the conversion factor. Services without a published rate are labeled, never given a made-up amount. Amounts are Medicare allowed amounts before claim adjustments: not a patient’s bill or a commercial rate.
CMS RVU26D · effective Oct 1, 2026 through the day before Jan 1, 2027
Show the CMS file lines behind this rate
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