CPT code 96171: Family intervention, without patient, each 15 minutes2026 Medicare rate & RVUs in California

CMS doesn’t publish an office rate for 96171 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.

What 96171 covers

A clinician uses this service for additional time spent working with a patient’s family or caregivers, without the patient present, on behavioral and psychosocial factors that affect the patient’s physical health. The intervention may address barriers such as difficulty following a treatment plan or managing a health condition. It is distinct from family psychotherapy and from an intervention delivered with the patient present. The family-only format is the key distinction from related health behavior intervention codes.

This is an add-on for the initial family intervention code, 96170, and represents each additional 15 minutes. Report it with the corresponding initial service when the additional intervention time is documented. Medicare lists this service as not covered (status N).

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 96171 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

How the 96171 rate is calculated

Each of 96171’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.

Payment rules and modifiers for 96171

The CMS indicators that decide how 96171 is paid alongside other services.

96171 compared with similar codes

How to choose

96170Family interventionPatient absent

96170 represents the initial family health behavior intervention without the patient; 96171 represents each additional 15 minutes.

96168Family interventionEach additional 15 minutes

96168 is for additional family-intervention time when the patient is present. 96171 is for additional time with the patient absent.

96159Health behavior interventionIndividual, additional time

96159 represents additional individual health behavior intervention time; 96171 is for a family intervention without the patient.

90846Family psychotherapyPatient absent, 50 minutes

90846 is family psychotherapy without the patient. 96171 concerns health behavior intervention addressing factors that affect physical health.

Codes related to 96171

Related codes aren’t interchangeable: bill the code that matches the service performed.

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

Open CMS sourceHow we calculate rates