CPT code 97810: Acupuncture, without electrical stimulation, initial 15 minutes2026 Medicare rate & RVUs in Washington, DC area

In Washington, DC area, Medicare pays $54.05 for 97810 in the office and $29.65 when it’s performed in a hospital or facility.

Check a contract rate as a % of Medicare · 97810 nationwide

Medicare allowed amount for participating (non-QP) physicians, before deductible, coinsurance and claim adjustments. Not a patient’s bill or a hospital charge.

What 97810 covers

97810 represents the initial timed segment of acupuncture delivered by inserting one or more needles without passing electrical current through them. The practitioner selects acupuncture points and provides direct, one-on-one contact while treating the patient; needle count alone does not change the code. It is used in outpatient care, including pain-management and integrative-medicine settings. Physicians and other practitioners qualified under applicable scope-of-practice and payer requirements may provide the service.

Report 97810 for the initial 15-minute segment. Document face-to-face treatment time, needle placement, and whether electrical stimulation was used; distinguish treatment time from preparation or unrelated discussion. CMS prices the service under the physician fee schedule using physician work, malpractice, and practice-expense inputs, with separate office and facility practice-expense values. This code represents the initial service, not a charge per needle.

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.

How Washington, DC area compares for 97810

Across 109 of 109 payment localities, the office rate for 97810 runs from $43.73 in Arkansas to $61.38 in San Benito County, CA. Washington, DC area pays $54.05. The RVUs are the same everywhere; the geographic indexes change the dollars.

Every other payment area

97810 rates by state

Office rate range in each state. Select a state to see its payment localities.

See 97810 in every payment locality

How the 97810 rate is calculated

Each of 97810’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 97810

97810 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.

Codes related to 97810

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

How 97810 has changed in Washington, DC area

Price 97810 for an earlier date of service

Where the Washington, DC area rate applies

Washington, DC area is a Medicare payment area, not a city. Our Census mapping connects it to 1 cities and communities in District of Columbia. Some span more than one payment area; confirm with the service ZIP.

• Washington

Browse all communities in District of Columbia

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