CPT code 97810: Acupuncture, without electrical stimulation, initial 15 minutes2026 Medicare rate & RVUs in Missouri
Report 97810 for the initial 15 minutes of one-on-one acupuncture using one or more needles without electrical stimulation.
Medicare pays $44.42–$46.83 for 97810 in the office in Missouri, from Rest of Missouri to Metropolitan St. Louis, MO. Which amount applies depends on the service address.
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 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.
Where 97810 pays more and less in Missouri
The same RVUs, adjusted for each area’s costs. Open a locality for its calculation, history and nearby areas.
3 payment localities
$44.42 to $46.83
| Payment locality | Office | Facility |
|---|---|---|
| Metropolitan Kansas City, MO | $46.46 | $27.01 |
| Metropolitan St. Louis, MO | $46.83 | $27.12 |
| Rest of Missouri | $44.42 | $26.57 |
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.
How the rate is built · 97810
RVUs × geographic indexes × conversion factor
Work0.61
0.61 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI
Practice expense0.79
0.79 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI
Malpractice0.04
0.04 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI
Adjusted RVUs
1.4400
Conversion factor
$33.4009
Medicare rate
$48.10
Every GPCI starts at 1.000, the national rate. Enter a ZIP or drag a slider.
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.
Place of service · 97810
Which rate does Medicare pay?
The POS code on the claim line (CMS-1500 box 24B).
POS 11 · non-facility rate · national
$48.10
- Non-facility (office)
- $48.10
- Facility
- $27.39
Higher because the practice carries its own overhead.
97810 compared with similar codes
Compare codes · National
4 codes, side by side
How to choose
- 97811AcupunctureEach additional 15 minutes
- 97810 covers the initial interval without electrical stimulation. 97811 is for qualifying additional time and requires needle reinsertion.
- 97813AcupunctureWith electrical stimulation
- Both describe the initial acupuncture interval, but 97813 is used when electrical stimulation is applied.
- 97814AcupunctureAdditional 15 minutes with stimulation
- 97814 reports a qualifying additional interval with electrical stimulation and needle reinsertion; 97810 is the initial interval without stimulation.
97810 billing questions
How does 97810 differ from 97813?
Use 97810 for the initial acupuncture interval without electrical stimulation. Use 97813 when electrical stimulation is applied during the initial interval.
When is 97811 reported with 97810?
97811 reports a qualifying additional 15-minute interval when needle reinsertion requirements are met. Document the additional treatment time and reinsertion.
Is 97810 reported per needle?
No. It represents the initial timed acupuncture service using one or more needles; the number of needles does not determine the code.
What documentation supports 97810?
Record the face-to-face treatment time, needle placement, and whether electrical stimulation was used. Keep preparation and unrelated discussion distinct from treatment time.
Can 97810 and 97813 describe the same initial interval?
They represent different methods for the initial interval: 97810 is without electrical stimulation, while 97813 is with it. Select the code matching 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
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