CPT code 98971: Digital assessment, 11-20 minutes2026 Medicare rate & RVUs in Washington, DC area

In Washington, DC area, Medicare pays $25.28 for 98971 in the office and $20.56 when it’s performed in a hospital or facility.

Check a contract rate as a % of Medicare · 98971 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 98971 covers

A qualified nonphysician health care professional uses online digital communication to assess and manage an established patient’s health concern. The service may include reviewing the patient’s submitted information, evaluating the issue, and communicating a clinical assessment or management plan through a patient portal or similar digital platform. It is distinct from a telephone assessment and management service, even when both address a similar concern.

Select this level when the professional’s cumulative time performing the qualifying digital assessment and management reaches 11-20 minutes during the seven-day period. The patient’s messages and the professional’s clinical work should support the concern addressed, the assessment or management provided, and the time counted. Report the service for the digital episode rather than assigning separate units to each message. CMS values the service through work, practice-expense, and malpractice relative value units in the Physician Fee Schedule.

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 98971

Across 109 of 109 payment localities, the office rate for 98971 runs from $21.64 in Arkansas to $30.59 in Alaska. Washington, DC area pays $25.28. The RVUs are the same everywhere; the geographic indexes change the dollars.

Every other payment area

98971 rates by state

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

See 98971 in every payment locality

How the 98971 rate is calculated

Each of 98971’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 98971

98971 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 98971

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

How 98971 has changed in Washington, DC area

Price 98971 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