CPT code 99071: Patient education, materials supplied2026 Medicare rate & RVUs in California

CMS doesn’t publish an office rate for 99071 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 99071 covers

99071 identifies educational materials a physician supplies for a patient's education in connection with care. Examples include books and pamphlets. The materials are resources for patient education, not the group health education service represented by 99078. A physician may report this code for materials furnished to support a patient's understanding of health information. The code concerns educational materials rather than special supplies generally associated with a service, which are described by 99070.

Medicare assigns 99071 physician fee schedule status B. Payment is included in payment for other services, and Medicare never pays this code separately. This status applies when the materials are furnished as part of a patient's care; it does not create a separate Medicare payment for the materials. 99071 identifies materials rather than a group teaching service; 99078 describes group health education.

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 99071 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 99071 rate is calculated

Each of 99071’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 99071

99071 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.

99071 compared with similar codes

How to choose

99078Group educationHealth education

99071 identifies patient-education materials; 99078 describes group health education.

99070Special suppliesBeyond usual service

99070 describes special supplies furnished in connection with a service. 99071 is specifically for patient-education materials.

98960Self-management trainingIndividual, per 30 minutes

98960 describes individual self-management education and training; 99071 identifies patient-education materials.

Codes related to 99071

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