HCPCS code G0153: Speech-language service, per 15 minutes2026 Medicare rate & RVUs

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

What G0153 covers

G0153 identifies speech-language pathology services provided by a qualified speech-language pathologist in a home health or hospice setting. These services may address communication, language, voice, cognitive-communication, or swallowing problems, such as those associated with stroke or neurologic disease. The code describes the practitioner’s service, not a speech-language pathology assistant’s work.

Each unit represents 15 minutes of service. Medicare assigns this code physician fee schedule status X: it is not a physician service under the Medicare statute and is not paid under the physician fee schedule. HCPCS pricing classifies it as not separately priced by Medicare Part B. When covered, payment is through another applicable fee schedule or payment system; coverage is left to the Medicare contractor’s judgment.

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 G0153 pays more and less

The same RVUs, adjusted for each area’s costs. Open a locality for its calculation, history and nearby areas.

109 of 109 payment localities

G0153 rates by state

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

How the G0153 rate is calculated

Each of G0153’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 G0153

G0153 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.

G0153 compared with similar codes

How to choose

G0161Speech therapyMaintenance, per 15 minutes

Use G0161 for home health speech-language pathology maintenance therapy. G0153 identifies speech-language pathology services in a home health or hospice setting.

G0152Occupational therapyHome health or hospice, per 15 minutes

G0152 is for occupational therapy, while G0153 is for speech-language pathology.

G0151Home health PTQualified therapist, per 15 minutes

G0151 is for physical therapy, while G0153 is for speech-language pathology.

Codes related to G0153

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