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HCPCS code G0161: Speech therapy, maintenance, per 15 minutes2026 Medicare rate & RVUs

Reports a qualified speech-language pathologist’s home health service to establish or deliver a safe speech-language pathology maintenance program in 15-minute units.

CMS RVU26DEffective Oct 1, 2026109 payment localities

Medicare rate · G0161

Speech therapy, maintenance, per 15 minutes

Office or facility?

Work RVUs
0
Total RVUs
0.00
Global days
XXX

National rate · 2026

—

Not priced in the facility setting.

See every locality for G0161 →Billed by an NP, PA or therapist? →

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

Your location

Medicare pays by the payment locality where the service is performed.

On this page 10 sections
  1. Medicare rate
  2. What G0161 covers
  3. By payment locality
  4. Rate map
  5. How it’s calculated
  6. Payment rules
  7. Similar codes
  8. Related codes
  9. Billing questions
  10. Sources

What G0161 covers

G0161 represents home health speech-language pathology directed to establishing or delivering a safe, effective maintenance program. A qualified speech-language pathologist performs the service in the home health setting. Its maintenance-program purpose distinguishes it from the general home health speech-language pathology service code; the discipline, setting, and purpose together identify the service.

Medicare assigns G0161 physician fee schedule status E, excluding it from the physician fee schedule by regulation. The HCPCS pricing method classifies it as not separately priced by Medicare Part B; when Medicare covers the service, payment is made under another payment method. Coverage is left to the Medicare contractor’s judgment. The code is reported in 15-minute units, matching the stated service interval. G0159 and G0160 identify home health physical and occupational therapy maintenance services, respectively, while G0153 identifies home health speech-language pathology services without the specific maintenance-program distinction.

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 G0161 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

G0161 office and facility rates by payment locality
Payment localityOfficeFacility
AlabamaUnavailableUnavailable
AlaskaUnavailableUnavailable
ArizonaUnavailableUnavailable
ArkansasUnavailableUnavailable
Atlanta, GAUnavailableUnavailable
Austin, TXUnavailableUnavailable
Bakersfield, CAUnavailableUnavailable
Baltimore area, MDUnavailableUnavailable
Beaumont, TXUnavailableUnavailable
Brazoria, TXUnavailableUnavailable

G0161 rates by state

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

MEWIVTNHMTNDMNMINYMARIWAIDWYSDIAILINOHPANJCTORNVUTCONEMOKYWVVAMDDECAAZNMKSOKARTNNCSCDCTXLAMSALGAFLAKHI

Explore a state

Local rates. Clear comparisons.

Hover or focus a tile to see its rate range. Select it to open the state’s fee schedule.

View every state and territory as a table
G0161 office rate range by state
State / territoryOffice rate rangeLocalities
AKNo published base rate1
ALNo published base rate1
ARNo published base rate1
AZNo published base rate1
CANo published base rate29
CONo published base rate1
CTNo published base rate1
DCNo published base rate1
DENo published base rate1
FLNo published base rate3
GANo published base rate2
GUNo published base rate1
HINo published base rate1
IANo published base rate1
IDNo published base rate1
ILNo published base rate4
INNo published base rate1
KSNo published base rate1
KYNo published base rate1
LANo published base rate2
MANo published base rate2
MDNo published base rate3
MENo published base rate2
MINo published base rate2
MNNo published base rate1
MONo published base rate3
MSNo published base rate1
MTNo published base rate1
NCNo published base rate1
NDNo published base rate1
NENo published base rate1
NHNo published base rate1
NJNo published base rate2
NMNo published base rate1
NVNo published base rate1
NYNo published base rate5
OHNo published base rate1
OKNo published base rate1
ORNo published base rate2
PANo published base rate2
PRNo published base rate1
RINo published base rate1
SCNo published base rate1
SDNo published base rate1
TNNo published base rate1
TXNo published base rate8
UTNo published base rate1
VANo published base rate2
VINo published base rate1
VTNo published base rate1
WANo published base rate2
WINo published base rate1
WVNo published base rate1
WYNo published base rate1

How the G0161 rate is calculated

Each of G0161’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 · G0161

RVUs × geographic indexes × conversion factor

Office or facility?

Work0.00

0.00 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI

Practice expense0.00

0.00 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI

Malpractice0.00

0.00 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI

Adjusted RVUs

0.0000

Conversion factor

$33.4009

Medicare rate

$0.00

Every GPCI starts at 1.000, the national rate. Enter a ZIP or drag a slider.

Payment rules and modifiers for G0161

G0161 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 · G0161

Which rate does Medicare pay?

The POS code on the claim line (CMS-1500 box 24B).

POS 11 · non-facility rate · national

—

G0161 isn’t priced in this setting.

G0161 compared with similar codes

Compare codes · National

4 codes, side by side

Office or facility?

  • G0161

    Speech therapy, maintenance, per 15 minutes0 wRVU

    Not priced

  • G0153

    Speech-language service, per 15 minutes0 wRVU

    Not priced

  • G0159

    PT maintenance, per 15 minutes0 wRVU

    Not priced

  • G0160

    Home health OT, maintenance, per 15 minutes0 wRVU

    Not priced

How to choose

G0153Speech-language servicePer 15 minutes
G0161 identifies home health speech-language pathology to establish or deliver a maintenance program. G0153 describes home health speech-language pathology services without that specific distinction.
G0159PT maintenancePer 15 minutes
G0159 identifies home health physical therapy maintenance; G0161 identifies home health speech-language pathology maintenance.
G0160Home health OTMaintenance, per 15 minutes
G0160 identifies home health occupational therapy maintenance; G0161 identifies home health speech-language pathology maintenance.

Codes related to G0161

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

Codes related to G0161
CodeHow it relatesNational office range
Used instead
G0153Speech-language service, per 15 minutesGeneral home health speech-language pathology services; G0161 specifies maintenance-program work.No office rate
Same family
G0159PT maintenance, per 15 minutesHome health physical therapy maintenance, reported in 15-minute units.No office rate
G0160Home health OT, maintenance, per 15 minutesHome health occupational therapy maintenance, reported in 15-minute units.No office rate

G0161 billing questions

How does G0161 differ from G0153?

G0161 identifies home health speech-language pathology to establish or deliver a safe, effective maintenance program. G0153 describes home health speech-language pathology services without that specific maintenance-program distinction.

How many minutes does one unit represent?

One unit represents 15 minutes of service.

Who performs the service reported with G0161?

A qualified speech-language pathologist performs the service in the home health setting.

Does Medicare separately price G0161 under Part B?

No. It is not separately priced by Medicare Part B and has physician fee schedule status E. When Medicare covers the service, payment is made under another payment method.

Who determines whether Medicare covers G0161?

Coverage is left to the Medicare contractor’s judgment.

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

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