HCPCS code G0444: Depression screening, annual Medicare preventive screen2026 Medicare rate & RVUs in North Carolina

In North Carolina, Medicare pays $17.76 for G0444 in the office and $7.78 when it’s performed in a hospital or facility.

Check a contract rate as a % of Medicare · G0444 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 G0444 covers

G0444 covers an annual depression screen for a Medicare beneficiary in a primary care setting. A primary care clinician, such as a physician, nurse practitioner, or physician assistant, may use a standardized instrument such as the PHQ-9; clinical staff may help administer and score it. The clinician reviews the result and arranges further evaluation when indicated. The setting must have staff-assisted depression care supports available for accurate diagnosis, effective treatment, and follow-up.

Report one unit for the annual screening, rather than additional units for a longer encounter. Document the instrument, score, interpretation, and any follow-up indicated by the result; Z13.31 identifies an encounter for depression screening. Medicare waives beneficiary cost sharing for this preventive benefit. G0444 may be reported with an annual wellness visit when the separate screen is performed and documented. An independently necessary, separately identifiable problem-oriented E/M service on the same day is reported with modifier 25 on the E/M code.

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 North Carolina compares for G0444

Across 109 of 109 payment localities, the office rate for G0444 runs from $16.80 in Arkansas to $24.67 in San Benito County, CA. North Carolina pays $17.76. The RVUs are the same everywhere; the geographic indexes change the dollars.

Every other payment area

G0444 rates by state

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

See G0444 in every payment locality

How the G0444 rate is calculated

Each of G0444’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 G0444

G0444 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 G0444

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

How G0444 has changed in North Carolina

Price G0444 for an earlier date of service

Where the North Carolina rate applies

North Carolina is a Medicare payment area, not a city. Our Census mapping connects it to 785 cities and communities in North Carolina. Some span more than one payment area; confirm with the service ZIP.

• Aberdeen
• Advance
• Ahoskie
• Alamance
• Albemarle
• Alexis
• Alliance
• Altamahaw

Browse all communities in North Carolina

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