HCPCS code G0446: Cardiovascular counseling, annual, individual, 15 minutes2026 Medicare rate & RVUs in Maryland
Report G0446 for an annual, individual face-to-face counseling session focused on healthy diet and physical activity to reduce cardiovascular disease risk.
Medicare pays $34.31–$37.56 for G0446 in the office in Maryland, from Rest of Maryland to Washington, DC area. Which amount applies depends on the service address.
Medicare allowed amount for participating (non-QP) physicians, before deductible, coinsurance and claim adjustments. Not a patient’s bill or a hospital charge.
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What G0446 covers
G0446 represents an individual, face-to-face preventive counseling session focused on reducing cardiovascular disease risk through healthy eating and physical activity. Primary care physicians and other qualified practitioners typically provide the service in an office or outpatient setting. The counseling should address the patient’s cardiovascular health behaviors and practical steps for improving them, rather than simply recording a screening result or giving brief, incidental advice during another service.
Report the code for the annual 15-minute session. Documentation should identify the face-to-face counseling, its duration, the cardiovascular risk-reduction topics addressed, and the patient’s plan or recommendations. Use G0446 when the service centers on cardiovascular risk; obesity-focused counseling and counseling for other preventive topics have their own codes. CMS physician fee schedule values are assigned to the service.
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 G0446 pays more and less in Maryland
The same RVUs, adjusted for each area’s costs. Open a locality for its calculation, history and nearby areas.
3 payment localities
$34.31 to $37.56
| Payment locality | Office | Facility |
|---|---|---|
| Baltimore area, MD | $35.63 | $27.39 |
| Rest of Maryland | $34.31 | $26.54 |
| Washington, DC area | $37.56 | $28.51 |
How the G0446 rate is calculated
Each of G0446’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 · G0446
RVUs × geographic indexes × conversion factor
Work0.60
0.60 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI
Practice expense0.38
0.38 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI
Malpractice0.04
0.04 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI
Adjusted RVUs
1.0200
Conversion factor
$33.4009
Medicare rate
$34.07
Every GPCI starts at 1.000, the national rate. Enter a ZIP or drag a slider.
Payment rules and modifiers for G0446
G0446 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 · G0446
Which rate does Medicare pay?
The POS code on the claim line (CMS-1500 box 24B).
POS 11 · non-facility rate · national
$34.07
- Non-facility (office)
- $34.07
- Facility
- $26.39
Higher because the practice carries its own overhead.
G0446 compared with similar codes
Compare codes · National
5 codes, side by side
How to choose
- G0447Obesity counselingFace-to-face, 15 minutes
- G0446 addresses cardiovascular risk reduction through healthy diet and physical activity; G0447 is directed to obesity counseling.
- G0445STI prevention counselingIndividual, 30 minutes
- G0445 is high-intensity counseling for sexually transmitted infection prevention. G0446 addresses cardiovascular disease risk.
- G0442Alcohol screeningAnnual 15-minute preventive screen
- G0442 is an annual alcohol misuse screening. G0446 is a counseling session focused on cardiovascular risk reduction.
- 99401Preventive counselingIndividual, approximately 15 minutes
- 99401 is a preventive medicine counseling code. G0446 specifically represents annual individual counseling for cardiovascular disease risk under HCPCS Level II.
G0446 billing questions
How does G0446 differ from G0447?
G0446 focuses on cardiovascular disease risk reduction through healthy diet and physical activity. G0447 is for obesity-focused behavioral counseling.
How much counseling time does G0446 represent?
The code represents an individual face-to-face session of 15 minutes. Document the time and the cardiovascular risk-reduction counseling provided.
Can G0446 be reported for group counseling?
No. G0446 describes individual counseling, so a group session does not match the service represented by this code.
What should the record show?
Document the face-to-face individual session, its duration, the diet and physical activity topics addressed, and the recommendations or plan.
Is G0446 the same as an annual cardiovascular screening?
No. G0446 represents behavioral counseling to reduce cardiovascular risk, not a screening test or screening result.
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
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