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Billing code 92526: Swallowing therapyMedicare rate & RVUs

Skilled therapy for swallowing dysfunction or oral feeding impairment, reported when treatment addresses the patient’s swallowing or feeding function.

CMS RVU26DEffective Oct 1, 2026109 payment localities284.1K Medicare services in 2024

Medicare pays $84.17 for 92526 nationally in the office. Local office rates run $78.50–$108.94.

Medicare rate · 92526

Swallowing therapy

Swap in your local Medicare rate.

Work RVUs
1.34
Total RVUs
2.52
Global days
XXX

National rate · 2026

$84.17

Office setting, before claim adjustments.

See every locality for 92526 → · 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.

On this page 10 sections
  1. Medicare rate
  2. What 92526 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 92526 covers

92526 represents skilled therapeutic intervention for impaired swallowing or oral function used for feeding. A speech-language pathologist commonly provides it for dysphagia after stroke, neurologic disease, or head and neck treatment, and for children with feeding-related oral-motor difficulty. Treatment may include swallowing practice, compensatory strategies, and exercises selected for the patient’s functional deficits. This is therapy, not a swallowing evaluation or an instrumental study, and may be provided in outpatient or facility settings.

Report the service for a treatment session, with documentation of the swallowing or feeding problem, skilled interventions, goals, and the patient’s response. It is generally an untimed service, reported as one unit per session rather than in 15-minute increments. CMS treats it as a therapy service, so a professional component modifier does not apply. When it is among multiple therapy services on the same day, the practice expense for the second and later therapy units is reduced under the therapy multiple procedure payment reduction.

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 92526 pays more and less

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

109 payment localities

$78.50 to $108.94

$78.50$93.72$108.94
One dot per payment locality, office / nonfacility. Hover a dot to see the locality; select it to open that rate.

109 of 109 payment localities

92526 office and facility rates by payment locality
Payment localityOfficeFacility
Alabama$79.14Unavailable
Alaska*$108.94Unavailable
Arizona$82.91Unavailable
Arkansas$78.50Unavailable
Atlanta$85.00Unavailable
Austin$86.49Unavailable
Bakersfield$88.64Unavailable
Baltimore/Surr. Cntys$87.82Unavailable
Beaumont$80.63Unavailable
Brazoria$84.10Unavailable

92526 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.

$78.50

$108.94

Color shows the midpoint of each state’s locality range.

View every state and territory as a table
92526 office rate range by state
State / territoryOffice rate rangeLocalities
AK$108.941
AL$79.141
AR$78.501
AZ$82.911
CA$88.53–$106.2129
CO$87.141
CT$88.141
DC$93.581
DE$83.891
FL$82.62–$86.283
GA$80.01–$85.002
GU$89.381
HI$89.381
IA$80.651
ID$80.871
IL$80.96–$85.804
IN$81.151
KS$80.251
KY$79.801
LA$79.66–$81.912
MA$86.89–$93.552
MD$85.06–$93.583
ME$80.92–$83.702
MI$80.81–$83.032
MN$85.071
MO$78.77–$82.303
MS$78.651
MT$84.171
NC$81.431
ND$83.971
NE$80.951
NH$85.731
NJ$89.59–$93.272
NM$80.991
NV$84.151
NY$82.12–$94.715
OH$80.771
OK$79.911
OR$83.91–$89.142
PA$80.95–$86.642
PR$84.601
RI$86.271
SC$81.151
SD$83.951
TN$80.461
TX$80.63–$86.498
UT$81.791
VA$83.41–$93.582
VI$84.601
VT$83.611
WA$86.74–$95.222
WI$82.301
WV$79.191
WY$84.081

How the 92526 rate is calculated

Each of 92526’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 · 92526

RVUs × geographic indexes × conversion factor

Swap in your local Medicare rate.

Work 1.34Practice expense 1.17Malpractice 0.01

2.5200 adjusted RVUs×$33.4009 conversion factor=$84.17

All indexes start at 1.000 (the national rate). Enter a ZIP or drag a slider.

Payment rules and modifiers for 92526

The CMS indicators that decide how 92526 is paid alongside other services.

CMS payment indicators · 92526

Swallowing therapy

RuleCMS valueWhat it means
Global periodXXXThe global surgery concept doesn’t apply.
Multiple procedures5Therapy reduction: practice expense of the second and later units is reduced.
Bilateral (modifier 50)0The 150% bilateral adjustment doesn’t apply.
Assistant at surgery (80/81/82/AS)0Not paid without supporting documentation.
Co-surgeons (62)0Not permitted.
Team surgery (66)0Not permitted.
Professional/technical7Therapy service: the split doesn’t apply.

What modifiers do to the payment

Modifier CQ · payment effect

With and without the modifier

92526 without CQ · national office

$84.17

Swallowing therapy

92526-CQ · Allowed amount unchanged

$84.17

Medicare cuts its own payment by 15% after the patient’s 20% coinsurance; the allowed amount stays the same. On $100 allowed: $20 coinsurance, then Medicare pays $68 instead of $80.

92526 compared with similar codes

Compare codes

92526 vs 92507 vs 92610 vs 92611: national Medicare rates

Swap in your local Medicare rate.

  • 92526
    Swallowing therapy · 1.34 wRVU
    $84.17
  • 92507
    Speech therapy · 1.3 wRVU
    $76.15−$8.02
  • 92610
    Swallow evaluation · 1.3 wRVU
    $84.84+$0.67
  • 92611
    Swallow study · 1.31 wRVU
    $91.52+$7.35

How to choose

92507Speech therapy
92507 is treatment for speech, language, voice, or communication goals. Use 92526 for treatment directed at swallowing dysfunction or oral function for feeding.
92610Swallow evaluation
92610 reports a clinical swallowing evaluation; 92526 reports skilled treatment. The service performed, not just the diagnosis, determines the choice.
92611Swallow study
92611 is a videofluoroscopic swallowing evaluation. It documents swallowing function through imaging, whereas 92526 reports therapeutic intervention.

Codes related to 92526

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

Codes related to 92526
CodeHow it relatesNational office range
Used instead
92610Swallow evaluationClinical swallowing assessment rather than treatment of swallowing or oral feeding function.$78.88–$109.07
92611Swallow studyVideofluoroscopic swallowing evaluation rather than therapeutic intervention.$84.21–$115.93
92612Swallowing endoscopyEndoscopic swallowing evaluation rather than therapeutic intervention.$176.84–$272.76

92526 billing questions

How is 92526 different from 92507?

Use 92526 when skilled treatment targets swallowing or oral function for feeding. Use 92507 when the treatment targets speech, language, voice, or communication.

Is 92526 an evaluation code?

No. It reports treatment. Code 92610 is used for a clinical evaluation of oral and pharyngeal swallowing function.

Can modifier 26 be appended?

No. CMS identifies 92526 as a therapy service without a professional component modifier.

Is the service billed in 15-minute units?

No. It is generally reported as one unit per treatment session, not in 15-minute increments.

What happens when multiple therapy services are billed on the same day?

CMS reduces practice expense for the second and later therapy units on that day. The reduction applies when 92526 falls among those later units.

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

Show the CMS file lines behind this rate
RVUs for 92526PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv, line 11,792 (RVU26D)

Open CMS sourceHow we calculate rates

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