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Billing code 97110: Therapeutic exerciseMedicare rate & RVUs

Timed one-on-one therapy service in which a therapist directs exercises to build strength, endurance, range of motion, or flexibility, reported per 15 minutes.

CMS RVU26DEffective Oct 1, 2026109 payment localities64.2M Medicare services in 2024

Medicare pays $29.06 for 97110 nationally in the office. Local office rates run $26.97–$37.31.

Medicare rate · 97110

Therapeutic exercise

Work RVUs
0.45
Total RVUs
0.87
Global days
XXX

National rate · 2026

$29.06

Office setting, before claim adjustments.

See every locality for 97110 →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 97110 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 97110 covers

Therapeutic exercise covers clinician-directed exercise aimed at restoring strength, endurance, joint range of motion, and flexibility in one or more body areas. Typical examples include progressive resistive exercise after rotator cuff repair, active-assisted range of motion after total knee arthroplasty, core strengthening for low back pain, and stretching programs for contractures. Physical therapists, occupational therapists, and supervised assistants perform it, mostly in outpatient clinics and private practices, with smaller volumes in facility settings. The clinician must have direct, one-on-one contact with the patient throughout the billed time.

Units are based on documented minutes of direct treatment. Medicare counts total timed minutes across all timed therapy codes for the day and assigns units under the 8-minute rule. Notes should name the exercises, parameters such as sets, repetitions, and resistance, the body region, skilled cues provided, and the functional goal addressed. Report the applicable therapy discipline modifier; add CQ or CO when assistant involvement meets Medicare’s threshold for a billed unit. This therapy service has no professional or technical split, so modifier 26 is not used. The therapy multiple procedure payment reduction reduces practice expense for the second and later therapy units on the same day, including a second unit of 97110.

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 97110 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

$26.97 to $37.31

$26.97$32.14$37.31
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

97110 office and facility rates by payment locality
Payment localityOfficeFacility
Alabama$27.20Unavailable
Alaska*$37.31Unavailable
Arizona$28.59Unavailable
Arkansas$26.97Unavailable
Atlanta$29.39Unavailable
Austin$29.85Unavailable
Bakersfield$30.53Unavailable
Baltimore/Surr. Cntys$30.38Unavailable
Beaumont$27.80Unavailable
Brazoria$28.98Unavailable

97110 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.

$26.97

$37.31

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

View every state and territory as a table
97110 office rate range by state
State / territoryOffice rate rangeLocalities
AK$37.311
AL$27.201
AR$26.971
AZ$28.591
CA$30.47–$36.6129
CO$30.041
CT$30.481
DC$32.351
DE$28.941
FL$28.62–$30.133
GA$27.64–$29.392
GU$30.791
HI$30.791
IA$27.691
ID$27.791
IL$28.06–$29.794
IN$27.891
KS$27.581
KY$27.511
LA$27.47–$28.302
MA$29.96–$32.292
MD$29.35–$32.353
ME$27.84–$28.812
MI$27.91–$28.812
MN$29.221
MO$27.16–$28.403
MS$27.071
MT$29.061
NC$28.021
ND$28.861
NE$27.801
NH$29.581
NJ$30.95–$32.222
NM$27.991
NV$29.021
NY$28.27–$32.905
OH$27.871
OK$27.521
OR$28.90–$30.732
PA$27.92–$29.962
PR$29.201
RI$29.761
SC$27.971
SD$28.841
TN$27.661
TX$27.80–$29.858
UT$28.201
VA$28.73–$32.352
VI$29.201
VT$28.761
WA$29.90–$32.862
WI$28.251
WV$27.411
WY$28.971

How the 97110 rate is calculated

Each of 97110’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 · 97110

RVUs × geographic indexes × conversion factor

Work0.45

0.45 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI

Practice expense0.41

0.41 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI

Malpractice0.01

0.01 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI

Adjusted RVUs

0.8700

Conversion factor

$33.4009

Medicare rate

$29.06

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

Payment rules and modifiers for 97110

The CMS indicators that decide how 97110 is paid alongside other services.

CMS payment indicators · 97110

Therapeutic exercise

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

97110 without CQ · national office

$29.06

Therapeutic exercise

97110-CQ · Allowed amount unchanged

$29.06

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.

97110 compared with similar codes

Compare codes · National

5 codes, side by side

  • 97110

    Therapeutic exercise0.45 wRVU

    $29.06

  • 97530

    Therapeutic activities0.44 wRVU

    $35.07+$6.01

  • 97112

    Neuromuscular reeducation0.5 wRVU

    $32.73+$3.67

  • 97150

    Group therapy0.29 wRVU

    $18.04−$11.02

  • 97113

    Aquatic therapy0.48 wRVU

    $37.07+$8.01

How to choose

97530Therapeutic activities
97110 addresses strength, endurance, range of motion, or flexibility through exercise; 97530 uses dynamic functional tasks, such as lifting, carrying, or transfers, to improve daily activities.
97112Neuromuscular reeducation
Choose 97112 for neuromuscular retraining of balance, coordination, kinesthetic sense, posture, or proprioception; choose 97110 for exercises directed at strength, endurance, range of motion, or flexibility.
97150Group therapy
97110 requires direct one-on-one contact and is billed in 15-minute units; 97150 applies when the therapist treats two or more patients simultaneously and is billed once per patient per session.
97113Aquatic therapy
Therapeutic exercise performed in an aquatic environment is reported with 97113; one-on-one land-based therapeutic exercise is reported with 97110.

Codes related to 97110

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

Codes related to 97110
CodeHow it relatesNational office range
Used instead
97112Neuromuscular reeducationTimed neuromuscular retraining for balance, coordination, or proprioception rather than impairment-focused exercise.$30.36–$41.95
97530Therapeutic activitiesTimed therapeutic activities using dynamic functional tasks rather than impairment-focused exercise.$32.08–$45.39
97116Gait trainingTimed gait training focused on walking and stair negotiation instead of therapeutic exercise.$26.97–$37.31
97150Group therapyGroup therapy reported instead when exercise is supervised for two or more patients simultaneously.$16.74–$23.25
97113Aquatic therapyReported instead when therapeutic exercise is performed in a pool.$33.99–$47.84
Often billed with
97140Manual therapyManual therapy may be provided in the same visit; its minutes must be distinct from exercise minutes.$25.72–$35.60
97161PT evaluationLow-complexity PT evaluation may be reported with separately delivered initial-day exercise treatment.$91.20–$126.43
97164PT re-evaluationPT re-evaluation may be reported with exercise on the same date when separately performed.$62.36–$86.34

97110 billing questions

How many units can be billed for a 38-minute session of therapeutic exercise alone?

Under Medicare’s 8-minute rule, 38 timed minutes supports 3 units. When 97110 is the only timed service, all 3 units are assigned to 97110.

When should 97530 be chosen instead of 97110?

Use 97110 for exercises directed at strength, endurance, range of motion, or flexibility. Use 97530 for dynamic functional tasks, such as lifting or transfers, performed to improve functional activity.

Can 97110 be billed when the therapist supervises several patients exercising at once?

No. When the therapist works with two or more patients simultaneously without constant one-on-one contact, report group therapy with 97150, billed once per patient per session.

Which modifiers are used with 97110?

Report the applicable therapy discipline modifier: GP for physical therapy, GO for occupational therapy, or GN for speech-language pathology. Add CQ or CO when PTA or OTA involvement meets Medicare’s threshold for the billed unit; do not use modifier 26.

Is a home exercise program that the patient performs independently billable?

Time the patient spends exercising independently without skilled one-on-one treatment is not billable as 97110. Time spent teaching, demonstrating, and correcting therapeutic exercises for a home program one-on-one can count toward 97110 minutes.

Can 97110 be billed on the same day as a PT evaluation?

Yes. An evaluation code such as 97161 through 97163 can be reported with 97110 when exercise treatment is separately delivered, but evaluation minutes cannot also be counted as exercise time.

97110 is in these specialty bundles: Physical therapy

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 97110PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv, line 12,859 (RVU26D)

Open CMS sourceHow we calculate rates

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