Billing code 97802: Medical nutrition therapyMedicare rate & RVUs

Medicare pays $36.74 for 97802 nationally in the office and $26.39 in a hospital or facility. Local office rates run $33.94–$46.80.

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

What 97802 covers

An initial individual MNT service combines nutrition assessment with tailored intervention: the practitioner evaluates relevant dietary patterns and nutrition needs, then develops or begins a plan with the patient. Registered dietitians and other qualified nutrition professionals commonly provide it in outpatient offices, clinics, or other settings where the patient receives face-to-face counseling. Common referrals involve nutrition management for diabetes, kidney disease, or other conditions affected by diet; the diagnosis and practitioner’s scope determine the clinical focus.

Choose 97802 for the initial assessment-and-intervention service, rather than later individual reassessment and intervention (97803) or group counseling (97804). Report the documented face-to-face service in 15-minute units. The note should identify the nutrition assessment, individualized plan or counseling delivered, patient participation, and time. CMS assigns separate office and facility practice-expense values in the Physician Fee Schedule, so use the setting that matches where the service was furnished.

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 97802 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

97802 rates by state

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

How the 97802 rate is calculated

Each of 97802’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 97802

97802 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.

97802 compared with similar codes

How to choose

97803Nutrition therapy

Use 97802 for initial individual assessment and intervention; use 97803 for subsequent individual reassessment and intervention.

97804Group nutrition therapy

97804 reports group MNT. Choose 97802 when the patient receives the nutrition assessment and intervention individually.

G0270Nutrition therapy

G0270 is a Medicare code for qualifying individual MNT reassessment after a change in condition or treatment; 97802 describes the initial individual service.

Codes related to 97802

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

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