$54.72–$68.00
Both identify remote E/M for a new patient, but G9978 is the 10-minute level rather than the 20-minute level.
On this page
CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
G9979 Remote E/M Medicare reimbursement rates in California
G9979 identifies a remote evaluation and management service for a new patient at the 20-minute level. Compare G9979 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in California.
Amounts below use the non-QP conversion factor for participating physicians. These are base physician payments before claim-level adjustments, not patient costs or total hospital charges.
What does Medicare pay for G9979 in California?
California has 29 payment localities in this comparison. Use the service location to choose the applicable amount. These are the supported base rates for the 29 payment areas shown below, using the same CMS release.
Office / nonfacility
$78.60–$95.94
29 of 29 localities have a supported rate.
Lowest: Chico
Highest: San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara (San Benito Cnty)
A spread of $17.34 per service.
Facility setting
$41.26–$46.81
29 of 29 localities have a supported rate.
Lowest: Chico
Highest: San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara (San Benito Cnty)
A spread of $5.55 per service.
These are locality ranges, not averages or address-specific quotes. A facility-setting amount covers the physician service; it does not include a hospital’s separate bill. Choose a locality below to inspect its calculation, compare other payment areas, or price a percentage of Medicare.
Where G9979 pays more and less in California
29 payment localities
$78.60 to $95.94
Remote evaluation and management
About G9979: New-patient remote E/M, 20 minutes
G9979 identifies a remote evaluation and management service for a new patient at the 20-minute level.
G9979 represents a remote evaluation-and-management encounter designated for a new patient and a 20-minute service level. It describes clinical work in which a clinician evaluates a new patient’s concern through a remote interaction. The code label does not identify a specific communication platform or clinical specialty. Documentation should show the concern assessed, the remote interaction, and the resulting clinical assessment or plan.
Select G9979 based on both the patient category and the 20-minute level, rather than choosing an established-patient entry or a different time level. Record the time basis for the service, the work performed, and the patient’s status under the applicable new-patient coding definition. CMS assigns work, practice-expense, and malpractice relative value units to this code, with separate office and facility practice-expense values.
Where the value comes from
- Work RVU0.93 · 41%
- Practice expense (office) RVU1.25 · 56%
- Malpractice RVU0.07 · 3%
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.
G9979 compared with similar codes
Office rates for California, from the same CMS release.
$115.53–$140.28
Both identify remote E/M for a new patient; G9980 is the 30-minute level.
$54.72–$68.00
G9983 is an established-patient remote E/M entry at the 10-minute level; G9979 is for a new patient at the 20-minute level.
Compare G9979 by payment locality
Find the payment area for your service address, then open its rate page for calculation inputs, release history and the percentage-of-Medicare tool. A city may cross payment-area boundaries; the ZIP lookup above helps resolve the location.
29 of 29 payment localities
| Payment locality | Office | Facility |
|---|---|---|
| Bakersfield | Office $78.84 | Facility $41.50 |
| Chico | Office $78.60 | Facility $41.26 |
| El Centro | Office $78.62 | Facility $41.28 |
| Fresno | Office $78.60 | Facility $41.26 |
| Hanford-Corcoran | Office $78.60 | Facility $41.26 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim (Los Angeles/Orange Cnty) | Office $83.28 | Facility $42.98 |
| Madera | Office $78.60 | Facility $41.26 |
| Merced | Office $78.60 | Facility $41.26 |
| Modesto | Office $78.60 | Facility $41.26 |
| Napa | Office $89.24 | Facility $44.33 |
| Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura | Office $82.74 | Facility $42.47 |
| Redding | Office $78.60 | Facility $41.26 |
| Rest Of California | Office $78.60 | Facility $41.26 |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario | Office $79.38 | Facility $42.04 |
| Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom | Office $81.99 | Facility $42.37 |
| Salinas | Office $81.67 | Facility $42.18 |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad | Office $83.20 | Facility $42.45 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley (Marin Cnty) | Office $93.96 | Facility $45.92 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley (San Francisco/San Mateo/Alameda/Contra Costa Cnty) | Office $93.88 | Facility $45.84 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara (San Benito Cnty) | Office $95.94 | Facility $46.81 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara (Santa Clara Cnty) | Office $95.61 | Facility $46.49 |
| San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles | Office $80.40 | Facility $41.59 |
| Santa Cruz-Watsonville | Office $83.70 | Facility $42.30 |
| Santa Maria-Santa Barbara | Office $81.87 | Facility $42.14 |
| Santa Rosa-Petaluma | Office $84.52 | Facility $42.68 |
| Stockton | Office $78.60 | Facility $41.26 |
| Vallejo | Office $89.12 | Facility $44.22 |
| Visalia | Office $78.60 | Facility $41.26 |
| Yuba City | Office $78.60 | Facility $41.26 |
Need rates for a whole code list?
Fee-sheet and API access are in early access. Tell us which codes and locations your team needs.
G9979 billing questions
How does G9979 differ from G9978 or G9980?
All three are new-patient remote E/M codes. G9978 identifies the 10-minute level, G9979 the 20-minute level, and G9980 the 30-minute level.
Can G9979 be used for an established patient?
No. G9979 is designated for a new patient; the nearby G9983 and G9984 entries are for established-patient remote E/M services.
What should the record support?
Document the patient’s new-patient status, the remote evaluation, the clinical concern and assessment, and the time basis supporting the 20-minute level.
Does the code identify whether the service was by phone or video?
No platform is specified in the short descriptor. Document the remote interaction and its clinical work without inferring a communication method from G9979 alone.
What does zero 2024 utilization mean?
CMS records show zero office and facility services for G9979 in 2024. That utilization figure by itself does not explain the code’s coverage or status.
Where these rates come from
FeeBase calculates base physician payments from CMS work, practice-expense, and malpractice RVUs, adjusted by each locality’s geographic indices and the applicable conversion factor. Unavailable or separately priced services are labeled rather than assigned a made-up amount.
Source: RVU26D. Effective 2026-10-01 through the day before 2027-01-01.
16,298G9969,,Pvdr rfrd pt rprt rcvd,M,,0.00,0.00,,0.00,,0.00,0.00,0.00,9,XXX,0.00,0.00,0.00,9,9,9,9,9,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
16,299G9970,,Pvdr rfrd pt no rprt rcvd,M,,0.00,0.00,,0.00,,0.00,0.00,0.00,9,XXX,0.00,0.00,0.00,9,9,9,9,9,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
16,300G9978,,Remote e/m new pt 10mins,A,,0.48,1.02,,0.17,,0.06,1.56,0.71,0,XXX,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,0,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
16,301G9979,,Remote e/m new pt 20mins,A,,0.93,1.25,,0.23,,0.07,2.25,1.23,0,XXX,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,0,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
16,302G9980,,Remote e/m new pt 30 mins,A,,1.42,1.76,,0.38,,0.16,3.34,1.96,0,XXX,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,0,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
16,303G9981,,Remote e/m new pt 45mins,A,,2.43,2.47,,0.66,,0.24,5.14,3.33,0,XXX,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,0,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
16,304G9982,,Remote e/m new pt 60mins,A,,3.17,3.23,,0.94,,0.36,6.76,4.47,0,XXX,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,0,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00