Billing code 99479: Neonatal intensive careMedicare rate & RVUs in Ohio
Report 99479 for a subsequent-day intensive-care evaluation and management service for an infant in the 1,500–2,500-gram weight band.
CMS doesn’t publish an office rate for 99479 in Ohio.
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 9 sections
What 99479 covers
99479 represents a subsequent-day intensive-care service for an infant in the 1,500–2,500-gram weight band. A neonatologist or other physician or qualified health professional manages the infant in a neonatal intensive-care setting, reassessing clinical status and directing ongoing care when the infant continues to need intensive services. It is distinct from routine newborn or nursery management and from the initial hospital-care service.
Select the code using the infant’s documented weight band and whether the service is subsequent rather than initial; 99478 and 99480 represent the adjacent lower and higher bands. Report it for the day of subsequent intensive care, not as a timed service. Documentation should support the infant’s weight, continued need for intensive care, the clinician’s assessment, and the management provided that day. CMS assigns work, practice-expense, and malpractice relative value units to this per-day 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.
99479 in Ohio
| Payment locality | Office | Facility |
|---|---|---|
| Ohio | Unavailable | $103.80 |
How the 99479 rate is calculated
Each of 99479’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 · 99479
RVUs × geographic indexes × conversion factor
Swap in your local Medicare rate.
Work 2.50Practice expense 0.50Malpractice 0.15
All indexes start at 1.000 (the national rate). Enter a ZIP or drag a slider.
Payment rules and modifiers for 99479
99479 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 · 99479
Which rate does Medicare pay?
The POS code on the claim line (CMS-1500 box 24B).
Non-facility (office) rate · national
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99479 isn’t priced in this setting.
99479 compared with similar codes
Compare codes
99479 vs 99478 vs 99480 vs 99477 vs 99469: national Medicare rates
Swap in your local Medicare rate.
How to choose
- 99478Infant intensive care
- Both describe subsequent intensive care, but 99478 is for the lower infant-weight band; 99479 covers 1,500–2,500 grams.
- 99480Infant intensive care
- Both describe subsequent intensive care, but 99480 is for the higher infant-weight band; 99479 covers 1,500–2,500 grams.
- 99477Neonatal care
- 99477 is for initial hospital care. Use 99479 for subsequent-day intensive care when the infant falls within its weight band.
- 99469Neonatal critical care
- 99469 describes subsequent neonatal critical care, while 99479 is the weight-banded subsequent intensive-care service for a 1,500–2,500-gram infant.
99479 billing questions
How does 99479 differ from 99478 and 99480?
These subsequent intensive-care codes distinguish infants by weight band. Use 99479 for the 1,500–2,500-gram band; 99478 and 99480 describe the neighboring lower and higher bands, respectively.
When is 99479 used instead of 99477?
99479 describes subsequent-day intensive care. 99477 is the initial hospital-care service for a newborn or infant requiring intensive observation, frequent interventions, and other intensive care services.
Is 99479 reported by time or by day?
It is a per-day service, not a timed code. The record should support the subsequent intensive-care management provided for that day.
What documentation supports 99479?
Document the infant’s weight, the ongoing need for intensive care, the daily clinical assessment, and the management directed by the reporting clinician.
How is 99479 distinguished from 99469?
99479 is a subsequent intensive-care service selected by infant weight band. 99469 describes subsequent neonatal critical care, a different service category for a critically ill neonate.
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
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