Compliance & Telehealth

Medicare Telehealth for MNT in 2026: What Applies

Medicare telehealth rules for 97802, 97803 and G0270 as of September 2026: home visits through 2027, POS 10 vs 02, modifiers, audio-only. Sourced.

By Javier Alvarez · Published September 29, 2026 · 6 min read

As of September 2026, Medicare pays for medical nutrition therapy by telehealth, including video visits to the patient's home, through December 31, 2027. The codes 97802, 97803, 97804 and G0270 are on the CY 2026 Medicare Telehealth Services List. Registered dietitians are eligible distant-site practitioners, and CMS's February 26, 2026 FAQ says beneficiaries can get Medicare telehealth "anywhere in the United States" through the end of 2027 (CMS Telehealth FAQ).

Telehealth changes how the claim looks. It doesn't change who qualifies. The regular MNT rules still apply to every video visit: a diabetes or renal diagnosis, a physician referral, and 3 hours in the first calendar year and 2 in later years.

Status at a glance (verified September 2026)

Which MNT codes are on the telehealth list

We checked the CY 2026 list file CMS publishes (ZIP). For a dietitian, the relevant codes are:

• 97802: initial MNT assessment and intervention, individual, each 15 minutes.
• 97803: reassessment and intervention, individual, each 15 minutes.
• 97804: MNT group, each 30 minutes.
• G0270: MNT reassessment after a second referral in the same year for a change in diagnosis, condition or treatment, individual, each 15 minutes.
• G0108 / G0109: diabetes self-management training, if you bill DSMT as part of an accredited program (G0108 & G0109).

G0271 (the group version of G0270) is not on the CY 2026 list. The individual version is, so a group reassessment after a second referral should be done in person, or checked with your MAC before you schedule it by video.

Starting in 2026, CMS no longer separates "provisional" from "permanent" telehealth codes. Everything on the list is permanent (MLN901705). That's why the MNT codes aren't the risk. The patient-location rules below are.

Where the patient can be

Congress never wrote permanent law letting patients get telehealth at home. Under the base statute, a Medicare patient has to be at an approved originating site (a clinic, hospital or similar facility) in a rural area. Those limits have been waived since 2020, and the current waiver runs through December 31, 2027:

Through December 31, 2027, beneficiaries can receive Medicare telehealth services anywhere in the United States and territories. (CMS Telehealth FAQ, Q1)

Starting January 1, 2028, "except for behavioral health services, beneficiaries will generally need to be in a medical facility and in a rural area." MNT isn't a behavioral health service. So unless Congress extends the waiver again, most home-based Medicare MNT by video stops being payable on that date.

Licensure still follows the patient. You have to be licensed, or otherwise allowed to practice, in the state where the patient is during the visit. CMS also requires a separate Medicare enrollment for each state where you provide services (MLN901705). The state-by-state view is in telehealth licensure for dietitians.

POS and modifiers on a Medicare MNT claim

Place of service is settled:

• POS 10: telehealth provided in the patient's home, which includes any private residence. Since January 1, 2024, Medicare pays POS 10 at the non-facility rate, the same rate as an office visit.
• POS 02: telehealth provided somewhere other than the patient's home. Paid at the facility rate.

Modifier 95 is less settled, and we don't want to overstate it. CMS's professional billing instructions in MLN901705 list only POS 02 and 10 for telehealth claims. The CY 2024 rule summary says modifier 95 should be used "when the clinician is in the hospital and the patient is in the home," and for outpatient therapy (MM13452). Neither describes an RD in private practice billing on a CMS-1500. In practice:

1. Check your MAC's telehealth billing page. MACs publish their own claim examples.
2. If your MAC doesn't ask for 95 on professional claims, POS 10 carries the telehealth signal. If it does ask, add 95.
3. Don't carry your Medicare setup over to commercial plans. Many of them want POS 10 and modifier 95, and some still want POS 02 or the office POS with 95. The payer-by-payer view is in our telehealth billing guide. A mismatched modifier usually shows up as a CO-4 denial.

Audio-only visits

CMS's FAQ (Q6) says beneficiaries "may continue to receive audio-only telehealth services in their homes through December 31, 2027." The broader rule in MLN901705 sets conditions. The practitioner has to be able to do audio-video, the patient has to be at home, and the patient either can't use video or doesn't agree to it.

For MNT, that means:

• Video is the default. Use audio-only when the patient can't do video or doesn't agree to it, not because the call is shorter.
• Document why. Something like "Patient declined video; audio-only visit conducted from patient's home."
• Ask your MAC how to flag it. Audio-only is often marked with CPT modifier
  93. Confirm what your MAC expects on MNT lines before you bill.
• After 2027, the permanent audio-only allowance covers behavioral health only. It doesn't include MNT.

What the note has to show for a telehealth visit

The documentation standard is the same as for an in-person visit. A telehealth note should also make these points easy to find:

• The visit was synchronous audio-video (or audio-only, with the reason).
• The patient's location (home, or the facility) and the state they were in.
• Start and stop times, or total face-to-face minutes, that support the units you bill.
• The referring physician and the qualifying diagnosis, as for any Medicare MNT claim.

If you record visits, recording consent is a separate question from telehealth consent. See recording consent rules by state. The full note checklist is in the MNT documentation guide.

Hospital-based RDs

If you work for a hospital outpatient department and the hospital bills your MNT, a separate provision applies. CMS lets hospitals bill MNT and DSMT that hospital staff furnish remotely to patients at home, also through December 31, 2027 (CMS Telehealth FAQ, Q3). Starting in 2028, hospitals can't bill those remote services. Private-practice RDs billing under their own NPI aren't affected by this provision.

What to watch between now and 2028

• Congress. The home-telehealth waiver has been extended several times. Each extension moved the end date without making it permanent. Plan your Medicare telehealth caseload around December 31, 2027 until the law changes.
• The annual fee schedule rule. CMS proposes changes each summer and finalizes them around November. The list of telehealth codes and the POS and modifier rules come from that rule.
• Your MAC's claim examples. For the modifier question, they're the practical source of truth.
• Medicare Advantage. MA plans can offer telehealth beyond Original Medicare, and each plan sets its own rules. Verify each patient's plan (see Medicare Advantage billing).

We'll update this page when CMS publishes changes. The date at the top shows when we last checked.

Part of Telehealth. Start with Telehealth Billing for Dietitians: POS 10, 02 & Modifier 95.