Medicare MNT rates

Medicare MNT payment rates by state, 2026

By Javier Alvarez · Updated October 15, 2026 · 6 min read

This report is computed from the CMS 2026 Physician Fee Schedule files for every Medicare payment locality, so a dietitian can see what one unit of MNT actually pays where they practice. Each state links to its own page with every locality, a worked visit example and the math. The whole dataset is a CSV download.

2026 Medicare MNT rates by state

Amounts are per 15-minute unit in an office or other non-facility setting. "Dietitian" is the 85% Medicare pays a registered dietitian; "full PFS" is the fee schedule amount it comes from. Where a state has more than one locality the cell shows the lowest to the highest. Of the 54 states and territories, 17 have more than one locality, and Maryland and Virginia also include the DC locality for their suburbs.

By median locality, Alaska pays the most ($39.66 per unit of 97802) and Arkansas the least ($28.85). Across single localities the range runs from $28.85 in Arkansas to $39.78 in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara (San Benito County), California.

National amounts by code

The national amount is the total RVUs times the conversion factor, before any local adjustment. 97803 and G0270 carry identical RVUs in the 2026 file (0.45 work, 0.49 non-facility practice expense, 0.01 malpractice), so they pay the same everywhere. The group codes 97804 and G0271 are per 30 minutes and are included in the CSV.

How we calculated it

Each amount follows the formula in the CMS RVU26D documentation: [(work RVU x work GPCI) + (practice expense RVU x PE GPCI) + (malpractice RVU x MP GPCI)] x conversion factor, rounded to the cent. The RVUs come from PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv (released Aug 26, 2026), the geographic practice cost indices (GPCIs) for all 109 localities from GPCI2026.csv, and the counties in each locality from 26LOCCO.csv. We downloaded the RVU26D zip from CMS on October 15, 2026.

Conversion factor. 2026 has two. Clinicians who are qualifying participants in an advanced alternative payment model (QPs) get $33.5675; everyone else gets $33.4009 (CY 2026 PFS final rule). A dietitian in private practice is almost never a QP, so every number here uses $33.4009.

The 85% rule. Medicare pays MNT furnished by a registered dietitian or nutrition professional at 85% of the fee schedule amount, or the actual charge if that is lower (42 CFR 414.64). We take 85% of the rounded fee schedule amount and round to the cent; your MAC's own file can differ by a cent. Bill your usual charge: if it is below the 85% amount, Medicare pays the charge.

No cost sharing. Part B pays 100% of the MNT payment amount (42 CFR 410.152(l)) and MNT is exempt from the Part B deductible (42 CFR 410.160(b)), so for a qualifying patient the amount in the table is the whole payment.

Office or facility. The non-facility (office) rate uses the higher practice expense RVU and applies in an office and, per CMS, to telehealth delivered to the patient's home (MLN901705). The facility rate applies when the service is furnished in a facility setting such as a hospital outpatient department. Medicare doesn't pay MNT for a hospital inpatient or a skilled nursing facility resident (42 CFR 414.64(e)).

Localities. Medicare has 109 payment localities in 2026. Hawaii and Guam are one locality, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands have identical GPCIs, and the "DC + MD/VA suburbs" locality also covers Montgomery and Prince George's counties in Maryland and Alexandria city, Arlington, Fairfax, Fairfax city and Falls Church city in Virginia. The 2026 work GPCIs include the 1.0 floor, which the GPCI file notes was extended through January 1, 2027 by Section 6208 of the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2026 (H.R. 7148).

When the rates change

CMS sets each year's conversion factor, RVUs and GPCIs in the Physician Fee Schedule final rule, effective January 1 (the 2026 rule appeared in the Federal Register on November 5, 2025), and can revise the files quarterly during the year. For 2027, only the proposed rule is out so far (CY 2027 PFS proposed rule, FR Doc 2026-14327 (published July 16, 2026)), and proposed numbers are not payment rates. We will rerun this report from the 2027 files when CMS posts them.

Download the data

medicare-mnt-rates-2026.csv has one row per locality (109 rows): MAC contractor number, locality number, state, counties, the three GPCIs, and for each of 97802, 97803, G0270, 97804 and G0271 the full fee schedule amount and the dietitian's 85%, office and facility. Use it however you like; a link back to this page is appreciated.

How to cite this report

Alvarez J. Medicare MNT payment rates by state, 2026. Duo Practice; October 2026. Computed from CMS PFS Relative Value Files RVU26D. https://duopractice.com/medicare-mnt-rates/

For coverage rules behind the numbers, read the Medicare MNT coverage guide and Medicare coverage for nutrition counseling; for code rules, CPT 97802, CPT 97803 and G0270 and G0271; to turn minutes into units, the MNT units calculator.