Medicare MNT rates · Medicare rate
Medicare MNT payment rates in South Dakota, 2026
By Javier Alvarez · Updated · 2 min read
| 97802, dietitian paid per unit | $31.04 |
|---|---|
| 97803, dietitian paid per unit | $26.78 |
| G0270, dietitian paid per unit | $26.78 |
| 1-hour initial visit (97802 x 4) | $124.16 |
| Payment localities | 1 (statewide) |
| MAC contractor number | 03402 |
| National 97802 rate, for comparison | $31.23 |
| Data | CMS RVU26D, released Aug 26, 2026 |
South Dakota is one Medicare payment locality, so every dietitian there is paid the same: $31.04 per 15-minute unit of 97802 and $26.78 per unit of 97803 or G0270 in 2026. That is 19 cents below the national amount of $31.23 for 97802, 28th highest of the 54 states and territories in this report. South Dakota's practice expense GPCI sits at 1.000, the floor the Affordable Care Act sets for frontier states (a footnote in the CMS GPCI file).
What Medicare pays a dietitian per unit in South Dakota
| Code | Full PFS, office | Dietitian paid, office | Full PFS, facility | Dietitian paid, facility |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 97802 | $36.52 | $31.04 | $26.16 | $22.24 |
| 97803 | $31.51 | $26.78 | $21.82 | $18.55 |
| G0270 | $31.51 | $26.78 | $21.82 | $18.55 |
| 97804 (group, per 30 min) | $16.81 | $14.29 | $12.14 | $10.32 |
| G0271 (group, per 30 min) | $16.81 | $14.29 | $12.14 | $10.32 |
"Full PFS" is the Physician Fee Schedule amount; Medicare pays a registered dietitian 85% of it. "Office" is the non-facility rate, "facility" applies when the visit happens in a setting such as a hospital outpatient department. 97802, 97803 and G0270 are per 15 minutes; the group codes 97804 and G0271 are per 30 minutes.
What a visit pays in South Dakota
Medicare MNT is billed in 15-minute units. A one-hour initial assessment is 4 units of 97802, a 30-minute follow-up is 2 units of 97803 (or G0270 after a new referral for a change in condition), and a patient's first-year benefit is 3 hours, which you could bill as the 4-unit assessment plus 8 units of follow-ups. The MNT units calculator turns minutes into units.
| Visit | Units | Dietitian is paid |
|---|---|---|
| 1-hour initial assessment | 97802 x 4 | $124.16 |
| 30-minute follow-up | 97803 x 2 | $53.56 |
| 30-minute follow-up after a new referral | G0270 x 2 | $53.56 |
| All 3 first-year hours | 97802 x 4 + 97803 x 8 | $338.40 |
How the South Dakota numbers are built
Take South Dakota, whose 2026 GPCIs are 1.000 for work, 1.000 for practice expense and 0.336 for malpractice. For 97802 in an office: (0.53 x 1.000) + (0.56 x 1.000) + (0.01 x 0.336) = 1.09336 RVUs. Times the 2026 conversion factor of $33.4009 that is $36.52, and 85% of it is $31.04. The RVUs come from the CMS PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv file and the GPCIs from GPCI2026.csv; the full method is in the report.
Before you bill Medicare MNT in South Dakota
These rates only apply when the visit qualifies: a registered dietitian or nutrition professional enrolled in Medicare, a beneficiary with diabetes or kidney disease not treated with dialysis (or within 36 months of a kidney transplant), and a referral from the treating physician. The Medicare MNT coverage guide covers enrollment, hour limits and referrals, and Medicare coverage for nutrition counseling explains what the patient's benefit includes. For code rules, see CPT 97802, CPT 97803 and G0270 and G0271.
Closest to South Dakota on the 97802 rate: North Dakota ($31.06) and Pennsylvania ($29.91 to $32.21). Every state is in the 2026 report.
