G0473 with Medicare: what the policy says
The short answerA registered dietitian can't bill G0473 to Original Medicare under their own enrollment. It is the group version of Medicare's obesity counseling code; only primary care specialties in a primary care setting can bill it, with a BMI diagnosis of 30 or more.
By Javier Alvarez · Updated · 2 min read
1 row: Medicare. Public policy, not the member's benefits.
Medicare
Original Medicare (Part B) · All states
| 97802 | Listed (once, for the first visit) [1] |
|---|---|
| 97803 | Listed (every later individual visit) [1] |
| G0270 | Listed (hours beyond the base, after a second referral in the same year) [1] |
| G0271 | Listed (group, after a second referral in the same year) [1] |
| Diagnoses | Diabetes and kidney disease, or a kidney transplant in the last 36 months. [2] |
| Telehealth POS | POS 02 or 10. POS 10 pays the non-facility rate. Patients can be at home through December 31, 2027. [3][4][5] |
| Telehealth modifier | 95 for audio and video, 93 for audio only. [3] |
| Visit limits | 3 hours the first calendar year, 2 hours each year after. Unused hours don't carry over. More hours need a second referral (G0270, G0271). [2][1] |
| Referral and prior auth | A referral from the treating doctor is required. [2] |
| Who can bill | Registered dietitians and nutrition professionals. Dietitians are eligible telehealth practitioners. [4] |
| Payment | 2026 national rate paid to a dietitian: $31.23 per unit of 97802, $26.97 per unit of 97803 or G0270. The patient pays nothing. [6][2] |
- CMS: Medicare Claims Processing Manual ch. 4, section 300 Medical Nutrition Therapy (Rev. 12694, 06-21-24), checked October 30, 2026
- Medicare.gov: Medical nutrition therapy services, checked October 22, 2026
- CMS: Change Request 13582 (POS 02 or 10 paired with modifier 95 or 93, PDF), checked October 22, 2026
- CMS MLN901705: Telehealth and Remote Patient Monitoring, December 2025 (PDF), checked October 22, 2026
- CMS: Telehealth FAQ, updated 10/8/2026 (home telehealth through Dec 31, 2027, PDF), checked October 22, 2026
- CMS: PFS Relative Value Files, RVU26D, checked October 22, 2026
What Medicare's policy says about G0473
G0473 is the HCPCS code for face-to-face behavioral counseling for obesity, group (2-10), 30 minutes. At Medicare it is limited: paid only in a narrow case, see the note. Each line below is from Medicare's own text:
- Where it is listed. Added to Medicare effective January 1, 2015 under NCD 210.12; described in Claims Processing Manual ch. 18 s.200. (CMS, checked October 30, 2026)
- Billed with. Z68.30 to Z68.39 and Z68.41 to Z68.45. (CMS, checked October 30, 2026)
- Diagnosis position. Institutional claims: type of bill 13x or 85x only for G0473 (G0447 also allows 71X and 77X). Other bill types are denied. (CMS, checked October 30, 2026)
- How often. Counts toward the same 22 sessions in 12 months as G0447. (CMS, checked October 30, 2026)
- Who can bill it. Claims Processing Manual ch. 18 s.200.3 allows G0447 and G0473 only from provider specialties 01 General Practice, 08 Family Practice, 11 Internal Medicine, 16 Obstetrics/Gynecology, 37 Pediatric Medicine, 38 Geriatric Medicine, 50 Nurse Practitioner, 89 Certified Clinical Nurse Specialist and 97 Physician Assistant. Other specialties are denied. The dietitian/nutritionist specialty is 71 (ch. 4 s.300.5). (CMS, checked October 30, 2026; CMS, checked October 30, 2026)
- Telehealth. Added to the CMS CY 2026 list of Medicare telehealth services (action: Addition). (CMS, checked October 30, 2026)
The rest of Medicare's MNT rules
The Medicare row has its codes, telehealth rule, limits and referrals, each with its source. Other codes we checked at Medicare: 97802, 97803, 97804, G0270, G0271, G0447, Z68 and G0108. What G0473 means at any payer is on the G0473 code page. Before the claim goes out, compare it with the row in the table above, then download the PDF of what you see.