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Office & outpatient visits

99203 - RVUs & Medicare payment (2026)

Office visit, new patient, level 3 (low complexity, 30-44 min).

Component Non-facility Facility
Work RVU 1.60 1.60
Practice expense RVU 1.76 0.38
Malpractice RVU 0.16 0.16
Total RVUs 3.52 2.14
National payment (CF $33.4009) $117.57 $71.48
Qualifying APM payment (CF $33.5675) $118.16 $71.83

How 99203 payment varies by locality

Medicare adjusts payment with geographic practice cost indices, so the same code pays differently across the 109 fee schedule localities. In 2026, non-facility payment for 99203 ranges from $106.69 in Arkansas (AR) to $146.95 in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara (CA); calculate 99203 for your locality.

San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara (CA) $146.95 San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara (CA) $146.21 Alaska (AK) $145.71 San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley (CA) $143.86 San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley (CA) $143.68 Napa (CA) $137.00 Vallejo (CA) $136.74 NYC Suburbs/Long Island (NY) $136.68 National average $117.57 … 97 more localities between … Kansas (KS) $109.28 Mississippi (MS) $108.01 Alabama (AL) $107.90 Arkansas (AR) $106.69
Non-facility payment for 99203 in the 2026 fee schedule ($33.4009 conversion factor), before sequestration. Gray bar = national average.

Global period: XXX

No global period: the global surgery concept does not apply to this code.

Related codes - office & outpatient visits

  • 99202 · office visit, new patient, level 2 (straightforward, 15-29 min)
  • 99204 · office visit, new patient, level 4 (moderate complexity, 45-59 min)
  • 99205 · office visit, new patient, level 5 (high complexity, 60-74 min)
  • 99211 · office visit, established patient, level 1 (minimal, staff-level)
  • 99212 · office visit, established patient, level 2 (straightforward, 10-19 min)
  • 99213 · office visit, established patient, level 3 (low complexity, 20-29 min)
  • 99214 · office visit, established patient, level 4 (moderate complexity, 30-39 min)
  • 99215 · office visit, established patient, level 5 (high complexity, 40-54 min)
  • G2212 · medicare prolonged visit add-on, each additional 15 minutes
  • G2211 · medicare add-on for visit complexity in continuing, longitudinal care

Frequently asked questions

How much does Medicare pay for 99203 in 2026?
The national non-facility payment is $117.57 and the facility payment is $71.48, using the standard $33.4009 conversion factor. Actual amounts vary by Medicare locality; use the RVU calculator for your area.
What is the work RVU for 99203?
The 2026 work RVU for 99203 is 1.60. Total RVUs are 3.52 in the non-facility setting and 2.14 in the facility setting.
Why are the facility and non-facility amounts different?
Only the practice expense component changes by setting. In an office (non-facility) the practice bears the overhead, so the PE RVU is higher; in a hospital or ASC the facility bills its own overhead separately.

Source: CMS Physician Fee Schedule relative value file (rvu26c.zip, retrieved 2026-07-11). Service description is an original plain-English summary, not CPT descriptor text. CPT® is a registered trademark of the American Medical Association. Amounts are estimates before sequestration and claim-level adjustments.