Hospital inpatient & observation

99222 - RVUs & Medicare payment (2026)

Initial hospital or observation visit, level 2.

Component	Non-facility	Facility
Work RVU	2.60	2.60
Practice expense RVU	0.67	0.67
Malpractice RVU	0.23	0.23
Total RVUs	3.50	3.50
National payment (CF $33.4009)	$116.90	$116.90
Qualifying APM payment (CF $33.5675)	$117.49	$117.49

How 99222 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 99222 ranges from $110.02 in Arkansas (AR) to $158.33 in Alaska (AK); calculate 99222 for your locality.

Alaska (AK) $158.33 NYC Suburbs/Long Island (NY) $133.27 San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara (CA) $132.78 San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara (CA) $131.71 Manhattan (NY) $130.59 San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley (CA) $130.17 Queens (NY) $129.93 San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley (CA) $129.91 National average $116.90 … 97 more localities between … Wisconsin (WI) $110.65 Nebraska (NE) $110.40 Iowa (IA) $110.37 Arkansas (AR) $110.02

Non-facility payment for 99222 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 - hospital inpatient & observation

99221 · initial hospital or observation visit, level 1
99223 · initial hospital or observation visit, level 3
99231 · subsequent hospital or observation visit, level 1
99232 · subsequent hospital or observation visit, level 2
99233 · subsequent hospital or observation visit, level 3
99238 · hospital discharge management, 30 minutes or less
99239 · hospital discharge management, more than 30 minutes

Frequently asked questions

How much does Medicare pay for 99222 in 2026?

The national non-facility payment is $116.90 and the facility payment is $116.90, 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 99222?

The 2026 work RVU for 99222 is 2.60. Total RVUs are 3.50 in the non-facility setting and 3.50 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.