Medicare may cover medical nutrition therapy if you have diabetes or kidney disease, and your doctor refers you for this service. These services can be given by a registered dietitian or Medicare-approved nutrition professional, and include a nutritional assessment and counseling to help you manage your diabetes or kidney disease.

Who Is Covered

Certain Medicare beneficiaries:

   • Who receive a referral from their treating physician; and

   • Are diagnosed with diabetes, renal disease, or who have received a kidney transplant within the last 3 years; and

   • A registered dietitian or nutrition professional must provide the services

HCPCS/CPT Codes

97802 - MNT; initial assessment and intervention, individual, face-to-face with the patient, each 15 minutes

97803 - MNT; re-assessment and intervention, individual, face-to-face with the patient each 15 minutes

97804 - MNT; group (2 or more individual(s)), each 30 minutes

G0270 - MNT reassessment and subsequent intervention(s) for change in diagnosis, individual, each 15 minutes

G0271 - MNT reassessment and subsequent intervention(s) for change in diagnosis, group (2 or more), each 30 minutes

ICD-10-CM Codes

No specific diagnosis code.

Contact your Medicare Administrative Contractor (MAC) for guidance.

Frequency

First year: 3 hours of one-on-one counseling; or

Subsequent years: 2 hours

Note: If your condition, treatment, or diagnosis changes, you may be able to get more hours of treatment with a doctor’s referral. A doctor must prescribe these services and renew your referral yearly if continuing treatment is needed into another calendar year.

Medicare Beneficiary Pays

You pay nothing for these services if the doctor or other health care professional accepts assignment.

   • Copayment waived

   • Coinsurance waived

   • Deductible waived

References