G0159 — Services performed by a qualified physical therapist, in the home health setting, in the establishment or delivery of a safe and effective physical therapy maintenance program, each 15 minutes
G0159 is a HCPCS Level II code for services performed by a qualified physical therapist, in the home health setting, in the establishment or delivery of a safe and effective physical therapy maintenance program, each 15 minutes. It belongs to the Procedures and Professional Services (Temporary) section. Whether Medicare pays it depends on the coverage rule below.
Medicare coverage: Carrier judgment
Coverage is decided by your Medicare contractor, not by national policy. Whether this is paid depends on the LCD for your jurisdiction and on what the documentation supports.
From the coverage field of the CMS Alpha-Numeric HCPCS File, release 2026Q3-Jul. This states Medicare’s position on the code, not on your particular claim.
Physician fee schedule statusE
Excluded from the physician fee schedule by regulation. Payment, where it exists, comes from another fee schedule (drugs via ASP, supplies via DMEPOS, and so on).
Global period: XXX
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The CMS record for G0159
- Long descriptor
- Services performed by a qualified physical therapist, in the home health setting, in the establishment or delivery of a safe and effective physical therapy maintenance program, each 15 minutes
- Short descriptor
- Hhc pt maint ea 15 min
- Added
- January 1, 2011
- BETOS
- Y2
- Pricing indicator
- 00 — Not priced by Part B
The official wording. This is what the code means.
CMS's 28-character form, which is what shows up on a remittance advice.
When CMS introduced the code.
Berenson-Eggers Type of Service — CMS's own analytic grouping.
Service not separately priced by Part B — not covered, bundled into another service, or used by Part A only.
Codes adjacent to G0159
HCPCS has no hierarchy — related items simply sit next to each other in the numbering. If G0159 is not quite right, the correct code is very often within a few positions of it.
- G0151Services performed by a qualified physical therapist in the home health or hospice setting, each 15 minutes
- G0152Services performed by a qualified occupational therapist in the home health or hospice setting, each 15 minutes
- G0153Services performed by a qualified speech-language pathologist in the home health or hospice setting, each 15 minutes
- G0154Direct skilled nursing services of a licensed nurse (lpn or rn) in the home health or hospice setting, each 15 minutesterminated
- G0155Services of clinical social worker in home health or hospice settings, each 15 minutes
- G0156Services of home health/hospice aide in home health or hospice settings, each 15 minutes
- G0157Services performed by a qualified physical therapist assistant in the home health or hospice setting, each 15 minutes
- G0158Services performed by a qualified occupational therapist assistant in the home health or hospice setting, each 15 minutes
- G0160Services performed by a qualified occupational therapist, in the home health setting, in the establishment or delivery of a safe and effective occupational therapy maintenance program, each 15 minutes
- G0161Services performed by a qualified speech-language pathologist, in the home health setting, in the establishment or delivery of a safe and effective speech-language pathology maintenance program, each 15 minutes
- G0162Skilled services by a registered nurse (rn) for management and evaluation of the plan of care; each 15 minutes (the patient's underlying condition or complication requires an rn to ensure that essential non-skilled care achieves its purpose in the home health or hospice setting)
- G0163Skilled services of a licensed nurse (lpn or rn) for the observation and assessment of the patient's condition, each 15 minutes (the change in the patient's condition requires skilled nursing personnel to identify and evaluate the patient's need for possible modification of treatment in the home health or hospice setting)terminated
- G0164Skilled services of a licensed nurse (lpn or rn), in the training and/or education of a patient or family member, in the home health or hospice setting, each 15 minutesterminated
- G0166External counterpulsation, per treatment session
- G0168Wound closure utilizing tissue adhesive(s) only
- G0173Linear accelerator based stereotactic radiosurgery, complete course of therapy in one sessionterminated
Questions about G0159
What is HCPCS code G0159?
G0159 is a HCPCS Level II code for services performed by a qualified physical therapist, in the home health setting, in the establishment or delivery of a safe and effective physical therapy maintenance program, each 15 minutes. It sits in the Procedures and Professional Services (Temporary) section.
Does Medicare cover G0159?
The CMS HCPCS file marks G0159 as "Carrier judgment". Coverage is decided by your Medicare contractor, not by national policy. Whether this is paid depends on the LCD for your jurisdiction and on what the documentation supports.
How is G0159 paid under the physician fee schedule?
G0159 carries PFS status code E. Excluded from the physician fee schedule by regulation. Payment, where it exists, comes from another fee schedule (drugs via ASP, supplies via DMEPOS, and so on).