G0404 — Electrocardiogram, routine ecg with 12 leads; tracing only, without interpretation and report, performed as a screening for the initial preventive physical examination
G0404 is a HCPCS Level II code for electrocardiogram, routine ecg with 12 leads; tracing only, without interpretation and report, performed as a screening for the initial preventive physical examination. 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 statusA
Active code. Paid separately under the physician fee schedule.
- Work RVU
- 0.00
- PE (non-facility)
- 0.20
- PE (facility)
- 0.20
- Malpractice RVU
- 0.01
Global period: XXX
Want the dollar amount for your locality? The fee calculator applies your GPCI and the current conversion factor.
Medically Unlikely Edits — units per day
The most units of G0404 Medicare will pay on one date of service. Bill more on a single line and it is denied. The limit is not the same in every setting, so the row that matters is the one matching the claim you are building.
- practitioner
- 1 unit MAI 2 — Date of Service Edit: Policy · Code Descriptor / CPT Instruction
- outpatient
- 1 unit MAI 2 — Date of Service Edit: Policy · Code Descriptor / CPT Instruction
The adjudication indicator decides whether exceeding the limit is worth appealing at all: MAI 1 is a line edit you can support with documentation, MAI 3 is a date-of-service edit that is also appealable, and MAI 2 is absolute — no documentation overrides it. CMS MUE 2026Q3.
The CMS record for G0404
- Long descriptor
- Electrocardiogram, routine ecg with 12 leads; tracing only, without interpretation and report, performed as a screening for the initial preventive physical examination
- Short descriptor
- Ekg tracing for initial prev
- Added
- January 1, 2009
- BETOS
- T2C
- Pricing indicator
- 11 — Physician fee schedule
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.
Price established using national RVUs.
Codes adjacent to G0404
HCPCS has no hierarchy — related items simply sit next to each other in the numbering. If G0404 is not quite right, the correct code is very often within a few positions of it.
- G0390Trauma response team associated with hospital critical care service
- G0396Alcohol and/or substance (other than tobacco) misuse structured assessment (e.g., audit, dast), and brief intervention 15 to 30 minutes
- G0397Alcohol and/or substance (other than tobacco) misuse structured assessment (e.g., audit, dast), and intervention, greater than 30 minutes
- G0398Home sleep study test (hst) with type ii portable monitor, unattended; minimum of 7 channels: eeg, eog, emg, ecg/heart rate, airflow, respiratory effort and oxygen saturation
- G0399Home sleep test (hst) with type iii portable monitor, unattended; minimum of 4 channels: 2 respiratory movement/airflow, 1 ecg/heart rate and 1 oxygen saturation
- G0400Home sleep test (hst) with type iv portable monitor, unattended; minimum of 3 channels
- G0402Initial preventive physical examination; face-to-face visit, services limited to new beneficiary during the first 12 months of medicare enrollment
- G0403Electrocardiogram, routine ecg with 12 leads; performed as a screening for the initial preventive physical examination with interpretation and report
- G0405Electrocardiogram, routine ecg with 12 leads; interpretation and report only, performed as a screening for the initial preventive physical examination
- G0406Follow-up inpatient consultation, limited, physicians typically spend 15 minutes communicating with the patient via telehealth
- G0407Follow-up inpatient consultation, intermediate, physicians typically spend 25 minutes communicating with the patient via telehealth
- G0408Follow-up inpatient consultation, complex, physicians typically spend 35 minutes communicating with the patient via telehealth
- G0409Social work and psychological services, directly relating to and/or furthering the patient's rehabilitation goals, each 15 minutes, face-to-face; individual (services provided by a corf-qualified social worker or psychologist in a corf)
- G0410Group psychotherapy other than of a multiple-family group, in a partial hospitalization or intensive outpatient setting, approximately 45 to 50 minutes
- G0411Interactive group psychotherapy, in a partial hospitalization or intensive outpatient setting, approximately 45 to 50 minutes
- G0412Open treatment of iliac spine(s), tuberosity avulsion, or iliac wing fracture(s), unilateral or bilateral for pelvic bone fracture patterns which do not disrupt the pelvic ring includes internal fixation, when performed
Questions about G0404
What is HCPCS code G0404?
G0404 is a HCPCS Level II code for electrocardiogram, routine ecg with 12 leads; tracing only, without interpretation and report, performed as a screening for the initial preventive physical examination. It sits in the Procedures and Professional Services (Temporary) section.
Does Medicare cover G0404?
The CMS HCPCS file marks G0404 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 G0404 paid under the physician fee schedule?
G0404 carries PFS status code A. Active code. Paid separately under the physician fee schedule.