G0446 — Annual, face-to-face intensive behavioral therapy for cardiovascular disease, individual, 15 minutes
G0446 is a HCPCS Level II code for annual, face-to-face intensive behavioral therapy for cardiovascular disease, individual, 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 statusA
Active code. Paid separately under the physician fee schedule.
- Work RVU
- 0.60
- PE (non-facility)
- 0.38
- PE (facility)
- 0.15
- Malpractice RVU
- 0.04
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 G0446 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 3 — Date of Service Edit: Clinical · Nature of Service/Procedure
- outpatient
- 1 unit MAI 3 — Date of Service Edit: Clinical · Nature of Service/Procedure
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 G0446
- Long descriptor
- Annual, face-to-face intensive behavioral therapy for cardiovascular disease, individual, 15 minutes
- Short descriptor
- Intens behave ther cardio dx
- Added
- November 8, 2011
- BETOS
- Y1
- Pricing indicator
- 13 — 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 by carriers — not otherwise classified, individual determination, or carrier discretion.
Codes adjacent to G0446
HCPCS has no hierarchy — related items simply sit next to each other in the numbering. If G0446 is not quite right, the correct code is very often within a few positions of it.
- G0436Smoking and tobacco cessation counseling visit for the asymptomatic patient; intermediate, greater than 3 minutes, up to 10 minutesterminated
- G0437Smoking and tobacco cessation counseling visit for the asymptomatic patient; intensive, greater than 10 minutesterminated
- G0438Annual wellness visit; includes a personalized prevention plan of service (pps), initial visit
- G0439Annual wellness visit, includes a personalized prevention plan of service (pps), subsequent visit
- G0442Annual alcohol misuse screening, 5 to 15 minutes
- G0443Brief face-to-face behavioral counseling for alcohol misuse, 15 minutes
- G0444Annual depression screening, 5 to 15 minutes
- G0445High intensity behavioral counseling to prevent sexually transmitted infection; face-to-face, individual, includes: education, skills training and guidance on how to change sexual behavior; performed semi-annually, 30 minutes
- G0447Face-to-face behavioral counseling for obesity, 15 minutes
- G0448Insertion or replacement of a permanent pacing cardioverter-defibrillator system with transvenous lead(s), single or dual chamber with insertion of pacing electrode, cardiac venous system, for left ventricular pacing
- G0451Development testing, with interpretation and report, per standardized instrument form
- G0452Molecular pathology procedure; physician interpretation and report
- G0453Continuous intraoperative neurophysiology monitoring, from outside the operating room (remote or nearby), per patient, (attention directed exclusively to one patient) each 15 minutes (list in addition to primary procedure)
- G0454Physician documentation of face-to-face visit for durable medical equipment determination performed by nurse practitioner, physician assistant or clinical nurse specialist
- G0455Preparation with instillation of fecal microbiota by any method, including assessment of donor specimen
- G0456Negative pressure wound therapy, (e.g. vacuum assisted drainage collection) using a mechanically-powered device, not durable medical equipment, including provision of cartridge and dressing(s), topical application(s), wound assessment, and instructions for ongoing care, per session; total wounds(s) surface area less than or equal to 50 square centimetersterminated
Questions about G0446
What is HCPCS code G0446?
G0446 is a HCPCS Level II code for annual, face-to-face intensive behavioral therapy for cardiovascular disease, individual, 15 minutes. It sits in the Procedures and Professional Services (Temporary) section.
Does Medicare cover G0446?
The CMS HCPCS file marks G0446 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 G0446 paid under the physician fee schedule?
G0446 carries PFS status code A. Active code. Paid separately under the physician fee schedule.