Nutrition & Dietetics Billing Services
Nutrition and dietetics billing is narrow in a way most specialties are not: Medicare covers medical nutrition therapy for only a limited set of diagnoses, the benefit is measured in hours per year, and the codes are time-based in 15-minute units. A practice that bills nutrition counseling like a generic office visit, or that bills a diagnosis Medicare does not cover for nutrition therapy, will see denials that no amount of resubmission will fix.
MedPlus RCM provides medical billing, coding, credentialing, and denial management for nutrition and dietetics practices, built around the specialty’s actual code families and payer requirements.
Nutrition & Dietetics billing challenges
Medical nutrition therapy, or MNT, uses three core codes. Code 97802 is the initial assessment and intervention for an individual patient, reported in 15-minute units. Code 97803 is reassessment and intervention for an individual patient, also in 15-minute units. Code 97804 is group medical nutrition therapy for two or more patients, reported in 30-minute units. When a patient is referred a second time in the same year because of a change in diagnosis, medical condition, or treatment regimen, the reassessment is reported with HCPCS codes G0270 for individual sessions and G0271 for group sessions instead of the 97802 through 97804 family.
Medicare Part B coverage for MNT is limited to a narrow set of diagnoses, including diabetes and chronic kidney disease, and coverage for other diagnoses varies by payer and by plan. Medicare’s MNT benefit is generally structured as an initial block of hours with additional hours available in later years for beneficiaries with ongoing qualifying conditions, and the exact hour limits follow current Medicare rules, so the benefit must be checked before the hours are used up. Incident-to billing does not apply to MNT, which means the therapy must be billed under the qualified provider’s own enrollment rather than under a supervising physician’s number.
Diabetes self-management training, or DSMT, is a separate benefit with its own codes: G0108 for individual sessions and G0109 for group sessions, each in 30-minute units. DSMT and MNT must not be confused on the claim, because they have different coverage rules, different code families, and different program requirements. Telehealth adds another variable: MNT codes 97802, 97803, and 97804 are on Medicare’s permanent telehealth list, while self-management education codes are not, so the delivery method must match the code’s telehealth status. Documentation must tie each session to the qualifying diagnosis, the time spent, and the intervention provided, because time-based units are a frequent audit target.
What MedPlus RCM handles for Nutrition & Dietetics practices
- End-to-end medical billing. Charge entry, claim scrubbing, submission, payment posting, and patient billing, the full cycle.
- Medical coding. Certified coders assign current ICD-10, CPT, and HCPCS codes matched to your documentation and specialty.
- Provider credentialing and enrollment. End-to-end enrollment with commercial payers and Medicare, plus re-credentialing maintenance.
- Denial management and recovery. Every denial investigated to root cause, corrected, and appealed with documentation.
- A/R recovery. Aged and outstanding balances audited and pursued, including balances already written off where the appeal window is still open.
- Financial reporting. Clean claim rates, collections, denial patterns, and A/R aging visible by payer and provider.
We serve nutrition and dietetics practices nationwide, including registered dietitian practices, diabetes education programs, and hospital-affiliated nutrition clinics.
Results Nutrition & Dietetics practices can check
MedPlus RCM maintains a 99% clean claim rate and keeps client accounts receivable under 30 days. Pricing is a performance-based percentage of successfully collected revenue: if you don’t get paid, we don’t get paid. We are 100% HIPAA compliant, and onboarding takes 2 to 4 weeks depending on practice size, with no disruption to your daily cash flow.
Frequently asked questions
Does Medicare cover nutrition counseling?
Medicare Part B covers medical nutrition therapy for a narrow set of diagnoses, including diabetes and chronic kidney disease. Coverage for other diagnoses depends on the payer and the plan.
How are MNT units counted?
Individual MNT sessions are billed in 15-minute units with 97802 for the initial assessment and 97803 for reassessment. Group sessions use 97804 in 30-minute units.
What is a second referral in the same year?
When a patient is referred again in the same year because of a change in diagnosis, medical condition, or treatment regimen, reassessment is billed with G0270 for individual sessions or G0271 for group sessions.
What is the difference between MNT and diabetes self-management training?
They are separate benefits. MNT uses the 97802 through 97804 codes, while diabetes self-management training uses G0108 and G0109, and each has its own coverage rules and program requirements.
What does MedPlus RCM charge?
A performance-based percentage of successfully collected revenue. If you don’t get paid, we don’t get paid.
Get a free financial audit
Find out where your nutrition and dietetics practice is losing revenue. Request a free financial audit and our specialists will review your claims, denials, and A/R.
