Currently dietitians can bill for MNT in shared medical appointments if they perform the substantive portion of the visit. The proposed change is CMS would no longer allow separate billing for MNT in such settings, effectively treating it as part of the group visit rather than a standalone service.
This could reduce reimbursement for dietitians who provide MNT in group settings, especially in hospitals or clinics where shared appointments are common. Comments are due 14 September 2026.
You may mail written comments to the following address only:
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Department of Health and Human Services, Attention: CMS-1848-P, P.O. Box 8016, Baltimore, MD 21244-8016.
Submit Comments Electronically
Separately, standard Medical Nutrition Therapy (MNT) billing (CPT 97802/97803/97804, HCPCS G0270/G0271) is getting stricter diagnosis-coding enforcement effective August 3, 2026: claims will be denied without a qualifying diagnosis, and coverage remains limited to diabetes, renal disease, and post-transplant care — unchanged in scope, just more strictly enforced. Separately, the AMA has an active 2026 policy resolution pushing to expand Medicare MNT coverage to conditions like obesity, IBS, and hyperlipidemia and to pay RDs outside the physician fee schedule.
Medicare began accepting F7 as a specialty on enrollment applications (Form CMS-855I, via PECOS) starting August 2, 2026. Physicians can bill claims under this specialty for dates of service on or after October 1, 2026. This formally recognizes physician-level clinical nutrition expertise as its own specialty within Medicare, separate from RD/MNT billing, and could reshape referral and collaboration patterns between physicians and dietitians.
Joice Carter, RD CDE
Public Policy Coordinator, 2026-2027