Skip to main content
HCPCS G0444 · Level II · G code

G0444: Annual depression screening, 5 to 15 minutes, HCPCS Level II G code

Compiled from CMS files by the QuickIntell RCM Editorial Team · Data effective · Method: reference methodology · Report a data correction

Data currency: HCPCS Level II file: October 2026 (effective October 1, 2026); PFS relative value file: RVU26D, released August 26, 2026 (effective October 1, 2026); NCCI MUE tables: 2026 Q4 (effective October 1, 2026); NCCI PTP edits: v323r0 (2026 Q4) (effective October 1, 2026); OPPS Addendum B: October 2026 (effective October 1, 2026). Next CMS release: January 1, 2027 (quarterly update) for the HCPCS Level II file and NCCI MUE tables and NCCI PTP edits and OPPS Addendum B; RVU27A with the CY2027 PFS final rule, effective January 1, 2027 for the PFS relative value file.

Key facts for G0444

Medicare payment
$18.70
PFS non-facility, national; facility $8.02
Coverage code
C
carrier judgment, so the Medicare contractor decides coverage
Practitioner MUE
1
MAI 2
OPPS status
SI S
Procedure or service, not discounted when multiple
NCCI PTP pairs
320
254 hospital outpatient
LCDs and articles
0 / 0
on the Medicare telehealth list

TL;DR

HCPCS Level II G0444 reads "Annual depression screening, 5 to 15 minutes" in the October 2026 file; it dates from 2011. Medicare's October 2026 physician fee schedule pays G0444 $18.70 non-facility and $8.02 facility nationally, from 0.18 work, 0.37 practice-expense and 0.01 malpractice RVUs at the $33.4009 conversion factor. Qualifying APM participants get $18.80 at $33.5675. MUE limits for G0444: practitioner 1 (MAI 2, CMS Policy); hospital outpatient 1 (MAI 2, CMS Policy). In the NCCI PTP files v323r0 G0444 appears in 244 practitioner pairs as column 2 and 76 as column 1 (most often with 0395T, 0591T, 0592T), and in 193 hospital outpatient pairs as column 2 and 61 as column 1. G0444 appears in no active LCD or billing and coding article, so coverage follows HCPCS coverage code C (carrier judgment, so the Medicare contractor decides coverage) and any NCD. It is on the CY2026 Medicare telehealth list (CMS action: Maintain). HCPCS record: BETOS Y1 (other - Medicare fee schedule); pricing indicator 13; type of service 1 (medical care). Nearby codes: G0443, G0445, G0442, G0446.

G0444 descriptor and code status

The October 2026 HCPCS Level II file describes G0444 as “Annual depression screening, 5 to 15 minutes”. It sits in the G section (procedures and professional services, temporary), listed with the other G codes. Although searches often call it the "G0444 CPT code", G0444 is a HCPCS Level II code maintained by CMS, not an AMA CPT code; both go in the same procedure-code field on the claim.

HCPCS file attributes of G0444
FieldValue
Short descriptorDepression screen annual
Added to HCPCS2011-10-14
Last actionN (no maintenance), effective 2023-01-01
Coverage codeC: carrier judgment, so the Medicare contractor decides coverage
Pricing indicator13: physician fee schedule, priced by the contractor
BETOS categoryY1: other - Medicare fee schedule
Type of service1: medical care

Medicare payment for G0444

Medicare's October 2026 physician fee schedule pays G0444 $18.70 non-facility and $8.02 facility nationally, from 0.18 work, 0.37 practice-expense and 0.01 malpractice RVUs at the $33.4009 conversion factor. Qualifying APM participants get $18.80 at $33.5675. The amounts below are national figures from the October 2026 CMS files; the contractor applies the locality, rural or state adjustment and the beneficiary's cost sharing.

Physician fee schedule (RVU26D)

Status A: active: paid separately under the physician fee schedule when covered. Global period XXX (global surgery concept does not apply); PC/TC indicator 0 (physician service; the professional/technical split does not apply).

PFS relative values and national payment for G0444
ComponentNon-facilityFacility
Work RVU0.180.18
Practice expense RVU0.370.05
Malpractice RVU0.010.01
Total RVUs0.560.24
National payment (CF $33.4009)$18.70$8.02
Qualifying APM participant (CF $33.5675)$18.80$8.06
  • Multiple procedures (modifier 51): no multiple-procedure reduction
  • Bilateral (modifier 50): 150% bilateral adjustment does not apply
  • Assistant at surgery: assistant at surgery paid only with documentation; co-surgeons: co-surgeons not permitted; team surgery: team surgeons not permitted
  • Physician supervision of diagnostic procedures: supervision concept does not apply

Hospital outpatient (OPPS Addendum B)

Status indicator S (Procedure or service, not discounted when multiple), APC 5821 (Level 1 Health and Behavior Services), national unadjusted payment $38.28 with a minimum unadjusted copayment of $0.00.

Medically Unlikely Edits for G0444

MUE limits for G0444: practitioner 1 (MAI 2, CMS Policy); hospital outpatient 1 (MAI 2, CMS Policy). The practitioner MUE is a date-of-service policy edit: units above the limit deny even when split across lines, and appeals rarely succeed.

MUE values for G0444 by setting
SettingMUE (units/DOS)MAICMS rationale
Practitioner services12 Date of Service Edit: PolicyCMS Policy
Facility outpatient hospital12 Date of Service Edit: PolicyCMS Policy

The MUE lookup for G0444 shows every setting next to any other code on the same claim.

NCCI edits and add-on rules

In the practitioner PTP file v323r0, G0444 is the column-2 (bundled) code in 244 active pairs, 97% of which allow a modifier and the column-1 code in 76 (68% modifier-allowed); 412 earlier pairs have been deleted. CMS's most frequent rationale for the bundled pairs: CPT Manual or CMS manual coding instruction.

Column-1 codes most often paired with G0444 (practitioner)
Column-1 codePairs
0395T (CPT; descriptor licensed by AMA)1
0591T (CPT; descriptor licensed by AMA)1
0592T (CPT; descriptor licensed by AMA)1
0593T (CPT; descriptor licensed by AMA)1
0889T (CPT; descriptor licensed by AMA)1
0890T (CPT; descriptor licensed by AMA)1
0891T (CPT; descriptor licensed by AMA)1
0892T (CPT; descriptor licensed by AMA)1
Column-2 codes bundled into G0444 (practitioner)
Column-2 codePairs
0362T (CPT; descriptor licensed by AMA)1
0373T (CPT; descriptor licensed by AMA)1
0403T (CPT; descriptor licensed by AMA)1
0469T (CPT; descriptor licensed by AMA)1
0488T (CPT; descriptor licensed by AMA)1
0903T (CPT; descriptor licensed by AMA)1
0904T (CPT; descriptor licensed by AMA)1
0905T (CPT; descriptor licensed by AMA)1

In the hospital outpatient PTP file v323r0, G0444 is the column-2 (bundled) code in 193 active pairs, 97% of which allow a modifier and the column-1 code in 61 (77% modifier-allowed); 344 earlier pairs have been deleted. CMS's most frequent rationale for the bundled pairs: More extensive procedure.

Column-1 codes most often paired with G0444 (hospital outpatient)
Column-1 codePairs
0591T (CPT; descriptor licensed by AMA)1
0592T (CPT; descriptor licensed by AMA)1
0593T (CPT; descriptor licensed by AMA)1
0889T (CPT; descriptor licensed by AMA)1
0890T (CPT; descriptor licensed by AMA)1
0891T (CPT; descriptor licensed by AMA)1
0892T (CPT; descriptor licensed by AMA)1
0944T (CPT; descriptor licensed by AMA)1
Column-2 codes bundled into G0444 (hospital outpatient)
Column-2 codePairs
0362T (CPT; descriptor licensed by AMA)1
0373T (CPT; descriptor licensed by AMA)1
0403T (CPT; descriptor licensed by AMA)1
0469T (CPT; descriptor licensed by AMA)1
0488T (CPT; descriptor licensed by AMA)1
0903T (CPT; descriptor licensed by AMA)1
0904T (CPT; descriptor licensed by AMA)1
0905T (CPT; descriptor licensed by AMA)1

G0444 is neither an add-on code nor a designated primary code in the 2026 Q4 NCCI add-on edit file.

Pair counts show exposure, not the answer for one claim. Check G0444 against a second code to see whether the pair bundles and whether a modifier can separate the services.

Medicare coverage policies for G0444

No current LCD or billing and coding article lists G0444. The HCPCS coverage code C means carrier judgment, so the Medicare contractor decides coverage, and any National Coverage Determination for the service still applies.

Telehealth status

G0444 is on the CY2026 Medicare telehealth services list (CMS action: Maintain). Bill it with the place-of-service code and modifiers that match where the patient and the practitioner are on the date of service.

Denials to expect on G0444

CARC 50 · N115

the service is not reasonable and necessary for the diagnosis on the claim

CARC 151 · N362

units of G0444 exceed the practitioner MUE of 1 per date of service

CARC 4

the modifier reported is inconsistent with the code

CARC 16

the claim lacks the description, invoice or pricing detail a contractor-priced code needs

Where QuickIntell fits for G0444 claims

QuickCode supports qualified coder review of units, modifiers and NCCI pairs for G0444 before the claim leaves, and QuickRCM carries claim readiness and the denial follow-up when an edit or coverage policy is missed.

See QuickCode for coder reviewSee QuickRCM for denial follow-upBook a meeting

Frequently asked questions: HCPCS G0444

What does HCPCS code G0444 describe?

"Annual depression screening, 5 to 15 minutes" (short descriptor "Depression screen annual"), in the G section (procedures and professional services, temporary). Added 2011-10-14; last action N (no maintenance) effective 2023-01-01.

Is G0444 a CPT code?

No: CMS maintains G0444 in HCPCS Level II, while the AMA maintains CPT. People do search "G0444 CPT code", and it goes in the same procedure-code field.

What does Medicare pay for G0444?

Medicare's October 2026 physician fee schedule pays G0444 $18.70 non-facility and $8.02 facility nationally, from 0.18 work, 0.37 practice-expense and 0.01 malpractice RVUs at the $33.4009 conversion factor. Qualifying APM participants get $18.80 at $33.5675.

How many units of G0444 can be billed per day?

MUE limits for G0444: practitioner 1 (MAI 2, CMS Policy); hospital outpatient 1 (MAI 2, CMS Policy). For the practitioner MUE (MAI 2), units above 1 deny for the whole day as a policy limit; denials arrive as CARC 151.

Does Medicare cover G0444?

G0444 appears in no active LCD or billing and coding article, so coverage follows HCPCS coverage code C (carrier judgment, so the Medicare contractor decides coverage) and any NCD.

Can G0444 be billed as telehealth?

Yes. G0444 is on the CY2026 Medicare telehealth list (Maintain); the place-of-service and modifier rules on the date of service still apply.

Sources

Every figure on this page is taken from the CMS publications below, as released by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Projection built 2026-10-10. Verify against the primary file before billing or contracting decisions. The reference methodology explains how each figure is computed from these files.

Disclaimer

This page is an operational reference compiled from CMS publications: the HCPCS Level II file, the physician, DMEPOS and clinical laboratory fee schedules, OPPS and ASC addenda, NCCI MUE, PTP and add-on edit tables and the Medicare Coverage Database. Amounts are Medicare national figures before locality and state adjustment; Medicaid and commercial payers set their own. CPT codes are shown as numbers only; CPT descriptors are copyright AMA. Nothing here is legal, clinical or billing advice.

Found a figure that does not match the CMS file? Report a data correction with the CMS file and the value you expected; the request reaches the editorial team through the contact form.