Remote therapeutic monitoring (RTM) is RPM’s counterpart for therapy adherence and response: is the patient doing the home exercise program, using the inhaler, following the treatment plan, and how are they responding. The code family covers three types of therapeutic monitoring (musculoskeletal, respiratory, and cognitive behavioral therapy) and, like RPM, it sits at the center of the CY 2027 proposed rule on staffing. Here is the full 2026 code set and what may change.
The codes and 2026 rates
All figures are 2026 national non facility amounts, before geographic adjustment.
- CPT 98975: initial setup and patient education on the monitoring system. $21.71, once per episode of care.
- Musculoskeletal device supply: CPT 98977 when data is transmitted on 16 or more days in a 30 day period ($51.44), or CPT 98985 for 2 to 15 days ($51.44), the CY 2026 addition.
- Respiratory device supply: CPT 98976 for 16 or more days ($52.11), or CPT 98984 for 2 to 15 days ($52.11).
- Cognitive behavioral therapy device supply: CPT 98978 for 16 or more days and CPT 98986 for 2 to 15 days are contractor priced, so there is no national rate; your Medicare Administrative Contractor sets payment. CBT monitoring uses the same treatment management codes as the other RTM types.
- Treatment management: CPT 98979 for 10 to 19 minutes per month ($26.39), CPT 98980 for the first 20 minutes ($54.11), and CPT 98981 for each additional 20 minutes ($41.42, up to 3 units, adjudicated as a clinical edit).
The monthly management codes require at least one real time interactive communication with the patient or caregiver during the month. Voicemail does not qualify. Months with data but no qualifying communication leave the management codes unbillable, which in a well run program is a workflow problem to fix, not a revenue quirk to accept.
Supervision and who can bill
Every RTM service may be furnished under general supervision; CMS settled that in the CY 2023 final rule, so the billing practitioner does not need to be physically present while clinical staff do the monthly work. RTM is also notable for who can bill it: beyond physicians and the usual NPPs, RTM was built to be billable by practitioners like physical therapists and occupational therapists managing therapeutic programs.
What the CY 2027 proposed rule would change
Four things, none final until the rule publishes this fall. Clinical staff furnishing RTM would need to be direct employees of the billing practice, ending vendor staffing. RTM would be limited to established patients, extending the rule RPM already follows. A face to face initiating visit by the billing practitioner would be required before services start. And CMS is separately seeking comment on collapsing the whole remote monitoring family into four bundled G codes, which would fold device supply, data transmission, and management into one monthly code per program. Full breakdown: what the 2027 proposal actually says. Vendor dependent programs can start with our 2027 transition checklist.
Practice Management Consultancy helps practices build RTM programs staffed by their own team. The RTM playbooks we install come from the program we designed and implemented at our own medical clinic, where the clinic’s own staff runs it. Start with a care management assessment.
Sources
- CY 2027 Physician Fee Schedule proposed rule, 91 FR 43842 (RPM/RTM sections at 43892 through 43895)
- CMS Physician Fee Schedule Relative Value File, July 2026 release (rates are 2026 national non facility amounts, nonqualifying APM conversion factor, before locality adjustment; 98978 and 98986 carry no national rate)
- CMS NCCI Medically Unlikely Edits, practitioner table effective 07/01/2026
