Therapy 8-Minute Rule Calculator

How many units is this visit worth?

Type or paste the timed minutes for each visit, one code per line (97110 23), with a blank line between visits. The tool totals the timed minutes, applies the Medicare 8-minute table, hands the units to the codes, compares that with a per-code count, flags visits a few minutes short of the next unit, and prices the difference at your rates.

Arithmetic on the numbers you type. Not tax, legal, coding or billing advice. The values shown are placeholder data, not benchmarks, fee schedules or any real clinic's figures. No patient information belongs here: use a visit label like "Visit A".

Your visits

Visits (a label line is optional; blank line starts a new visit)

Timed codes add minutes. Untimed codes (evaluations, 97010, 97014, G0283) are listed but add none. Do not type patient names or identifiers.

Your rates (optional)

Default allowed amount per unit ($)

Used for any code without its own rate below.

Allowed amount per unit by code

One per line, like 97110=31.20. Take them from your contract or remittances.

Questions people ask

What is the 8-minute rule?

Under Medicare's rule for timed therapy codes, you add up the minutes of all timed services in a visit and bill units from the total: 8 to 22 minutes is one unit, 23 to 37 is two, 38 to 52 is three, and so on, one more unit for each further 15 minutes. Fewer than 8 total timed minutes is not billable as a timed unit. This tool applies that table to the minutes you type, then shows which codes the units go to.

Does the rule apply to each code or to the whole visit?

Under the CMS method the total of all timed minutes sets the number of units, and the units are then assigned to codes. Some other payers count each code on its own, giving a unit when a code reaches 8 minutes past a full 15. That can produce more units than the CMS method for the same visit, so the tool shows both counts and the difference. Check which rule your payer contract uses.

Which codes are timed?

Codes such as 97110 therapeutic exercise, 97112 neuromuscular re-education, 97140 manual therapy, 97530 therapeutic activities and 97035 ultrasound are timed. Evaluations, supervised modalities such as 97010 hot and cold packs, and 97014 or G0283 unattended electrical stimulation are untimed: they are listed but add no minutes to the total.

How do I find visits that are a few minutes short of a unit?

Visits whose timed total sits one to three minutes below the next threshold are flagged with how many more minutes of documented, skilled treatment would have reached it. Only add time you actually spent; the point is to see where your schedule leaves units unbilled, not to round up.

Not decided

Which payers follow the CMS method and which count each code separately, whether a service is timed under your payer's rules, medical-necessity and documentation requirements, modifiers such as GP, GO and the KX threshold, the multiple procedure payment reduction, group and concurrent treatment rules, and how any of this affects your compliance obligations. Check your payer contracts and talk to a qualified coder or compliance professional.