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    v1.0.30
    OpenPayerBilling CodesHospital Inpatient or Observation Discharge ServicesCPT cpt-99238-hospital-discharge-day-management-30-minutes-or-less
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    CPT 99238: Hospital Discharge Day Management, ≤30 Minutes

    Medicare pays $77 and commercial payers pay $102 on average nationally for this procedure.

    CPT code 99238 describes hospital inpatient or observation discharge day management, an evaluation and management (E/M) service provided when a clinician spends 30 minutes or less on the date of discharge; service type: discharge day management; typical site of service: inpatient hospital or observation unit.

    For related coverage guidance, see recent payer policy updates: Automated Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring for Diagnosis of Hypertension in Patients with Elevated Office Blood Pressure, Cardiology - Ivabradine, Cardiac Computed Tomography (CCT)/Coronary Computed Tomographic Angiography (CCTA).

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    National Reimbursement Benchmarks

    Nationally, Medicare’s mean rate of $76.6 sits well below BUCA’s average commercial mean of $101.6, a gap of $25.0 that highlights material separation between public and average commercial payment levels for CPT 99238. Medicare’s interquartile span is narrow (P75 $78 minus P25 $74 = $4), reflecting very low regional variability across the 47 localities captured.

    Dispersion across commercial payers is pronounced: Blue Cross Blue Shield’s IQR is $34.5, UnitedHealth Group’s is $50.6, Cigna’s is $70.8, Aetna’s is $60.0, and BUCA’s is $49.0. Cigna exhibits the widest interquartile spread at $70.8, indicating greater mid‑range variability, while Medicare is the tightest with a $4 IQR, signaling consistent payment levels relative to commercial plans.

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    National Payer Mean Reimbursement Rates

    State Reimbursement Rates

    State: Alaska1 / 51

    Rate by payer

    Clinical & Coding Specifications

    Clinical Context

    A 68-year-old male hospitalist documents discharge day management after a 3-day inpatient admission for pneumonia. The patient, with comorbid essential hypertension (I10) and type 2 diabetes (E11.9), stabilized on antibiotics and supportive care. On the discharge date the hospitalist performs a focused evaluation and management encounter, verifies resolution of acute issues, reviews inpatient course and discharge medications, completes discharge instructions, coordinates outpatient follow-up, and spends 30 minutes or less on all discharge activities. Typical workflow includes review of the chart and hospital course, discussion with nursing and pharmacists about home medications and new prescriptions, patient and caregiver education, completion of discharge summaries and orders, and electronic/telephonic communication arranging post-discharge follow-up. The service is provided in the inpatient hospital setting or observation unit and is billed as 99238 when total provider time on the discharge date is 30 minutes or less.

    Related CPT Codes

    CPT CodeDescriptionRelationship to This Procedure
    99239Hospital discharge day management; more than 30 minutesUsed when total provider time on the discharge date exceeds 30 minutes; adjacent higher-level discharge E/M code to .

    Related Modifiers

    10 rows

    ModifierDescriptionWhen to Use
    25CPT modifier 25 indicates that on the same day as another procedure or service, the same physician or other qualified health care professional provided a significant, separately identifiable…- When to apply: Use modifier 25 only on an E/M code to indicate the same provider delivered a significant, separately identifiable E/M service on the same day as another procedure or service — i.e.,…
    57CPT® modifier -57 (“Decision for Surgery”) is appended to an Evaluation and Management (E/M) service when that encounter results in the initial decision to perform a major surgery (a procedure with a…- Use modifier 57 when an E/M service provided by the same provider (or same tax ID) on the day of or the day before a major surgical procedure (90‑day global period) results in the initial decision…
    24Modifier 24 denotes an unrelated evaluation and management (E/M) service performed by the same physician or qualified healthcare professional during a postoperative global period. Per CPT guidance,…- Use modifier 24 when you report an evaluation and management (E/M) service performed by the same physician or same-specialty group during a procedure’s postoperative global period that is unrelated…
    26Modifier 26 (Professional Component) identifies and bills only the professional portion of a split service — the physician’s interpretation, report, and medical judgment — when the technical…- Use CPT Modifier -26 when you are billing only the professional component (PC) of a split‑bill eligible service—i.e., you performed the physician interpretation, medical judgment and prepared a…
    59Modifier 59 indicates a distinct procedural service when two procedures that are not normally billed together are clinically and procedurally separate. The CPT definition (as reiterated by CMS)…- Use modifier -59 to report a distinct procedural service when documentation supports that the procedure reported is not normally billed together with another service on the same day because of a…
    52Modifier ‑52 (Reduced Services) indicates that a service or procedure was partially reduced or omitted at the provider’s discretion, allowing reporting of the basic procedure number with a qualifier…- Use modifier -52 when a physician or qualified health professional electively reduces or omits part of a procedure or service (for example, performing fewer required views or omitting a portion of…
    53Modifier 53 (Discontinued Procedure) signals that a surgical or diagnostic service was begun by the physician but terminated because of extenuating circumstances that threatened the patient’s…- Use modifier -53 when a physician/qualified healthcare professional has started a surgical or diagnostic procedure (e.g., anesthesia administered, incision or scope insertion) and then discontinues…
    95Modifier 95 indicates that a service was provided via synchronous, real‑time audio‑video telehealth rather than in‑person. Per CMS, AAPC and professional associations, append modifier 95 to claim…- Use modifier 95 to indicate a service was furnished via synchronous, real‑time audiovisual telehealth (a live audio‑video conference between patient and provider) rather than in‑person. - Pair…
    78CPT modifier -78 indicates an unplanned, related return to the operating or procedure room by the same provider during the global postoperative period. It is appended when treatment for a…- Use modifier -78 when an unplanned, related complication during the original procedure’s global postoperative period requires the patient to return to a formal operating or procedure room and the…
    79Modifier 79 indicates a surgical procedure performed during the postoperative global period of a prior surgery that is unrelated to the original procedure. Per AMA/CPT and CMS guidance, it is…- Use modifier 79 when the same physician (or same‑specialty physician in the same group) performs a surgical procedure during the postoperative global period of a prior surgery and the new procedure…

    Related Provider Taxonomies

    8 rows

    Taxonomy Code
    207RI0011X
    1835P2201X
    1835P0018X
    207WX0107X
    364SI0800X
    1710I1003X
    225000000X
    207RC0200X

    Related ICD-10-CM Codes

    29 rows

    ICD-10-CM CodeDescription
    A41.9Sepsis, unspecified organism
    B34.9Viral infection, unspecified
    C50.912Malignant neoplasm of unspecified site of left female breast
    E11.9Type 2 diabetes mellitus without complications
    E78.5Hyperlipidemia, unspecified
    F32.9Major depressive disorder, single episode, unspecified
    F41.9Anxiety disorder, unspecified
    G43.909Migraine, unspecified, not intractable, without status migrainosus
    I10Essential (primary) hypertension
    I50.9Heart failure, unspecified

    Showing 1–10 of 29

    Related Payer Policy Updates

    Specialty: Cardiology1 / 3

    10 rows

    PolicyPayerEffective Date
    Automated Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring for Diagnosis of Hypertension in Patients with Elevated Office Blood PressureBluecross Idaho2026-11-01
    Cardiology - IvabradineCigna2026-10-15
    Cardiac Computed Tomography (CCT)/Coronary Computed Tomographic Angiography (CCTA)univerahealthcare2026-10-15
    Percutaneous Ventricular Assist DeviceUnitedHealthcare2026-10-01
    Cardiovascular Disease Risk AssessmentOscar Health2026-10-01
    Biomarkers for Myocardial Infarction and Chronic Heart FailureOscar Health2026-10-01
    Multiple Procedure Payment Reduction for Diagnostic Cardiovascular ProceduresBlue Cross Blue Shield - Maine2026-10-01
    Left Atrial Appendage Closure Devicesexcellus_health_plan_inc2026-09-17
    Left Atrial Appendage Closure Devicesuniverahealthcare2026-09-17
    Cardiac Omnibus CodesCigna2026-09-15

    Related Codes

    CPT-99239-HOSPITAL-DISCHARGE-DAY-MANAGEMENT-OVER-30-MINUTES

    CPT 99239: Hospital Discharge Day Management, >30 Minutes

    Frequently Asked Questions

    References

    1. 1.CPT® Codes and Descriptions. AAPC. Retrieved Aug 11, 2026.Maintains the CPT code set's official descriptions and guidelines, licensed from the American Medical Association, used as the definitional source for CPT codes on this page.
    2. 2.HCPCS Quarterly Update. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Retrieved Aug 11, 2026.CMS's quarterly release of HCPCS Level II codes and short/long descriptors, the source for HCPCS code definitions and update history.
    3. 3.ICD-10-CM Full Code List. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Retrieved Aug 11, 2026.CMS's complete ICD-10-CM diagnosis code list, used to cross-reference diagnosis codes associated with this procedure or service.
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    Trek Health ingests and normalizes Transparency in Coverage data and payer policy updates to give provider organizations a clear view of how commercial reimbursement behaves across markets, payers, and services. Our platform transforms raw payer disclosures into structured intelligence that supports contract evaluation, payer negotiations, and service line strategy. By combining market benchmarks with ongoing policy visibility, Trek helps teams identify variability, risk, and opportunity in commercial reimbursement. The result is faster insight, stronger negotiating positions, and more informed financial decisions.

    99238