What is the 8 minute rule in medical billing?

Asked by: Mr. Bradford Grant  |  Last update: November 25, 2025
Score: 4.7/5 (14 votes)

Medicare introduced the 8-minute rule in 1999 and fully adopted it in 2000. Put simply, the 8 minute rule dictates that healthcare providers must provide at least eight minutes of direct, face-to-face patient care to bill for one unit of a timed service. Anything less than that doesn't qualify as billable time.

What is the golden rule in medical billing?

The golden rule of healthcare billing and coding departments is, “Do not code it or bill for it if it's not documented in the medical record.” Providers use clinical documentation to justify reimbursements to payers when a conflict with a claim arises.

What is the 8 minute rule for 97110?

The 97110 CPT code is a timed code, with each unit lasting 15 minutes. Physical therapists must actively work with the client one-on-one during the entire session. This rule, commonly known as the 8-minute rule, is a method employed to calculate how many units of time-based services a patient can bill for Medicare.

Which insurances follow the 8 minute rule?

No; the 8-Minute Rule only applies to Medicare Part B services.

What is the 72 hour rule in medical billing?

Under the 72 hour rule any outpatient diagnostic or other medical services performed within 72 hours before being admitted to the hospital must be combined and billed together and not separately.

Everything You Need to Know About the 8-Minute Rule

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What is the 3 day rule in medical billing?

Medicare's "Three-Day Window" rule ("Rule") requires that certain hospital outpatient services and services furnished by a Part B entity (e.g., physician, Ambulatory Surgery Center (ASC)) that is "wholly owned or operated" by the hospital be included on the hospital's inpatient claim.

What is the rule of 7 billing?

If eight or more minutes are left over, you can bill for one more unit; if seven or fewer minutes remain, you cannot bill an additional unit.

What is the 8 minute rule violation?

A therapist must provide direct one-to-one therapy for at least 8 minutes to receive reimbursement for a time based treatment code. When only one service is provided in a day, you shouldn't bill for services performed for less than 8 minutes.

How does the 8 minute rule work?

Medicare introduced the 8-minute rule in 1999 and fully adopted it in 2000. Put simply, the 8 minute rule dictates that healthcare providers must provide at least eight minutes of direct, face-to-face patient care to bill for one unit of a timed service. Anything less than that doesn't qualify as billable time.

How do you bill an 8 minute rule?

Billing rules for the 8-minute rule. When Medicare reviews your claim, they will divide the total minutes for all timed services by 15. If the result of the equation leaves at least 8 minutes remaining before hitting another 15-minute increment, you can bill an extra unit.

Who does the 8 minute rule apply to?

The 8-minute rule was introduced into the rehab therapy billing process in the year 2000 and is utilized by outpatient physical therapy services, allowing a physical therapy practitioner to bill for services as long as they see their patient for at least eight minutes, which would serve as one unit of therapeutic ...

How many times can you bill 97110?

How many units can you bill for CPT code 97110? CPT code 97110 is timed, billed one unit per 15 minutes, following the 8-minute rule as required per the insurance plan. Common reimbursement issues include mismatched time per unit or activity billed and missing documentation.

What is the CPT time rule?

The CPT midpoint rule, which says that “a unit of time is attained when the midpoint is passed,” applies to codes that specify a time basis for code selection. Though not accepted by all payers, even Medicare allows the midpoint rule for some services.

What are the two most common types of medical billing?

In addition, the way a facility handles medical records and billing can also differ. For people interested in becoming a medical biller, it's crucial to recognize that different types of medical billing exist. Healthcare providers may follow two types of medical billing: institutional and professional.

What is the double platinum rule in healthcare?

So the Double Platinum rule is (you guessed it), “treat others the way they don't even know they want to be treated”. To boil it down… anticipate, anticipate, anticipate. Don't just meet your customer's expectations, EXCEED them.

What is the minimum necessary rule in medical billing?

The basic standard for minimum necessary uses requires that covered entities make reasonable efforts to limit access to protected health information to those in the workforce that need access based on their roles in the covered entity.

What insurances follow the Medicare 8-minute rule?

Please note that this rule applies specifically to Medicare Part B services (and insurance companies that have stated they follow Medicare billing guidelines, which includes all federally funded plans, such as Medicare, Medicaid, TriCare and CHAMPUS). The rule does not apply to Medicare Part A services.

What is the 8-minute meeting rule?

The eight-minute rule is defined as: No speaker charged with the task of talking to an audience should speak for more than eight minutes before either leaving the 'stage' for good or engaging the audience in some meaningful and related activity between each eight-minute segment.

What is the 15 minute rule for billing?

The 8-Minute & 15-Minute Rule

For any single timed CPT code on the same day, measured in 15-minute units, providers must bill a single 15-minute unit for treatment greater than or equal to 8 minutes through (and including) 22 minutes.

Does Medicare cover 97140?

Manual therapy (CPT code: 97140)

Here is a breakdown of each technique and what is required. Medicare states that this treatment may be medically necessary for the treatment of restricted motion of soft tissues involving the extremities, trunk, or neck.

What is the 8 minute rule for payroll?

The seven-minute rule is a payroll rule that allows employers to round down employee time of 1-7 minutes. However, employee work time of 8-14 minutes must be rounded up and counted as a quarter-hour of work.

Does Medicaid follow the 8 minute rule?

The 8 minute rule is well-known because it is used by Medicaid and other (but not all) private insurers. The accuracy of billing reflects upon the professional practices and ensures that all health professionals adhere to their code of ethics.

What is the 3 year billing rule?

The rule states that a patient is considered established if they have received face-to-face services from that provider or any other provider of the same specialty and same practice within the last three years. So if Dr New or Nurse NP sees one of Dr Old's patients, that patient is considered established ...

How often can 97110 be billed?

For billing purposes in the medical setting, CPT 97110 stands for “therapeutic procedure, one or more areas, every 15 minutes; therapeutic exercises to develop strength and endurance, range of motion, and flexibility.” This code is typically used by physical therapists, occupational therapists, and other rehabilitation ...

What are the changes in E&M coding for 2024?

The 2024 E&M changes and updates include continued emphasis on selecting codes based on Medical Decision Making (MDM) or total time spent. Additionally, 2024 e&m guidelines for time documentation for E&M codes now requires the "must be met or exceeded" standard, replacing the previous start-and-stop time method.