Remind your team that the relationship between the patient and the provider is the focus of add-on code
G2211. The code is commonly known as the complexity of care code, but the patient trust code might be a better name. CMS revisited the concept of trust in the policy section of
CMS 100-04, Change Request 14447:
In part, the visit complexity add-on code recognizes the inherent costs of building trust in the practitioner-patient relationship. We believe that trust-building in the longitudinal relationship is more significant than ever in making decisions about the administration of immunizations and other Medicare Part B preventive services.
The May 7 change request also deletes the guidelines for the code that are currently located in Internet-only manual CMS 100-04, chapter 12, §30.6.7(F) and creates a new section for the code at §30.6.19.
Take note if your practice treats patients in home or residence settings. As you know, providers can report G2211 with
99341-99345 and
99347-99350, effective Jan. 1 (
PBN 11/13/25,
subscription required). However, Medicare administrative contractors (MAC) didn’t update their edits to allow the add-on code when a provider unbundles a home E/M visit from a preventive service, as is allowed when providers report the add-on code with an unbundled office/outpatient E/M code (
PBN Blog 5/1/25).
The change request instructs MACs to update their systems to allow the unbundled E/M claims through, but they have until Oct. 5 to make the upgrade. If your practice has received a denial in error, resubmitting or appealing won’t fix the problem until the change goes into effect. Fortunately, the change will be retroactive to Jan. 1, 2026, so practices can hold any claims affected by the edit until their MAC is able to process them.