CPT Modifiers

Modifier GT: The Legacy Telehealth Modifier Most Payers Replaced

Reviewed by the ImmediCare RCM team Updated Jul 5, 2026 4 min read

Quick answer

Modifier GT means "via interactive audio and video telecommunications systems." Medicare retired it from professional claims in 2018, replacing it with place-of-service codes; it survives on Critical Access Hospital Method II claims and in some Medicaid and commercial policies. Most payers now expect modifier 95 instead.

Applies to: CAH Method II institutional telehealth claims; some Medicaid/commercial plans
Payment impact: Informational — flags telehealth so the claim prices correctly
Audit risk: Low — the real risk is rejections from using it where 95 is expected
Common denial: CO-4 or front-end rejections when sent to payers that retired GT

What does modifier GT do?

It flags a service as delivered "via interactive audio and video telecommunications systems" — the original telehealth modifier from the early Medicare telemedicine era. Since 2018, Medicare professional claims no longer use it; place-of-service codes (02 and 10) plus, where needed, modifier 95 do the same job. GT persists in two places: Critical Access Hospital Method II institutional billing, and payer policies that simply never updated.

When do you use it?

Only where a specific payer policy says so. Realistic example: a Critical Access Hospital bills Method II professional services for a psychiatrist's video consult; the UB-04 line goes out as 90834-GT and pays under the CAH's institutional arrangement. The other live use case is a payer grid entry, such as a state Medicaid plan whose manual still reads "append GT to telemedicine services" — follow the manual, not habit.

Check the payer's current telehealth billing guide (not a 2020 bookmark).
If it says GT, bill GT; if it says 95, bill 95; if it is Medicare professional, let POS carry it.
Recheck the grid each January — telehealth policies move annually.

When is it wrong or a denial trigger?

Medicare professional claims. GT on a CMS-1500 for a standard telehealth visit is obsolete; some MACs ignore it, others reject it.
Stacking GT and 95. Two telehealth modifiers on one line reads as a data error and invites a CO-4.
Audio-only visits. GT asserts video. Phone-only encounters take modifier 93 where the payer recognizes it.

Insider tip: when telehealth claims for one payer suddenly start rejecting each January, the payer probably migrated from GT to 95 (or vice versa) in its annual policy update. Before working denials one by one, fix the modifier rule in the billing system, then batch-rebill. A ten-minute grid update beats forty appeals — and the denial code lookup confirms whether it was a modifier edit.

What are the documentation and payment impacts?

GT itself does not change the allowed amount; it routes the claim through the payer's telehealth pricing logic. Documentation is identical to any telehealth service: modality, patient location, consent, and the clinical note supporting the code level. The financial risk with GT is operational, not clinical — claims bouncing between wrong-modifier rejections while timely filing runs. Keep the payer grid current and GT becomes a footnote rather than a denial category.

Frequently asked questions

Yes, but narrowly. Medicare accepts it only on institutional claims for Critical Access Hospitals billing Method II professional services. A shrinking set of Medicaid programs and commercial plans still list GT as acceptable or required. Everywhere else, modifier 95 and the right POS code carry the claim.

Redundancy. When CMS implemented POS 02 for telehealth in 2017, the place-of-service code told the contractor everything GT did, so CMS eliminated the GT requirement for professional claims in 2018. POS 10 (patient at home) followed in 2022.

Depends on the payer. Some crosswalk it silently, some reject the claim, and some deny CO-4 (modifier inconsistent). The fix is a corrected claim with the payer's preferred modifier — and updating the payer grid so the next hundred claims do not repeat it.

Functionally no — both indicate synchronous audio-video telehealth. GT is a HCPCS Level II modifier from the pre-2017 era; 95 is the CPT modifier that superseded it in most policies. Never stack both on the same line.

Sources & further reading

Reviewed by the ImmediCare Solutions RCM team

Certified billers and coders handling claims across 50+ specialties nationwide. This entry is reviewed against current payer policy and CMS rules. Last review: Jul 5, 2026.

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