> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.rcintell.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# What are RVUs?

> Relative Value Units and the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule

**Relative Value Units (RVUs)** are the building blocks of Medicare physician payment. Every CPT code has three RVU components that reflect the resources required to perform the service.

## The three components

| Component                | Abbreviation | Measures                                       |
| ------------------------ | ------------ | ---------------------------------------------- |
| **Work RVU**             | wRVU         | Physician time, skill, training, and intensity |
| **Practice Expense RVU** | PE RVU       | Staff, supplies, equipment, and overhead       |
| **Malpractice RVU**      | MP RVU       | Professional liability insurance costs         |

## Facility vs non-facility rates

PE RVUs have two rates:

* **Facility** — Used when the service is performed in a hospital or ASC (the facility bears most overhead costs)
* **Non-facility** — Used when the service is performed in a physician's office (the practice bears overhead costs)

Non-facility PE RVUs are always higher because they include the cost of supplies and equipment that a facility would otherwise provide.

## Payment calculation

The Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) calculates payment as:

```
Payment = (Work RVU × Work GPCI + PE RVU × PE GPCI + MP RVU × MP GPCI) × Conversion Factor
```

### Example: CPT 99213 in Kansas (CCN 170001)

| Component     | RVU  | GPCI  | Adjusted  |
| ------------- | ---- | ----- | --------- |
| Work          | 1.30 | 1.000 | 1.300     |
| PE (facility) | 0.99 | 0.891 | 0.882     |
| MP            | 0.10 | 0.407 | 0.041     |
| **Total**     |      |       | **2.223** |

Payment = 2.223 × $32.35 = **$71.91\*\*

## The conversion factor

The conversion factor (CF) is a dollar amount updated annually by CMS. For 2026: **\$32.35**.

The CF translates RVUs into dollars. When CMS updates the CF, all MPFS payments change proportionally.

## RCI and RVUs

The L6 (Service) layer in RCI's knowledge graph resolves RVU data for a given CPT code and calculates the GPCI-adjusted payment based on the facility's location (L1) and care setting (L3).

```bash theme={null}
curl -X POST https://api-dev.rcintell.com/v1/knowledge/payment-calc \
  -H "X-API-Key: kp_test_..." \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"ccn": "170001", "cpt": "99213"}'
```