What is a good RVU?

For 2026, the standard Medicare Physician Fee Schedule conversion factor is $33.4009 for non-Qualifying APM participants and $33.5675 (approx. $33.57) for Qualifying Alternative Payment Model (APM) participants, as detailed by the CMS Physician Fee Schedule Files.

Key 2026 RVU and Payment Changes

• Efficiency Adjustment: CMS applied a –2.5% efficiency adjustment to the work RVUs and intra-service times of nearly all non-time-based codes (excluding brand-new 2026 Category I CPT codes).
• Site of Service Differential: Indirect practice expense (PE) allocations for services performed in hospital/facility settings are reduced by 50%, shifting relative value weightings away from facility-based care.
• Calculation Formula: Total payment equals the adjusted sum of Physician Work, Practice Expense, and Malpractice RVUs (each modified by local Geographic Practice Cost Indices) multiplied by the active AAPC RVU Calculator conversion factor.

The average annual work Relative Value Unit (wRVU) production for a physician ranges from about 4,000 to over 11,000 per year, depending heavily on the medical specialty.

Average Annual wRVUs by Specialty Category

• Primary Care (Family Medicine, General Internal Medicine, Pediatrics): Median annual wRVUs range from 4,000 to 6,000 (averaging around 5,000).
• Non-Surgical Specialists (Cardiology, Hospitalists, etc.): Median annual wRVUs range from 4,500 to 8,500.
• Surgical and Procedural Specialists (General Surgery, Orthopedics, Radiology): Median annual wRVUs range from 6,000 to nearly 12,000.

Understanding the Metrics

• wRVUs (Work RVUs): This is the core metric used in compensation. It measures the time, technical skill, and physical/mental effort required by a physician for a specific patient service, isolated from overhead or malpractice costs.
• Conversion Factor ($ per wRVU): Employers typically multiply a physician’s total annual wRVUs by a dollar conversion rate. Median rates range from $40 to over $90 per wRVU, with primary care usually landing on the lower end ($40–$60) and surgical or high-volume procedural specialties landing higher ($70–$100+).
• Setting matters: Production expectations vary depending on whether the practice is private, hospital-employed, or academic.

For CPT code 99213 (established outpatient office visit), the Relative Value Units (RVUs) depend on whether you are measuring Work RVUs (wRVUs) or the Total RVU based on the clinical setting.

The national CMS allocation breakdown includes:

• Work RVU (wRVU): 1.30 (This is the value most commonly used for physician productivity and compensation metrics).
• Total RVU (Non-Facility / Office Setting): 2.85 (Includes 1.30 Work, 1.46 Practice Expense, and 0.09 Malpractice).
• Total RVU (Facility / Hospital Setting): 1.72 (Includes 1.30 Work, 0.33 Practice Expense, and 0.09 Malpractice).

What this equals in dollars

When multiplied by the standard CMS national conversion factor of $33.4009, the baseline Medicare payouts (before regional Geographic Practice Cost Index adjustments) are:

• Non-Facility (Office) Payment: $95.19
• Facility (Hospital) Payment: $57.45

(Note: If you are an employed physician paid on an internal productivity contract, your contract's specific dollar-per-wRVU conversion factor—which is separate from Medicare and often ranges higher—will dictate your exact bonus pay per 1.30 wRVU).

The national median for a diagnostic radiologist is approximately 11,950 annual work relative value units (wRVUs).

Annual Productivity Ranges

Productivity varies based on your practice setting, speed, and subspecialty:

• 25th Percentile: 9,500 annual wRVUs
• 50th Percentile (Median): 11,950 annual wRVUs
• 75th Percentile: 14,500 annual wRVUs
• 90th Percentile: 17,500 annual wRVUs

Compensation and Rates

• Dollar-per-wRVU Rate: National compensation rates typically range from $40 to $65 per wRVU, depending on the contract type and region.
• You can estimate your specific production value using the Radiology RVU Calculator.
• Job market data and details on various group structures are outlined further by Radiologist RVU Pay.

How much a surgeon makes per RVU depends heavily on the specific surgical specialty, the practice setting, and whether you are referring to hospital-employed production rates (wRVUs) or government insurance reimbursement rates (total RVUs).

A surgeon’s compensation per Work RVU (wRVU) generally ranges from $55 to $100+ per wRVU.

1. Hospital-Employed Compensation Rates (per wRVU)

Most surgeons employed by hospitals or large healthcare groups are paid using a hybrid model: a base salary plus a bonus for every Work RVU (wRVU) generated over a certain threshold. Specialty benchmarks guide these conversion factors:

Why the rates differ by setting:

• Private Practice: Independent surgical groups operating under productivity or collection-heavy models often yield higher effective conversion rates—averaging $66 to $120+ per wRVU depending on their private commercial payer contracts.
• Academic Medical Centers: Highly specialized academic surgeons often face an "academic discount," bringing rates closer to $55 to $60 per wRVU.

2. Medicare Reimbursement Rates (per Total RVU)

If you are asking how much a private practice or facility is reimbursed by the government per RVU, the numbers are standard. Medicare does not pay solely on "work" RVUs; it pays based on Total RVUs (which combine physician work, practice expenses, and malpractice insurance overhead).

The national Medicare Conversion Factor dictates this exact dollar amount per RVU:

• $33.40 per RVU for standard clinicians.
• $33.57 per RVU for clinicians participating in Qualifying Alternative Payment Models (APMs).

(Note: Commercial private insurance companies typically benchmark their reimbursement rates against Medicare, often paying anywhere from 120% to 200%+ of the Medicare baseline).