2025 RVUs for allergy/immunology

CMS has released the 2025 Relative Value Units (RVUs), and these updates will have significant implications for allergists nationwide. RVUs, which form the backbone of Medicare reimbursement calculations, play a critical role in determining physician compensation and practice revenue. Understanding the changes from 2024 RVUs can help you estimate the impact on your practice – and your compensation – in 2025. Note: the year-end funding package passed by Congress last week had no immediate impact on the 2025 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule or RVUs; if anything changes in 2025, we will update you.

What are RVUs and why do they matter?
RVUs attempt to quantify the value of medical services provided by physicians. They incorporate factors such as physician work, practice expenses, and malpractice insurance costs. These units are part of the Resource-Based Relative Value Scale (RBRVS) used by CMS to calculate payments for Medicare services. For allergists, RVUs directly impact the reimbursement rates for common services, including allergy testing, immunotherapy and asthma management.

RVUs also influence private payer contracts, as many insurers base their reimbursement rates on Medicare’s fee schedule. Thus, changes to RVUs can have a ripple effect across both public and private reimbursement systems, making them a critical focus for allergists and practice managers.

For employed allergists, wRVUs often determine your productivity-based pay. Many employment contracts include a base salary with a productivity incentive tied to the number of wRVUs generated. Some academic centers use wRVUs to calculate physician productivity metrics, although they don’t impact compensation. In many cases, understanding how wRVUs will change in 2025 can help you understand the impact on your compensation.

Key changes in the 2025 RVUs for allergists
Read the summary of key 2025 RVUs changes for allergy/immunology services. While there are reductions in the RVUs for several common allergy services, there are increases for other services:

Reductions in RVUs for common allergy services:
Venom testing (95017); Drug testing (95018); Allergy test, intradermal (95024); Venom therapy (95145-95149); Antigens for allergen immunotherapy (95165).
Increases in RVUs for common allergy services:
Ingestion challenge test (95076, 95079); Immunotherapy, one injection (95115); Rapid desensitization (95180); many E&M services (99203-99205, 99213-99215).

These RVU changes do not include the lower conversion factor for 2025 (a reduction of 2.83% from 2024), which negatively impacts overall reimbursement amounts.

For a complete list of 2025 RVUs and wRVUs, as well as RVUs/wRVUs for common allergy codes, view our resources below.

Key RVU resources for allergists

Current RVU tables – 2025