1. The dollars and cents amount that is established for one unit as applied to a service rendered. This unit is then used to convert various services/procedures into fee-schedule payment amounts by multiplying the relative value unit by the conversion factor. 2. National multiplier used to convert the relative value units for each procedure into dollar amounts. The CF is announced annually by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for all services paid under the resource-based relative value scale (RBRVS) Medicare Fee Schedule. Sometimes called conversion number or national conversion factor.