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CPT 90834 Medicare rate in Q4 2018

Standard Therapy Session

Historical · Q4 2018
$88.56

National (GPCI 1.000)

$85.15–$125.47 across payment localities

Participating physician · Before sequestration

CMS evidence · Q4 2018 release

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The national PFS baseline was $88.56 for CPT 90834 in the Office (non-facility) setting and $84.96 in a facility under the Q4 2018 Physician Fee Schedule, effective October 2018. These are the national allowed amounts before locality (GPCI) adjustment; sequestration is excluded.

Why are the facility and non-facility amounts different?

Only the practice-expense RVU changes with the setting. For 90834 it's 0.39 RVUs in the Office (non-facility) setting versus 0.29 in a facility—the whole $3.60 gap between $88.56 and $84.96. In the Office (non-facility) setting the practice bears the overhead, so the allowed amount is higher; in a hospital or ASC the facility bills its own fee, so the professional amount is lower. See facility vs non-facility.

Sources: CMS Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Relative Value Files; CMS Practice Expense methodology (cms.gov).

About this code

Also known as Psychotherapy session, Psychiatric evaluation

Contract rate as % of Medicare Copy link

Applies to your locality's allowed amount, not the $88.56 national baseline. How to find your contract's percentage.

Need rates from another insurer? Join the waitlist →

Allowed amount, Medicare's share, and patient share Copy link

A physician's $88.56 Office (non-facility) allowed amount: Medicare pays $69.43 after sequestration and the patient owes $17.71, once the Part B deductible is met.

Adjust for your locality →
90834: allowed amount and each party's share by who bills it, Office (non-facility), national baseline
Billed by Allowed amount Participating claim If not participating
What Medicare pays Patient coinsurance Non-participating amount Limiting charge
Physician (MD/DO) 100% Calculator $88.56 $69.43 $70.85 − $1.42 $17.71 $84.13 $96.75
NP, PA or CNS 85% Calculator $75.28 $59.02 $60.22 − $1.20 $15.06 Always takes assignment
Clinical social worker, MFT or counselor 75% Calculator $66.42 $52.08 $53.14 − $1.06 $13.28 Always takes assignment
Clinical psychologist 100% Calculator $88.56 $69.43 $70.85 − $1.42 $17.71 Always takes assignment
NP or PA visit billed under the physician (incident-to) 100% Calculator $88.56 $69.43 $70.85 − $1.42 $17.71 $84.13 $96.75

Paid as if the physician did it, but only in the office and only when every incident-to requirement, including supervision, is met.

National Q4 2018, GPCI 1.000. Rows are provider types with at least 1% of 90834’s Medicare services in CMS’s CY2024 Physician & Other Practitioners data; each % applies before the 80/20 split and sequestration.

For the ZIP in the price card

Is $88.56 what a practice actually receives?

It's the national allowed amount—the starting point. Medicare pays 80% of it ($70.85) and the patient owes 20% coinsurance ($17.71). Sequestration trims Medicare's share by about 2%, your locality's GPCIs scale the total up or down, and the expected-payment calculator applies all three. That payment is practice revenue that covers staff, space, equipment, and billing. It isn't the clinician's take-home pay. The practice-expense RVU above is CMS's estimate of that overhead share.

Sources: Budget Control Act sequestration provisions; CMS Medicare Fee-for-Service payment guidance; CMS Geographic Practice Cost Index (GPCI) files; CMS Physician Fee Schedule overview (cms.gov).

What's the non-participating amount for 90834?

$84.13 in the Office (non-facility) setting—95% of the $88.56 participating fee schedule amount above. A participating provider takes the fee schedule amount as payment in full on every claim. A non-participating provider is paid this reduced amount, but chooses claim by claim whether to accept assignment. See participating vs non-participating.

Sources: CMS Physician Fee Schedule overview (cms.gov); CMS Medicare Fee-for-Service payment guidance.

What's the limiting charge for 90834?

$96.75 in the Office (non-facility) setting—the ceiling on what a non-participating provider can bill the patient on an unassigned claim. That's 109.25% of the $88.56 amount above. The non-participating amount is 95% of the fee schedule rate ($84.13), and the statutory cap is 115% of that. See limiting charge.

Sources: CMS Physician Fee Schedule overview (cms.gov); CMS Medicare Fee-for-Service payment guidance.

CMS RVU18DOctober 1 – December 31, 2018 See file rows

Which billing rules and modifiers apply? Copy link

CMS's surgical and split-billing indicators don't adjust 90834's amount.

Global surgery period XXX (does not apply). Not payable with 90834: -26/TC · -50 · -62 · -66.

Why would a Medicare claim for 90834 be denied or paid less?

These come from CMS indicators on this page, not general billing advice.

Payer-specific coverage and documentation rules live outside these files, so a claim that clears every check here can still be denied on other grounds.

CMS RVU18DOctober 1 – December 31, 2018 See file rows

Can you bill it with another code? Copy link

This code

90834

See every current NCCI pair for 90834 →

How location and RVUs set the amount Copy link

Office (non-facility): 2.46 RVUs × $35.9996 = $88.56 national PFS baseline. Local GPCIs move it from $85.15 in Mississippi, MS to $125.47 in Alaska, AK.

Office (non-facility)

Office (non-facility): each RVU times its GPCI, summed, times the conversion factor
Component RVU × GPCI =
Work 2.00 1.000 2.00
Practice expense 0.39 1.000 0.39
Malpractice 0.07 1.000 0.07
Total RVUs 2.46
× Conversion factor $35.9996
= National PFS baseline $88.56

Facility

Facility: each RVU times its GPCI, summed, times the conversion factor
Component RVU × GPCI =
Work 2.00 1.000 2.00
Practice expense 0.29 1.000 0.29
Malpractice 0.07 1.000 0.07
Total RVUs 2.36
× Conversion factor $35.9996
= National PFS baseline $84.96

Rates by locality Copy link

Maine: $86.63–$87.83 across 2 localities ME Wisconsin: $86.31 WI Vermont: $87.75 VT New Hampshire: $89.32 NH Montana: $90.15 MT North Dakota: $87.40 ND Minnesota: $87.11 MN Michigan: $87.47–$90.15 across 2 localities MI New York: $86.84–$97.94 across 5 localities NY Massachusetts: $91.09–$93.60 across 2 localities MA Rhode Island: $91.20 RI Washington: $88.47–$92.38 across 2 localities WA Idaho: $85.95 ID Wyoming: $88.26 WY South Dakota: $87.02 SD Iowa: $85.80 IA Illinois: $87.95–$91.94 across 4 localities IL Indiana: $85.86 IN Ohio: $87.41 OH Pennsylvania: $87.74–$92.14 across 2 localities PA New Jersey: $91.86–$93.88 across 2 localities NJ Connecticut: $92.29 CT Oregon: $87.55–$89.49 across 2 localities OR Nevada: $88.71 NV Utah: $87.95 UT Colorado: $88.92 CO Nebraska: $85.58 NE Missouri: $86.62–$88.22 across 3 localities MO Kentucky: $86.42 KY West Virginia: $87.30 WV Virginia: $88.13 VA Maryland: $89.88–$92.29 across 2 localities MD Delaware: $89.63 DE California: $89.93–$97.96 across 32 localities CA Arizona: $87.73 AZ New Mexico: $88.07 NM Kansas: $86.34 KS Oklahoma: $86.91 OK Arkansas: $85.69 AR Tennessee: $85.97 TN North Carolina: $86.82 NC South Carolina: $86.20 SC District of Columbia: $95.33 DC Texas: $87.09–$90.01 across 8 localities TX Louisiana: $87.47–$88.77 across 2 localities LA Mississippi: $85.15 MS Alabama: $85.73 AL Georgia: $87.32–$88.74 across 2 localities GA Florida: $88.79–$92.91 across 3 localities FL Alaska: $125.47 AK Hawaii: $89.71 HI
$85–$92 $92–$99 $99–$105 $105–$112 $112–$119 $119–$125

90834 Office (non-facility) by metro, highest first

Anchorage, AK $125.47 Locality 02102-01 San Jose, CA $97.96 Locality 01112-09 Queens, NY $97.94 Locality 13292-04 Long Island, NY $97.28 Locality 13202-02 San Francisco, CA $97.06 Locality 01112-05 New York City, NY $96.38 Locality 13202-01
Show 56 more metros
Washington, DC $95.33 Locality 12202-01 Northern New Jersey, NJ $93.88 Locality 12402-01 Boston, MA $93.60 Locality 14212-01 Los Angeles, CA $93.58 Locality 01182-18 Miami, FL $92.91 Locality 09102-04 Seattle, WA $92.38 Locality 02402-02 Hartford, CT $92.29 Locality 13102-00 Baltimore, MD $92.29 Locality 12302-01 Philadelphia, PA $92.14 Locality 12502-01 Chicago, IL $91.94 Locality 06102-16 Ventura County, CA $91.93 Locality 01182-17 Suburban Chicago, IL $91.37 Locality 06102-15 Providence, RI $91.20 Locality 14412-01 Fort Lauderdale, FL $90.74 Locality 09102-03 San Diego, CA $90.48 Locality 01182-72 Sacramento, CA $90.46 Locality 01112-63 Riverside, CA $90.25 Locality 01112-62 Detroit, MI $90.15 Locality 08202-01 Bakersfield, CA $90.03 Locality 01112-54 Houston, TX $90.01 Locality 04412-18 Fresno, CA $89.93 Locality 01112-56 Honolulu, HI $89.71 Locality 01212-01 Metro East, IL $89.64 Locality 06102-12 Portland, OR $89.49 Locality 02302-01 Dallas, TX $89.03 Locality 04412-11 Denver, CO $88.92 Locality 04112-01 Tampa, FL $88.79 Locality 09102-99 New Orleans, LA $88.77 Locality 07202-01 Atlanta, GA $88.74 Locality 10212-01 Las Vegas, NV $88.71 Locality 01312-00 Fort Worth, TX $88.23 Locality 04412-28 Kansas City, MO $88.22 Locality 05302-02 Austin, TX $88.22 Locality 04412-31 Richmond, VA $88.13 Locality 11302-00 St. Louis, MO $88.12 Locality 05302-01 Albuquerque, NM $88.07 Locality 04212-05 Salt Lake City, UT $87.95 Locality 03502-09 Portland, ME $87.83 Locality 14112-03 Pittsburgh, PA $87.74 Locality 12502-99 Phoenix, AZ $87.73 Locality 03102-00 Columbus, OH $87.41 Locality 15202-00 San Antonio, TX $87.17 Locality 04412-99 Minneapolis, MN $87.11 Locality 06202-00 Oklahoma City, OK $86.91 Locality 04312-00 Buffalo, NY $86.84 Locality 13282-99 Charlotte, NC $86.82 Locality 11502-00 Louisville, KY $86.42 Locality 15102-00 Wichita, KS $86.34 Locality 05202-00 Milwaukee, WI $86.31 Locality 06302-00 Charleston, SC $86.20 Locality 11202-01 Nashville, TN $85.97 Locality 10312-35 Boise, ID $85.95 Locality 02202-00 Indianapolis, IN $85.86 Locality 08102-00 Des Moines, IA $85.80 Locality 05102-00 Birmingham, AL $85.73 Locality 10112-00 Omaha, NE $85.58 Locality 05402-00
Maine: $83.31–$84.20 across 2 localities ME Wisconsin: $82.86 WI Vermont: $84.10 VT New Hampshire: $85.55 NH Montana: $86.55 MT North Dakota: $83.80 ND Minnesota: $83.47 MN Michigan: $84.16–$86.59 across 2 localities MI New York: $83.42–$93.62 across 5 localities NY Massachusetts: $87.25–$89.36 across 2 localities MA Rhode Island: $87.42 RI Washington: $84.83–$88.25 across 2 localities WA Idaho: $82.71 ID Wyoming: $84.66 WY South Dakota: $83.42 SD Iowa: $82.53 IA Illinois: $84.64–$88.22 across 4 localities IL Indiana: $82.55 IN Ohio: $84.11 OH Pennsylvania: $84.37–$88.27 across 2 localities PA New Jersey: $87.81–$89.63 across 2 localities NJ Connecticut: $88.28 CT Oregon: $84.07–$85.70 across 2 localities OR Nevada: $85.05 NV Utah: $84.61 UT Colorado: $85.25 CO Nebraska: $82.30 NE Missouri: $83.51–$84.76 across 3 localities MO Kentucky: $83.25 KY West Virginia: $84.21 WV Virginia: $84.58 VA Maryland: $86.16–$88.35 across 2 localities MD Delaware: $85.96 DE California: $86.07–$93.09 across 32 localities CA Arizona: $84.24 AZ New Mexico: $84.76 NM Kansas: $83.06 KS Oklahoma: $83.71 OK Arkansas: $82.55 AR Tennessee: $82.73 TN North Carolina: $83.47 NC South Carolina: $82.91 SC District of Columbia: $91.00 DC Texas: $83.76–$86.36 across 8 localities TX Louisiana: $84.28–$85.29 across 2 localities LA Mississippi: $82.01 MS Alabama: $82.53 AL Georgia: $84.09–$85.15 across 2 localities GA Florida: $85.36–$89.21 across 3 localities FL Alaska: $121.44 AK Hawaii: $85.58 HI
$82–$89 $89–$95 $95–$102 $102–$108 $108–$115 $115–$121

90834 Facility by metro, highest first

Anchorage, AK $121.44 Locality 02102-01 Queens, NY $93.62 Locality 13292-04 San Jose, CA $93.09 Locality 01112-09 Long Island, NY $92.95 Locality 13202-02 San Francisco, CA $92.29 Locality 01112-05 New York City, NY $92.13 Locality 13202-01
Show 56 more metros
Washington, DC $91.00 Locality 12202-01 Northern New Jersey, NJ $89.63 Locality 12402-01 Boston, MA $89.36 Locality 14212-01 Los Angeles, CA $89.35 Locality 01182-18 Miami, FL $89.21 Locality 09102-04 Baltimore, MD $88.35 Locality 12302-01 Hartford, CT $88.28 Locality 13102-00 Philadelphia, PA $88.27 Locality 12502-01 Seattle, WA $88.25 Locality 02402-02 Chicago, IL $88.22 Locality 06102-16 Ventura County, CA $87.70 Locality 01182-17 Suburban Chicago, IL $87.58 Locality 06102-15 Providence, RI $87.42 Locality 14412-01 Fort Lauderdale, FL $87.09 Locality 09102-03 Detroit, MI $86.59 Locality 08202-01 Sacramento, CA $86.55 Locality 01112-63 San Diego, CA $86.52 Locality 01182-72 Riverside, CA $86.39 Locality 01112-62 Houston, TX $86.36 Locality 04412-18 Metro East, IL $86.27 Locality 06102-12 Bakersfield, CA $86.16 Locality 01112-54 Fresno, CA $86.07 Locality 01112-56 Portland, OR $85.70 Locality 02302-01 Honolulu, HI $85.58 Locality 01212-01 Dallas, TX $85.38 Locality 04412-11 Tampa, FL $85.36 Locality 09102-99 New Orleans, LA $85.29 Locality 07202-01 Denver, CO $85.25 Locality 04112-01 Atlanta, GA $85.15 Locality 10212-01 Las Vegas, NV $85.05 Locality 01312-00 Kansas City, MO $84.76 Locality 05302-02 Albuquerque, NM $84.76 Locality 04212-05 Fort Worth, TX $84.68 Locality 04412-28 St. Louis, MO $84.66 Locality 05302-01 Salt Lake City, UT $84.61 Locality 03502-09 Richmond, VA $84.58 Locality 11302-00 Austin, TX $84.54 Locality 04412-31 Pittsburgh, PA $84.37 Locality 12502-99 Phoenix, AZ $84.24 Locality 03102-00 Portland, ME $84.20 Locality 14112-03 Columbus, OH $84.11 Locality 15202-00 San Antonio, TX $83.80 Locality 04412-99 Oklahoma City, OK $83.71 Locality 04312-00 Minneapolis, MN $83.47 Locality 06202-00 Charlotte, NC $83.47 Locality 11502-00 Buffalo, NY $83.42 Locality 13282-99 Louisville, KY $83.25 Locality 15102-00 Wichita, KS $83.06 Locality 05202-00 Charleston, SC $82.91 Locality 11202-01 Milwaukee, WI $82.86 Locality 06302-00 Nashville, TN $82.73 Locality 10312-35 Boise, ID $82.71 Locality 02202-00 Indianapolis, IN $82.55 Locality 08102-00 Birmingham, AL $82.53 Locality 10112-00 Des Moines, IA $82.53 Locality 05102-00 Omaha, NE $82.30 Locality 05402-00

Q4 2018, each locality's GPCIs, before sequestration. Multi-locality states are shaded by their mean. Look up your exact locality →

CMS RVU18DOctober 1 – December 31, 2018 See file rows

Source & method Copy link

  1. 01 PPRRVU18_OCT.csv · Q4 2018 (RVU18D) · row 15,152—status A, RVUs limits
    Source
    Physician relative value file (PPRRVU), Q4 2018 release
    Effective
    October 1 – December 31, 2018
    Locator
    PPRRVU18_OCT.csv in rvu18d.zip · row 15,152 of 16,682 · via CMS
    Fields read
    Status A (col 4) Work RVU 2 (col 6) Office (non-facility) PE RVU 0.39 (col 7) Facility PE RVU 0.29 (col 9) Malpractice RVU 0.07 (col 11)
    SHA-256 c6312c12acd1b8ed…
    Doesn’t establish
    A locality-adjusted allowed amount, or the payment after sequestration. National baselines use GPCI 1.000 and exclude sequestration.
    Note
    Whether a national amount exists depends on the status and CMS’s payment instructions; blank RVUs are never treated as zero.
  2. 02 Conversion factor · same file · row 15,152 · column 25—$35.9996
    Source
    Conversion factor, read from the same file as the RVUs
  3. 03 Physician & Other Practitioners · CY2024—volume and who bills it limits
    Source
    CMS Physician & Other Practitioners dataset
    Effective
    Calendar-year snapshot, on a different cycle from the Q4 2018 fee schedule
    Doesn’t establish
    Medicare Advantage, Medicaid or commercial volume, or the exact place of service: CMS publishes only the facility vs non-facility split, so the Office (non-facility) share does not identify urgent care or any other specific setting.
    Note
    The dataset suppresses rows under 11 beneficiaries. Specialty groups with fewer than 30 observed clinicians are omitted, so the shares can fall short of 100%.

Cite this rate

CPT 90834 National PFS baseline: Office (non-facility) $88.56; Facility $84.96 (Q4 2018; participating physician; whole service; GPCI 1.000; sequestration excluded). CMS RVU18D, PPRRVU18_OCT.csv row 15,152. Localis. https://localishealth.com/cpt/90834/2018/D

Past releases are never edited, so the citation stays checkable after CMS publishes a newer one. Methodology · Plain-text summary · JSON

How has it changed? Copy link

$113.90 Office (non-facility) and $91.85 Facility since Jan 1, 2026, after a +9.4% increase in the Office (non-facility) amount. +41.3% increase since Q1 2013; peak $113.90 in Q1 2026.

  1. Jan 1, 2026 – present

    Q1 2026

    Still in effect · 4 releases at this rate
    Office
    $113.90 (+$9.74, +9.4% increase)
    Facility
    $91.85 (+$0.96, +1.1% increase)

    Q1 2026 Jan 1, 2026 – Mar 31, 2026 · Q2 2026 Apr 1, 2026 – Jun 30, 2026 · Q3 2026 Jul 1, 2026 – Sep 30, 2026 · Q4 2026 Oct 1, 2026 – present

  2. Jan 1, 2025 – Dec 31, 2025

    Q1 2025

    4 releases at this rate
    Office
    $104.16 (+$0.97, +0.9% increase)
    Facility
    $90.89 (+$0.68, +0.8% increase)

    Q1 2025 Jan 1, 2025 – Mar 31, 2025 · Q2 2025 Apr 1, 2025 – Jun 30, 2025 · Q3 2025 Jul 1, 2025 – Sep 30, 2025 · Q4 2025 Oct 1, 2025 – Dec 31, 2025

  3. Mar 9, 2024 – Dec 31, 2024

    Q1 2024

    4 releases at this rate
    Office
    $103.19 (+$1.68, +1.7% increase)
    Facility
    $90.21 (+$1.47, +1.7% increase)

    Q1 2024 Mar 9, 2024 – Mar 31, 2024 · Q2 2024 Apr 1, 2024 – Jun 30, 2024 · Q3 2024 Jul 1, 2024 – Sep 30, 2024 · Q4 2024 Oct 1, 2024 – Dec 31, 2024

  4. Jan 1, 2024 – Mar 8, 2024 · Superseded revision

    Q1 2024 rev 1

    Revision 1, later corrected by CMS
    Office
    $101.51
    Facility
    $88.74

  5. Jan 1, 2023 – Dec 31, 2023

    Q1 2023

    4 releases at this rate
    Office
    $99.97 (−$2.81, -2.7% decrease)
    Facility
    $88.11 (−$2.56, -2.8% decrease)

    Q1 2023 Jan 1, 2023 – Mar 31, 2023 · Q2 2023 Apr 1, 2023 – Jun 30, 2023 · Q3 2023 Jul 1, 2023 – Sep 30, 2023 · Q4 2023 Oct 1, 2023 – Dec 31, 2023

  6. Jan 1, 2022 – Dec 31, 2022

    Q1 2022

    4 releases at this rate
    Office
    $102.78 (−$0.50, -0.5% decrease)
    Facility
    $90.67 (−$0.40, -0.4% decrease)

    Q1 2022 Jan 1, 2022 – Mar 31, 2022 · Q2 2022 Apr 1, 2022 – Jun 30, 2022 · Q3 2022 Jul 1, 2022 – Sep 30, 2022 · Q4 2022 Oct 1, 2022 – Dec 31, 2022

National baseline (GPCI 1.000), before sequestration.

How each change is split
The chips under each change split the Office (non-facility) move into the conversion factor's share, which CMS sets for every code, and 90834's own work, practice-expense and malpractice RVUs. CMS doesn't publish this split; we derive it from each release's RVUs and conversion factor. We apply the new conversion factor to the earlier RVUs first, then price each RVU change at the new conversion factor. Another order would move a few cents between columns, but every total stays the same.
When does this rate change?

CMS publishes a fee schedule release every quarter (January, April, July, October), and each is versioned here. See what changed each release, or get an email when a new release moves rates.

The 90834 rate last moved in Q1 2026. See its rate history.

Sources: CMS Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Relative Value Files.

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Usage and related codes Copy link

In CY2024, 90834 ranked #79 of the 7,879 CPT codes billed to Medicare that year, by patients served or total allowed dollars.

Services
3.4M
Allowed
$293.7M
Beneficiaries
419,153

Who bills 90834 to Medicare

89% Office (non-facility) · 11% facility
  • Behavioral Health 93%
  • Psychiatry 4%
  • NP/PA 3%

CY2024 Medicare fee-for-service, from the CMS Physician & Other Practitioners dataset (limits). Localis groups related codes for payment research; the grouping isn't the AMA's code families.