BCBS 90837 reimbursement rates by state

Therapists report a median of $121 from Blue Cross Blue Shield plans for a 60-minute psychotherapy session (CPT 90837), across 186 reports to this site as of November 12, 2026. Among states with five or more reports, the medians run from $95 in Florida to $151 in Virginia and Oregon. There is no national BCBS fee schedule to look up, which is why the state matters more for this payer than for any other.

The Blue Cross Blue Shield Association describes itself as "an association of independent, locally operated Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies" on its own site. Anthem, CareFirst, Highmark, Horizon, Premera and the single-state Blues each contract and set rates separately. Plans generally don't publish a therapist fee schedule as a document; the rate is in a clinician's contract or portal, and the reports below are what clinicians have shared from theirs.

Reported BCBS 90837 by state

State	Median	Range	Reports
Iowa	$181	$173–$181	3
Virginia	$151	$113–$171	10
Oregon	$151	$120–$165	10
Massachusetts	$139	$131–$186	9
North Carolina	$138	$110–$139	4
New Jersey	$136	$115–$165	8
Illinois	$134	$129–$191	11
Rhode Island	$133	$128–$134	5
Pennsylvania	$128	$95–$131	8
Washington	$128	$112–$160	8
Wisconsin	$127	$119–$132	7
Alabama	$127	$127–$136	3
Connecticut	$117	$98–$130	3
District of Columbia	$111	$88–$115	4
Maryland	$111	$103–$119	10
Texas	$105	$82–$128	15
Arizona	$105	$82–$140	5
New York	$102	$98–$110	3
California	$100	$86–$148	9
Colorado	$98	$98–$127	5
Florida	$95	$75–$116	7
Georgia	$93	$72–$98	3
Kentucky	$91	$91–$109	3
Ohio	$91	$65–$93	3

States with three or more reports. All routes and license levels pooled. A state with three reports can move by tens of dollars when one more arrives, so read the small rows as a range. Linked states have their own page with every row. The full, current table is on the BCBS rate page.

The route changes the BCBS number more than at other payers

Therapists contracted directly with a BCBS plan report a median of $133 across 120 reports. Through Headway the median is $108 across 52, through Alma $107 across 5, and through Grow Therapy $83 across 6. BCBS is the large payer where a direct contract most clearly out-reports the platforms in this data. For Aetna the order is reversed; the platform and direct comparison shows all four payers side by side.

These are different clinicians in different states, so the gap may partly reflect where each group practices.

License level

For the same code, psychologists report a BCBS median of $164 across 15 reports. LPC and LMHC reports put it at $126 (68), LCSW at $116 (67) and LMFT at $106 (15).

The other codes

BCBS reports for a 45-minute session (90834) have a median of $87 across 18 reports, $34 below the 60-minute code. The intake (90791) has a median of $130 across 25.

If your BCBS rate is below these

Check the plan and product. A commercial PPO, an HMO, a Medicare Advantage plan and a federal employee plan under the same Blue brand can carry different rates.
Check the effective date. Several submitters note a BCBS rate that hasn't changed in years. A rate request needs the date of the last increase.
Add your rate. Each report narrows the range for the next clinician in your state. It takes about 60 seconds and no name or NPI: report a BCBS rate.

Limitations

These figures have three limitations. First, every rate is self-reported and unverified. Second, "BCBS" pools separate companies and products, and most reports don't name the specific plan. Third, the state samples are small and self-selected, and 19 states have fewer than three reports and aren't shown. Nevertheless, the spread between states is far larger than the spread within most of them, and a state median is a more useful benchmark for a BCBS contract than any national figure.

Every figure above is a community report unless a primary source is linked. The full table · the CSV · add your rate.