Mental health reimbursement rates in 2026: what insurance pays therapists

The typical commercial insurance reimbursement for a 60-minute psychotherapy session (CPT 90837) is $114, the median of 805 rates clinicians have reported to this site as of November 12, 2026. Half of the reports fall between $100 and $130, and one in ten is below $83 or above $150. Medicare's national amount for the same code in 2026 is $167.00 at the full rate and $125.25 at the 75% rate paid to clinical social workers, counselors and marriage and family therapists.

A single "average rate" hides most of what decides a clinician's number. The four things that move it are the code, the payer, the route to the payer, and the license. Each has its own page here, and this guide gives the typical figure for each with a link to the detail.

Typical reimbursement by CPT code

Code	Service	Median reported	Reports
90837	Psychotherapy, 60 minutes	$114	805
90834	Psychotherapy, 45 minutes	$83	114
90791	Diagnostic evaluation (intake)	$121	91
90847	Family therapy, client present	$89	26
90846	Family therapy, client absent	$83	19

The 45-minute code is reported $31 below the 60-minute code. Clinicians who bill prescriber codes (99213 to 99215, 90833) or testing codes (96130 to 96137) will not find reported commercial rates here yet; the Medicare guide has the Medicare amounts for those.

Typical 90837 reimbursement by payer

Payer	Median 90837	Reports
Blue Cross Blue Shield plans	$121	186
Aetna	$121	162
Medicaid	$121	38
Optum / UnitedHealthcare	$116	116
Kaiser	$116	21
Employee assistance programs	$100	19
Cigna	$95	106
Carelon	$95	11

Cigna and Carelon are reported about $25 below the other large commercial payers. BCBS is many separate companies, and its rate varies more by state than any other payer's: see BCBS 90837 by state. Medicaid is set by each state and the reports span a wide range.

Typical 90837 by route: direct contract or platform

Route	Median 90837	Reports
Lyra	$125	13
Direct contract with the payer	$118	457
Headway	$118	164
Alma	$110	55
Spring Health	$95	25
Grow Therapy	$88	38
Rula	$80	22

Whether a platform pays more than a direct contract depends on the payer. Headway is reported above direct contracts for Aetna and below them for BCBS; the comparison by payer has the detail. Platform fees, such as Headway's $9.99 marketplace fee, come out of these amounts.

Typical 90837 by license

Master's-level clinicians report nearly the same rate whatever the license: $113 for LPC and LMHC, $113 for LMFT and $112 for LCSW. Psychologists report $148. Payer contract files don't carry the clinician's license, so this split exists only where clinicians report it.

How these compare with Medicare

Medicare publishes its rates, which makes it the usual benchmark. For 90837 the 2026 national amount is $167.00 for psychologists and physicians, $141.95 for nurse practitioners and $125.25 for clinical social workers, counselors and marriage and family therapists. The reported commercial median of $114 is about 91% of that last figure. In 2027 the Medicare amount rises 9.8% nationally, and between 4.8% and 12.3% depending on locality: see Medicare 90837 by state and locality.

Limitations

These figures have three limitations. First, every commercial rate is self-reported and unverified. Second, the sample is self-selected and leans toward a few states, so a median here describes the reports and may differ from any one market. Third, the numbers are fixed as of November 12, 2026, while the linked pages update as reports arrive. Nevertheless, with 1,089 reports a clinician reading a contract offer can place it against the middle half for its code and payer.

Report your rate: anonymous, 60 seconds See every report

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