CPT 90833: Psychotherapy 16-37 Minutes With E/M
Medicare pays $84 and commercial payers pay $178 on average nationally for this procedure.
CPT code 90833 is an add-on psychotherapy service provided in conjunction with an evaluation and management visit, describing a focused psychotherapy encounter lasting approximately 16 to 37 minutes; service type: add-on psychotherapy with E/M, typical site of service: office or outpatient behavioral health setting where an E/M and brief psychotherapy are delivered in the same session.
For related coverage guidance, see recent payer policy updates: DRG Newborn Inpatient Stays - Facility, Pediatric Preventive Screening, Pediatric Preventive Screening.
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National Reimbursement Benchmarks
Medicare’s mean rate sits near $83.8, closely tracking national commercial averages: BUCA’s mean is notably higher at $178.00, making BUCA about $94.20 above Medicare on average. This gap highlights a substantial spread between government reimbursement levels and a prominent commercial benchmark, with BUCA positioned well above Medicare’s midpoint of locality means.
Dispersion (P75–P25) varies across payers: Blue Cross Blue Shield shows the widest interquartile spread at $99.5 (P75 $287.6 minus P25 $184.1), reflecting high variability in negotiated rates. Aetna’s spread is relatively narrow at $26.3 (P75 $93.4 minus P25 $61.0), indicating tighter clustering. UnitedHealth Group ($65.1 spread), Cigna ($61.5 spread), and BUCA ($82.0 spread) fall in between, so BCBS is the most dispersed and Aetna the tightest in the national landscape.