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CPT 96136: Psychological/Neuropsychological Test Administration and Scoring, First 30 Minutes
CPT code 96136 covers the first 30 minutes of administration and scoring of two or more psychological or neuropsychological tests by a physician or other qualified healthcare professional. Nationally, this code is used in ambulatory and office-based behavioral health and neuropsychology settings to capture clinician time devoted to test administration and interpretation tasks that support diagnostic and treatment planning. Key payers included in this analysis are Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna Health, UnitedHealthcare, and Medicare.
Readers will learn what CPT code 96136 represents, where it is commonly billed, and how it relates to adjacent codes for additional testing time and technician-administered testing. The summary provides clinical context for use in cognitive, neurodevelopmental, and psychiatric evaluations and outlines which payers are commonly involved in coverage decisions. The publication also highlights related billing constructs and service comparisons so payers, clinicians, and revenue cycle staff can align coding choices with encounter workflows and documentation practices. Data not available in the input for payer-specific reimbursement rates and utilization benchmarks.
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Billing Code Overview
CPT code 96136 describes the administration and scoring of two or more psychological or neuropsychological tests by a physician or other qualified healthcare professional. This code is reported for the first 30 minutes of time spent in test administration and scoring, performed by any method.
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Service type: Psychological and neuropsychological testing (administration and scoring)
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Typical site of service: Office or outpatient behavioral health setting, including specialty neuropsychology clinics and other ambulatory care locations where physicians or qualified professionals conduct testing
National Reimbursement Benchmarks
National averages highlight a clear commercial premium over Medicare for CPT 96136: Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna, Aetna, UnitedHealth Group and BUCA all post mean rates above Medicare’s mean of $45.3, with BUCA’s average ($98.7) more than double Medicare’s. This positions Medicare as the low-reference mean while BUCA represents the high commercial average, widening the payer gap for this code.
Dispersion measured by the interquartile range (P75–P25) varies notably: Blue Cross Blue Shield is the widest with a spread of $29.5, followed by UnitedHealth Group at $47.3 and BUCA at $24.5. Aetna and Cigna are comparatively tighter with spreads of $19.6 and $33.3 respectively. Medicare’s IQR is small at $4, reflecting very low local variability by comparison.