How Much Do Insurers Pay for Therapy? Reimbursement Rates Explained (2026)

How much do insurers pay for therapy?

For the most-billed code — a 60-minute individual psychotherapy session, CPT 90837 — commercial in-network rates generally run about $125 to $165, usually a bit below the Medicare rate of roughly $167. Shorter sessions (90834) pay less, intake evaluations (90791) pay more, and group therapy (90853) pays far less.

You can look up the rate for a specific code, state, and payer with the free therapy reimbursement benchmark.

The payer matters more than the state

Therapists often assume reimbursement is mostly about where they practice. In the data, it is mostly about which insurer the client carries. The same CPT code can vary about 30% across major commercial payers for individual therapy — and more for group therapy and psychological testing. That spread is frequently larger than the difference between states.

This is why a single "average" reimbursement number is misleading. What a 90837 pays depends on the plan, and the per-payer gap is the part worth knowing before you decide whether to stay in network or appeal a low rate.

Why in-network rates, not out-of-network?

Under the federal Transparency in Coverage rule, insurers must publish both their in-network negotiated rates and their out-of-network allowed amounts. In practice, the out-of-network files are effectively empty — so the reliable public signal is the in-network negotiated rate, used as a proxy for what a plan considers a service is worth. Every figure in the benchmark is an estimate, not a guarantee, and it says so.

Why this matters even for cash-pay practices

If you are out of network, these numbers are still the floor your clients anchor to. When a client submits a superbill, their plan reimburses a percentage of its allowed amount — which tracks closely to these in-network rates — after their deductible. Knowing the rate helps you:

• Set a cash fee that is defensible relative to what plans pay.
• Tell clients roughly what to expect back from an out-of-network claim.
• Decide whether a low in-network rate is even worth contracting for.

Bill the right code, collect the full amount

Reimbursement is only half the equation; the other half is coding the session correctly so you collect what you are owed. Make sure you are not under-coding 90834 instead of 90837 and losing legitimate revenue, and see the full picture with these tools:

• Reimbursement benchmark — what insurers pay by code, state, and payer.
• Revenue-leak calculator — what under-coding may be costing you.
• Free tools for private-pay therapists — the full set.

This article is for general informational purposes and is not billing or legal advice. Figures are benchmarks from public data, not guarantees; verify specifics with each payer.