Each state Medicaid agency posts its own fee-for-service behavioral health fee schedule, usually on the agency's provider fee schedule page. Since July 1, 2026, federal rule 42 CFR 447.203 requires states to publish all fee-for-service rates publicly, and to compare outpatient mental health rates with Medicare. Managed care plans' rates are not covered.
Last verified: November 9, 2026.
General information, not financial or legal advice. Rates and file locations below were checked on state agency websites on November 9, 2026. States revise fee schedules often. Always confirm the current file and its effective date before you bill or sign a contract.
The federal rule that made Medicaid rates easier to find
The 2024 Medicaid access rule amended 42 CFR 447.203(b). It now requires every state Medicaid agency to:
Publish all fee-for-service fee schedule rates on a public website that can be "easily reached from a hyperlink on the State Medicaid agency's website."
Organize them so "a member of the public can readily determine the amount that Medicaid would pay for a given service."
Show rates separately by population (pediatric and adult), provider type and geographic location when they vary.
Do the first publication by July 1, 2026, show the date rates were last updated, and post updates within one month of a rate change.
The rule also requires a comparative payment rate analysis for three service categories. One of them is outpatient mental health and substance use disorder services. States must compare their Medicaid fee-for-service rates with Medicare non-facility rates for the E/M codes CMS identifies for each category. They must show Medicaid as a percentage of Medicare, plus the number of paid claims and beneficiaries. The first analysis was due July 1, 2026, with updates at least every two years.
Two limits to keep in mind:
It covers fee-for-service rates only. Many states pay for much of their behavioral health care through managed care organizations (MCOs) or behavioral health administrators. Those contracts set their own rates, and this rule doesn't make them public.
The comparison uses E/M codes, not psychotherapy codes. The comparative analysis covers office-visit codes like 99213 and 99214 in the behavioral health category. It doesn't directly compare 90837 with Medicare. You can do that comparison yourself (see below).
Where six states post their behavioral health rates
We checked six state agency sites on November 9, 2026. They show how differently states organize the same information.
Kentucky: one behavioral health schedule, rates tiered by license
Kentucky's Department for Medicaid Services has a single Fee Schedules page. It lists a "Behavioral Health Services Fee Schedule 2026" in PDF and Excel, next to every other service type. The current Excel file is titled "KY MEDICAID Fee Schedule - Effective April 1, 2026 REVISED July 15, 2026."
The file pays the same code at different rates depending on who provides it. Each column has required modifiers. For 90837:
| Column (from the file's notes) | Who it covers (paraphrased) | 90837 rate |
|---|---|---|
| Column 1 | Psychiatrist, MD/DO | $121.88 |
| Column 2 | APRN, licensed clinical psychologist, physician assistant | $103.59 |
| Column 3 | Listed licensed clinicians, including LCSW, LPCC and LMFT | $97.50 |
| Column 4 | Associate-level clinicians under supervision | $85.31 |
| Column 5 | Certified alcohol and drug counselor | $60.94 |
For comparison, Medicare's 2026 national non-facility amount for 90837 is $167.00 before any license-type reduction. We calculated that from CMS's RVU26D file, as explained in what Medicare pays for therapy in 2026. The Kentucky file also notes that SUD services need an extra HF modifier "for tracking purposes." Modifier rules like this one are easy to miss.
Oregon: separate behavioral health file and a published Medicare comparison
The Oregon Health Plan's Fee-for-Service Fee Schedule page says "the behavioral health fee schedule is available in Excel." The medical-dental schedule comes in PDF, Excel and CSV. The page also explains that behavioral health files "reflect information effective on or after the fee schedule date," and it links a fact sheet on the behavioral health schedule.
Oregon has also posted its Comparative Payment Rate Analysis for calendar year 2025, the report 447.203 requires. In the "Outpatient Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder" category, the file lists 99214 at a Medicaid fee-for-service rate of $102.30. It compares that with a Medicare non-facility rate of $122.03 for physicians (about 84% of Medicare) and $103.73 for non-physicians (about 99%). These are the state's own published figures; we only rounded the ratios.
Colorado: behavioral health rates live in their own file
Colorado's HCPF Provider Rates and Fee Schedule page has a separate section, "Behavioral Health Fee-for-Service (FFS) Rates," with files by effective date. The latest is "FY 26/27 Effective 7/1/2026," and earlier mid-year files are listed back to FY 24/25.
The main Health First Colorado fee schedule (the July 1, 2026 version) points you elsewhere. Its row for 90837 with no modifier says "See Behavioral Health Fee Schedule." A separate row for 90837 with the GT modifier shows $135.35. Practices that only open the main schedule can miss the behavioral health rates entirely.
Louisiana: a "specialized behavioral health" schedule with a long archive
Louisiana Medicaid posts a Specialized Behavioral Health Fee Schedule at lamedicaid.com. On November 9, 2026, the current schedule was effective 10/01/26, in PDF and Excel, with the previous schedule (07/01/26) and an archive of earlier dates. The archive is useful when you reconcile old claims. We could not download the current file, so we don't quote a Louisiana rate here.
Illinois: schedules split by provider program
Illinois HFS posts a Community Based Behavioral Services Fee Schedule under its Community Mental Health Providers page. The newest listed version is effective 08-01-2024, with older versions going back several years. That schedule is for certified community mental health providers. Independent practitioners should check which HFS fee schedule applies to their enrollment type, because the schedule depends on how you are enrolled.
New Mexico: fee schedules next to the billing manual
New Mexico's Health Care Authority has a provider Fee Schedules page. The same provider section links the Behavioral Health Policy and Billing Manual. Reading the rate and the billing rules together matters: many state behavioral health services have documentation, unit and provider-type rules that a rate table alone doesn't show.
How state behavioral health fee schedules differ
Across these six states, practices run into the same six differences:
Provider-type tiers. Kentucky pays the same code at five rates depending on license. Other states pay one rate for all licensed clinicians.
Separate behavioral health schedules. Colorado and Oregon keep behavioral health rates outside the main physician schedule. Louisiana and Illinois split them by program.
Effective-date cycles. Some states update on July 1 (Colorado's state fiscal year). Others update by calendar year or quarter (Louisiana's 10/01/26 file).
Modifiers. Telehealth (GT in Colorado's main schedule), SUD tracking (HF in Kentucky) and license modifiers can change the rate or decide whether a claim pays.
Bundled and per-diem services. Kentucky's notes say "a rate across all provider columns indicates a per diem or bundled rate." Under 447.203, states must show how bundled rates are allocated when they are built from fee schedule rates.
Fee-for-service vs. managed care. If your patients are enrolled in an MCO, your MCO contract sets your payment. The state schedule may be a reference point in negotiation, but it isn't a guarantee.
How to compare a state's rate with Medicare yourself
Find the current state behavioral health file and note its effective date and the column for your license.
Look up the same code's Medicare non-facility amount for your locality. Our step-by-step guide to the Medicare fee schedule lookup covers this.
Apply your license's Medicare percentage (for example, 75% of the clinical psychologist amount for CSWs, MFTs and MHCs).
Divide the Medicaid rate by the Medicare amount and record the date of both sources.
Keep the files you used. When a state or MCO changes rates, your saved comparison shows exactly what changed.
Make it easy for Medicaid patients to find you
Medicaid patients look for clinicians who take their plan. If your website names the Medicaid plans and MCOs you are contracted with, and your directory listings agree, you lose fewer patients to wrong-number calls. The free ClinicStats audit checks whether a site names the plans it accepts. Our provider directory accuracy guide explains why payer directories go out of date. Scan your clinic's site free, or see what the report covers.