CPT code 90839: Crisis psychotherapy, initial 60 minutes2026 Medicare rate & RVUs in California

Medicare pays $165.71–$190.58 for 90839 in the office in California, from Chico, CA to San Benito County, CA. Which amount applies depends on the service address.

Medicare allowed amount for participating (non-QP) physicians, before deductible, coinsurance and claim adjustments. Not a patient’s bill or a hospital charge.

What 90839 covers

90839 covers an intensive psychotherapy encounter for a patient in an acute mental health crisis, such as severe emotional distress with urgent safety concerns. The clinician assesses the immediate situation, provides crisis-focused therapeutic intervention, and determines an appropriate disposition. Psychiatrists, psychologists, and other Medicare-recognized mental health practitioners may provide the service in settings such as an outpatient behavioral health clinic, office, or emergency department. This is crisis care, not simply a longer routine therapy session.

Select 90839 for the initial 60 minutes of crisis psychotherapy. Document the crisis presentation, assessment, interventions, the patient's response, time, and disposition. For additional crisis service, 90840 is the related add-on code, reported in 30-minute increments. CMS physician fee schedule values include work, practice expense, and malpractice components; the practice-expense values differ between office and facility settings.

This summary was written with AI assistance from CMS physician fee schedule data and checked against the CMS billing rules shown here. Rates on this page come directly from CMS files.

Where 90839 pays more and less in California

The same RVUs, adjusted for each area’s costs. Open a locality for its calculation, history and nearby areas.

29 of 29 payment localities

How the 90839 rate is calculated

Each of 90839’s three RVUs is multiplied by a geographic index (GPCI) for the payment locality, added up, and multiplied by the conversion factor. Drag the indexes or enter a ZIP to see what moves the rate.

Payment rules and modifiers for 90839

90839 has no global surgery period, no multiple-procedure, bilateral or assistant-at-surgery adjustment, and no professional/technical split. What changes the payment is where the service happens: the place of service on the claim decides whether Medicare pays the office or the facility rate.

90839 compared with similar codes

How to choose

90837Psychotherapy60 minutes, no E/M

Choose 90839 for acute crisis intervention requiring immediate assessment and disposition planning. Choose 90837 for a routine 60-minute individual psychotherapy session.

90840Crisis psychotherapyEach additional 30 minutes

90839 reports the initial 60 minutes of crisis psychotherapy. 90840 reports each additional 30-minute increment and is used with 90839.

90838PsychotherapyWith E/M, 60 minutes

90838 is psychotherapy reported with a separately furnished E/M service. 90839 represents psychotherapy focused on an acute crisis.

Codes related to 90839

Related codes aren’t interchangeable: bill the code that matches the service performed.

Where these rates come from

FeeBase calculates base physician payments from CMS work, practice-expense and malpractice RVUs, adjusted by each locality’s geographic indexes and the conversion factor. Services without a published rate are labeled, never given a made-up amount. Amounts are Medicare allowed amounts before claim adjustments: not a patient’s bill or a commercial rate.

CMS RVU26D · effective Oct 1, 2026 through the day before Jan 1, 2027

Open CMS sourceHow we calculate rates