CPT code 90840: Crisis psychotherapy, each additional 30 minutes2026 Medicare rate & RVUs

Medicare pays $77.16 for 90840 nationally in the office and $62.46 in a hospital or facility. Local office rates run $74.10–$106.67.

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

What 90840 covers

90840 represents additional time spent providing psychotherapy during an acute psychiatric crisis, such as severe emotional distress or an urgent safety concern. A physician or other qualified health care professional may provide the service in an office, emergency department, or another setting where crisis care is delivered. The intervention addresses the immediate crisis through assessment, therapeutic support, and planning for stabilization or disposition; it is not a routine scheduled psychotherapy session.

Report 90840 only with 90839, which covers the initial crisis service. Use 90840 for each additional 30 minutes after that initial service, following applicable CPT time thresholds. Documentation should identify the crisis, describe the interventions and the patient’s response, and support the total time spent in crisis psychotherapy. CMS treats 90840 as an add-on code billed with its primary procedure and paid within that procedure’s global period.

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 90840 pays more and less

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

109 of 109 payment localities

90840 rates by state

Office rate range in each state. Select a state to see its payment localities.

How the 90840 rate is calculated

Each of 90840’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 90840

The CMS indicators that decide how 90840 is paid alongside other services.

90840 compared with similar codes

How to choose

90839Crisis psychotherapyInitial 60 minutes

90839 reports the initial crisis psychotherapy service; 90840 reports each additional 30 minutes and must be paired with 90839.

90837Psychotherapy60 minutes, no E/M

90837 is for a routine 60-minute individual psychotherapy session. Use 90840 only for additional time in crisis psychotherapy reported with 90839.

90834Psychotherapy session45 minutes, without E/M

90834 reports a 45-minute individual psychotherapy session, rather than additional crisis-service time beyond the initial service.

Codes related to 90840

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