CPT code 96116: Neurobehavioral exam, first hour2026 Medicare rate & RVUs
A physician or qualified health care professional uses this code for a clinical examination of cognitive and behavioral functioning, including interpretation and reporting.
Medicare pays $94.19 for 96116 nationally in the office and $72.15 in a hospital or facility. Local office rates run $88.98–$126.31.
Medicare rate · 96116
Neurobehavioral exam, first hour
- Work RVUs
- 1.86
- Total RVUs
- 2.82
- Global days
- XXX
National rate · 2026
$94.19
Office setting, before claim adjustments.
See every locality for 96116 →Billed by an NP, PA or therapist? →
Medicare allowed amount for participating (non-QP) physicians, before deductible, coinsurance and claim adjustments. Not a patient’s bill or a hospital charge.
Your location
On this page 10 sections
What 96116 covers
A physician or other qualified health care professional performs a clinical assessment of thinking, reasoning, judgment, and related abilities such as attention, language, memory, planning, and problem solving. The examination may help characterize cognitive or behavioral changes associated with conditions such as traumatic brain injury, stroke, dementia, or other neurologic disease. It is a clinician-led assessment, not simply the administration of a standardized test by support staff.
Report 96116 for the initial hour of the service, including face-to-face assessment and the clinician’s time interpreting findings and preparing the report. Documentation should identify the cognitive or behavioral concerns examined, relevant findings, clinical interpretation, and time spent. For additional qualifying time, 96121 is the related add-on code. CMS values the service under the physician fee schedule, with practice-expense values that 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 96116 pays more and less
The same RVUs, adjusted for each area’s costs. Open a locality for its calculation, history and nearby areas.
109 payment localities
$88.98 to $126.31
109 of 109 payment localities
96116 rates by state
Office rate range in each state. Select a state to see its payment localities.
Explore a state
Local rates. Clear comparisons.
Hover or focus a tile to see its rate range. Select it to open the state’s fee schedule.
$88.98
$126.31
Color shows the midpoint of each state’s locality range.
View every state and territory as a table
| State / territory | Office rate range | Localities |
|---|---|---|
| AK | $126.31 | 1 |
| AL | $89.56 | 1 |
| AR | $88.98 | 1 |
| AZ | $92.97 | 1 |
| CA | $97.20–$113.38 | 29 |
| CO | $96.42 | 1 |
| CT | $98.17 | 1 |
| DC | $103.12 | 1 |
| DE | $93.94 | 1 |
| FL | $93.88–$98.49 | 3 |
| GA | $91.33–$95.26 | 2 |
| GU | $97.47 | 1 |
| HI | $97.47 | 1 |
| IA | $90.43 | 1 |
| ID | $90.73 | 1 |
| IL | $92.70–$97.37 | 4 |
| IN | $90.97 | 1 |
| KS | $90.31 | 1 |
| KY | $90.68 | 1 |
| LA | $90.65–$92.69 | 2 |
| MA | $96.37–$102.35 | 2 |
| MD | $95.01–$103.12 | 3 |
| ME | $91.03–$93.18 | 2 |
| MI | $91.83–$94.51 | 2 |
| MN | $93.65 | 1 |
| MO | $89.99–$92.75 | 3 |
| MS | $89.49 | 1 |
| MT | $94.19 | 1 |
| NC | $91.45 | 1 |
| ND | $93.00 | 1 |
| NE | $90.63 | 1 |
| NH | $95.17 | 1 |
| NJ | $99.64–$103.05 | 2 |
| NM | $92.10 | 1 |
| NV | $93.89 | 1 |
| NY | $92.09–$105.57 | 5 |
| OH | $91.59 | 1 |
| OK | $90.53 | 1 |
| OR | $93.48–$98.01 | 2 |
| PA | $91.62–$96.93 | 2 |
| PR | $94.49 | 1 |
| RI | $96.15 | 1 |
| SC | $91.61 | 1 |
| SD | $92.86 | 1 |
| TN | $90.53 | 1 |
| TX | $91.34–$95.83 | 8 |
| UT | $92.18 | 1 |
| VA | $93.09–$103.12 | 2 |
| VI | $94.49 | 1 |
| VT | $92.90 | 1 |
| WA | $96.11–$103.75 | 2 |
| WI | $91.54 | 1 |
| WV | $91.12 | 1 |
| WY | $93.67 | 1 |
How the 96116 rate is calculated
Each of 96116’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.
How the rate is built · 96116
RVUs × geographic indexes × conversion factor
Work1.86
1.86 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI
Practice expense0.90
0.90 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI
Malpractice0.06
0.06 RVUs× 1.000 GPCI
Adjusted RVUs
2.8200
Conversion factor
$33.4009
Medicare rate
$94.19
Every GPCI starts at 1.000, the national rate. Enter a ZIP or drag a slider.
Payment rules and modifiers for 96116
96116 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.
Place of service · 96116
Which rate does Medicare pay?
The POS code on the claim line (CMS-1500 box 24B).
POS 11 · non-facility rate · national
$94.19
- Non-facility (office)
- $94.19
- Facility
- $72.15
Higher because the practice carries its own overhead.
96116 compared with similar codes
Compare codes · National
5 codes, side by side
How to choose
- 96121Neurobehavioral examEach additional hour
- 96116 is the initial-hour service. Use 96121 for additional qualifying time when the documentation supports it.
- 96132Neuropsychological evaluationFirst hour
- 96116 reports a clinical neurobehavioral status examination. 96132 covers professional evaluation work associated with neuropsychological testing.
- 96125Cognitive testingPer qualified professional hour
- 96116 is a clinician-led assessment of cognitive and behavioral functioning; 96125 is for cognitive performance testing.
- 96105Aphasia assessmentPer hour
- 96105 is specific to aphasia assessment. 96116 addresses a broader set of cognitive and behavioral abilities.
96116 billing questions
When should 96116 be chosen instead of 96132?
Use 96116 for a clinician’s neurobehavioral status examination of cognitive and behavioral functioning. Code 96132 describes professional evaluation work associated with neuropsychological testing.
How is additional time reported?
96116 represents the initial hour. Code 96121 is the add-on for additional qualifying time, supported by the service documentation.
Does 96116 describe standardized cognitive testing?
No. It describes a clinical assessment and the clinician’s interpretation and report; standardized cognitive performance testing is represented by a different service, such as 96125.
What should the record include?
Document the cognitive or behavioral domains examined, relevant findings, the clinician’s interpretation, the resulting report, and time spent on the service.
How does 96116 differ from an aphasia assessment?
96116 covers a broader neurobehavioral examination. Code 96105 is focused on assessment of aphasia.
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
Show the CMS file lines behind this rate
Fee sheets
Put 96116 and the rest of your codes on one sheet
Your codes at your locality, with payer contracts beside Medicare.
Build my fee sheet