CPT code 96130: Psychological evaluation, first hour2026 Medicare rate & RVUs in Merced, CA

In Merced, CA, Medicare pays $127.38 for 96130 in the office and $100.65 when it’s performed in a hospital or facility.

Check a contract rate as a % of Medicare · 96130 nationwide

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

What 96130 covers

96130 covers a physician’s or other qualified health care professional’s psychological testing evaluation: integrating interview and record information with test findings, interpreting standardized measures, applying clinical judgment, planning treatment, and preparing a report. Psychologists and other qualified clinicians perform this work in outpatient practices, hospitals, and other settings where psychological assessment is provided. The evaluation and interpretation are distinct from administering the tests themselves.

Report 96130 for the first hour of the evaluation service; report 96131 for additional evaluation time. Documentation should identify the assessment question, relevant clinical and test data, interpretive conclusions, decisions, recommendations, and time attributable to the service. Test administration and scoring may be reported separately with 96136 when performed by a physician or qualified health care professional, or 96138 when performed by a technician; document that work separately from the evaluation. Use 96132 or 96133 for a neuropsychological testing evaluation.

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.

How Merced, CA compares for 96130

Across 109 of 109 payment localities, the office rate for 96130 runs from $117.47 in Arkansas to $167.62 in Alaska. Merced, CA pays $127.38. The RVUs are the same everywhere; the geographic indexes change the dollars.

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96130 rates by state

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

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How the 96130 rate is calculated

Each of 96130’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 96130

96130 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.

Codes related to 96130

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

How 96130 has changed in Merced, CA

Price 96130 for an earlier date of service

Where the Merced, CA rate applies

Merced, CA is a Medicare payment area, not a city. Our Census mapping connects it to 24 cities and communities in California. Some span more than one payment area; confirm with the service ZIP.

• Merced
• Atwater
• Ballico
• Bear Creek
• Cressey
• Delhi
• Dos Palos
• Dos Palos Y

Browse all communities in California

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