CPT code 96146: Automated testing, single instrument, automated result2026 Medicare rate & RVUs in California

Medicare pays $2.38–$3.07 for 96146 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 96146 covers

This service covers a patient’s completion of one standardized psychological or neuropsychological instrument through an electronic platform that produces an automated result. It may be part of an assessment for behavioral health symptoms or cognitive concerns. The platform, rather than a clinician or technician administering the test, conducts the instrument and generates the result. A clinician may select the instrument and use its result in the patient’s broader evaluation, but this code does not represent professional interpretation of the findings.

Report one unit for each distinct automated instrument supported by the record. Documentation should identify the instrument, the clinical reason for using it, and that it was completed electronically with an automated result. The service’s scope includes the automated administration and result; separately performed professional evaluation or interpretation is distinct work and needs its own supporting documentation. The code has no work RVUs, with practice expense RVUs of 0.06 and malpractice RVUs of 0.01.

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 96146 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 96146 rate is calculated

Each of 96146’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 96146

96146 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.

96146 compared with similar codes

How to choose

96127Behavioral screening toolPer scored standardized instrument

Choose 96146 for a standardized instrument administered electronically with an automated result. Choose 96127 for a brief emotional or behavioral assessment with scoring and documentation.

96136Test administrationPhysician or QHP, first 30 minutes

96136 describes test administration by a qualified health care professional. 96146 describes electronic administration with an automated result.

96138Psychological testingTechnician, first 30 minutes

96138 describes test administration by a technician. Use 96146 when the electronic platform administers the instrument and generates the result.

96130Psychological evaluationFirst hour

96130 represents professional psychological test evaluation, not the automated administration itself. Report it only for separately performed evaluation work.

Codes related to 96146

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