$29.29
90849 is for psychotherapy with multiple families participating together. 90853 is group psychotherapy without that multiple-family structure.
On this page
CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
90849 Family group therapy Medicare reimbursement rates in Alabama
Report 90849 for a psychotherapy session in which a clinician works with members of multiple families together around shared behavioral or mental health concerns. Compare 90849 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in Alabama.
Amounts below use the non-QP conversion factor for participating physicians. These are base physician payments before claim-level adjustments, not patient costs or total hospital charges.
What does Medicare pay for 90849 in Alabama?
Alabama has 1 payment locality in this comparison. Use the service location to choose the applicable amount. These are the supported base rates for the payment area shown below, using the same CMS release.
Office / nonfacility
$37.95
1 of 1 localities have a supported rate.
Payment area: Alabama
One mapped payment locality.
Facility setting
$28.89
1 of 1 localities have a supported rate.
Payment area: Alabama
One mapped payment locality.
These are locality ranges, not averages or address-specific quotes. A facility-setting amount covers the physician service; it does not include a hospital’s separate bill. Choose a locality below to inspect its calculation, compare other payment areas, or price a percentage of Medicare.
Psychotherapy
About 90849: Multiple-family group psychotherapy
Report 90849 for a psychotherapy session in which a clinician works with members of multiple families together around shared behavioral or mental health concerns.
A mental health clinician leads psychotherapy with members of multiple families in the same session. The work may focus on recurring relationship patterns, family responses to a child’s behavioral or emotional difficulties, or coping approaches shared across families facing similar concerns. The session is psychotherapy, not simply a presentation or general support meeting. Psychiatrists, psychologists, and other qualified mental health clinicians may provide it in an office, clinic, or facility setting.
Choose 90849 when the treatment involves multiple family units participating together, rather than one family meeting with the clinician or a group of individual patients. Document the participating families, the clinical focus, and the therapeutic work performed. Report the session rather than separate units for each family or attendee. CMS assigns work, practice-expense, and malpractice RVUs; its office and facility practice-expense values are distinct.
Where the value comes from
- Work RVU0.67 · 55%
- Practice expense (office) RVU0.52 · 43%
- Malpractice RVU0.02 · 2%
490
Medicare services in 2024 · #3586 by national volume
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.
90849 compared with similar codes
Office rates for Alabama, from the same CMS release.
90846
No office rateFamily psytx w/o pt 50 min
90846 describes psychotherapy with one family when the patient is absent; 90849 brings multiple families together in one session.
$107.59
90847 describes psychotherapy with one family when the patient is present. Choose 90849 when members of multiple families participate together.
Compare 90849 by payment locality
Find the payment area for your service address, then open its rate page for calculation inputs, release history and the percentage-of-Medicare tool. A city may cross payment-area boundaries; the ZIP lookup above helps resolve the location.
1 of 1 payment localities
Alabama →
Office / nonfacility
$37.95
Facility
$28.89
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How this local rate is calculated
Each RVU component is multiplied by its own geographic practice cost index (GPCI). The three adjusted components are added, then multiplied by the conversion factor. These are the inputs used for 90849 in Alabama.
PPRRVU2026_Oct_nonQPP.csv
11,540
- Code
- 90849
- Physician work
- 0.67
- Practice expense
- 0.52
- Malpractice
- 0.02
GPCI2026.csv
4
- Locality
- Alabama
- Physician work
- 1.000
- Practice expense
- 0.875
- Malpractice
- 0.566
| Component | RVU | Locality factor | Adjusted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Physician work | 0.67 | × 1.000 | 0.6700 |
| Practice expense | 0.52 | × 0.875 | 0.4550 |
| Malpractice | 0.02 | × 0.566 | 0.0113 |
| Total RVUs | 1.1363 | ||
| Conversion factor | × 33.4009 | ||
Office / nonfacility rate, Alabama$37.95
Explore RVUs, geographic factors and the full formula
Office / nonfacility
| Component | RVU | Local GPCI |
|---|---|---|
| Work | 0.67 | 1 |
| Practice expense | 0.52 | 0.875 |
| Malpractice | 0.02 | 0.566 |
(0.67 × 1 + 0.52 × 0.875 + 0.02 × 0.566) × $33.4009 = $37.95
Facility
| Component | RVU | Local GPCI |
|---|---|---|
| Work | 0.67 | 1 |
| Practice expense | 0.21 | 0.875 |
| Malpractice | 0.02 | 0.566 |
(0.67 × 1 + 0.21 × 0.875 + 0.02 × 0.566) × $33.4009 = $28.89
The office and facility calculations use their respective practice-expense RVUs. The facility amount here is the physician fee, not a separate hospital or facility bill.
90849 billing questions
How is 90849 different from group psychotherapy?
Use 90849 when multiple family units participate together in psychotherapy. Use 90853 for group psychotherapy that is not organized as a multiple-family session.
How many units should be reported?
Report the psychotherapy session, not a separate unit for each family or attendee. Document the group’s composition and the service provided.
How does 90849 differ from family psychotherapy?
90849 involves members of multiple families in the same session. Codes 90846 and 90847 describe family psychotherapy involving one family, with the patient absent or present, respectively.
What documentation supports 90849?
Record that multiple families participated, the clinical purpose of bringing them together, and the psychotherapy interventions provided. A general educational or informational meeting alone does not establish a psychotherapy service.
Is 90849 selected by session duration?
The code is not distinguished by a stated time increment. Document the service and session details in the clinical record.
Where these rates come from
FeeBase calculates base physician payments from CMS work, practice-expense, and malpractice RVUs, adjusted by each locality’s geographic indices and the applicable conversion factor. Unavailable or separately priced services are labeled rather than assigned a made-up amount.
Source: RVU26D. Effective 2026-10-01 through the day before 2027-01-01.
11,53790845,,Psychoanalysis,A,,2.40,0.83,,0.20,,0.04,3.27,2.64,0,XXX,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,0,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
11,53890846,,Family psytx w/o pt 50 min,R,,2.74,0.40,,0.20,,0.03,3.17,2.97,0,XXX,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,0,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
11,53990847,,Family psytx w/pt 50 min,A,,2.86,0.40,,0.20,,0.02,3.28,3.08,0,XXX,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,0,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
11,54090849,,Multiple family group psytx,A,,0.67,0.52,,0.21,,0.02,1.21,0.90,0,XXX,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,0,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
11,54190853,,Group psychotherapy,A,,0.67,0.23,,0.05,,0.01,0.91,0.73,0,XXX,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,0,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
11,54290863,,Pharmacologic mgmt w/psytx,I,+,0.48,0.27,,0.11,,0.03,0.78,0.62,9,XXX,0.00,0.00,0.00,9,9,9,9,9,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
11,54390865,,Narcosynthesis,A,,2.84,2.14,,0.46,,0.13,5.11,3.43,0,XXX,0.00,0.00,0.00,0,0,0,0,0,9,,33.4009,09,0,99,0.00,0.00,0.00
1ADDENDUM E. FINAL CY 2026 GEOGRAPHIC PRACTICE COST INDICES (GPCIs) BY STATE AND MEDICARE LOCALITY,,,,,,
2,,,,,,
3Medicare Administrative Contractor (MAC),State,Locality Number,Locality Name,2026 PW GPCI (with 1.0 Floor)***,2026 PE GPCI,2026 MP GPCI
410112,AL,00,ALABAMA,1.000,0.875,0.566
502102,AK,01,ALASKA*,1.500,1.065,0.551
603102,AZ,00,ARIZONA,1.000,0.969,0.856
707102,AR,13,ARKANSAS,1.000,0.859,0.515