G0017 covers the initial 60 minutes of crisis psychotherapy; G0018 is for additional time after that service.
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CMS RVU26D · Effective 2026-10-01
G0018 Crisis psychotherapy Medicare reimbursement rates in Georgia
G0018 reports additional time spent providing crisis psychotherapy after the initial service, when the acute crisis requires treatment beyond the first 60 minutes. Compare G0018 office and facility rates across CMS payment localities in Georgia.
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 G0018 in Georgia?
Georgia has 2 payment localities in this comparison. Use the service location to choose the applicable amount. These are the supported base rates for the 2 payment areas shown below, using the same CMS release.
Office / nonfacility
$102.27–$106.10
2 of 2 localities have a supported rate.
Facility setting
$82.60–$83.71
2 of 2 localities have a supported rate.
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.
Behavioral health
About G0018: Additional crisis psychotherapy time
G0018 reports additional time spent providing crisis psychotherapy after the initial service, when the acute crisis requires treatment beyond the first 60 minutes.
G0018 represents added crisis-focused psychotherapy after the initial 60 minutes of crisis treatment. A psychiatrist, psychologist, clinical social worker, or other qualified behavioral health professional may use this time to continue urgent assessment and psychotherapeutic intervention for a patient in acute emotional or behavioral distress. The work may include reassessing the crisis, addressing immediate safety concerns, and helping the patient mobilize supports or resources. This is crisis intervention, not simply an extended routine psychotherapy session.
Report G0018 only with the primary crisis psychotherapy service, G0017, when the documented service extends beyond the initial 60 minutes. The record should support the crisis context, the interventions delivered, and the additional time. CMS classifies G0018 as an add-on: it is billed with a primary procedure and paid within that procedure’s global period. It is not a stand-alone service. Select the code based on the crisis service and time provided, rather than the patient’s diagnosis alone.
CMS billing rules for G0018
- Global period
- Add-on code: billed only together with a primary procedure and paid within that procedure's global period.
Where the value comes from
- Work RVU2.25 · 71%
- Practice expense (office) RVU0.87 · 28%
- Malpractice RVU0.03 · 1%
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.
G0018 compared with similar codes
Office rates for Georgia, from the same CMS release.
90840 is the CPT-family add-on for additional crisis psychotherapy time. G0018 belongs to the HCPCS G-code family.
90837 is for an extended psychotherapy session, while G0018 represents additional time in a crisis psychotherapy service.
Compare G0018 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.
2 of 2 payment localities
Atlanta →
Office / nonfacility
$106.10
Facility
$83.71
Rest Of Georgia →
Office / nonfacility
$102.27
Facility
$82.60
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G0018 billing questions
When should G0018 be reported instead of G0017?
G0017 reports the initial 60 minutes of crisis psychotherapy. G0018 reports additional crisis psychotherapy time after that initial service.
Can G0018 be billed by itself?
No. It is an add-on code and must be reported with a primary procedure; for this crisis psychotherapy code family, report it with G0017.
What should the documentation support?
Document the acute crisis, the psychotherapy and crisis interventions provided, and the additional time beyond the initial service.
Is G0018 for a longer routine psychotherapy visit?
No. The added time must be part of crisis psychotherapy, not merely an extended routine therapy session.
How does G0018 relate to CPT 90840?
Both describe additional crisis psychotherapy time in their respective code families. Follow the applicable coding pathway and do not report both codes for the same added service.
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.
