CPT 90837 is the AMA billing code for 'Psychotherapy, 60 minutes with patient.' It is the longest standard individual psychotherapy code and reimburses higher than 90834 (45 min) and 90832 (30 min).

How many minutes does 90837 cover?

CPT 90837 covers psychotherapy sessions of 53+ minutes face-to-face with the patient. Sessions of 38–52 minutes are billed under 90834; sessions of 16–37 minutes under 90832. There is no separate code for sessions over 75 minutes, 90837 covers all sessions 53 minutes or longer.

What does 90837 reimburse?

Reimbursement varies by payer. Approximate national medians: $130–180 per session for commercial payers, somewhat lower for Medicare. 90837 reimburses ~30–40% more than 90834 (45 min) but some payers require additional medical-necessity documentation to reduce inappropriate billing of longer sessions when a 45-minute session would have been clinically sufficient.

Why do some payers scrutinize 90837?

Several large commercial payers have flagged 90837 utilization patterns as audit-worthy because the higher reimbursement creates billing-incentive concerns. Payer policies may require: clear medical-necessity documentation for the longer session, treatment plan justification, signs of progress in the therapeutic relationship, or specific clinical complexity. Best practice: use 90837 when the session genuinely required 53+ minutes for therapeutic reasons, document why, and don't routinize it across all patients.

Can 90837 be billed alongside 96127?

Yes. 90837 is the primary service code; 96127 (brief assessment with scoring and documentation) is an add-on billed in addition to 90837. A typical 60-minute MBC session administering PHQ-9 + GAD-7 + AUDIT bills 90837 + 96127×3.

How much does CPT 90837 pay?

CPT 90837 pays $167.00 per session under the 2026 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule national non-facility average, up from $154.29 in 2025 per the CY 2026 Final Rule (an 8.24 percent increase). Commercial payer rates typically range from $130 to $180 per session and vary by contract. CPT 90837 reimburses about 47 percent more than 90834 (45 minutes), but several payers require additional medical-necessity documentation to justify the longer session. Locality adjustments via the Geographic Practice Cost Index (GPCI) apply. Verify your specific payer fee schedule.

Who can bill CPT 90837?

Licensed mental health clinicians bill CPT 90837, including licensed clinical social workers (LCSW, LICSW), licensed marriage and family therapists (LMFT), licensed professional counselors (LPC, LMHC), licensed psychologists (PhD, PsyD), psychiatrists, psychiatric nurse practitioners, and physician assistants. Each state defines scope of practice for trainees and pre-licensed clinicians. Most payers require independent licensure for direct CPT 90837 billing.

Is CPT 90837 billable for telehealth?

Yes, CPT 90837 is billable for telehealth sessions. Use place of service code 02 (telehealth, non-home) or 10 (telehealth, patient home), with modifier 95 for synchronous audio-video psychotherapy when required by the payer. Medicare and most commercial payers extended telehealth coverage for psychotherapy after the public health emergency. Some payers apply tighter scrutiny to 90837 telehealth claims; document medical necessity for the 53+ minute session length carefully.

How often can CPT 90837 be billed?

CPT 90837 can be billed once per session per patient per provider. Medicare's Medically Unlikely Edit (MUE) allows 2 units per date of service, but that ceiling is a clinical benchmark rather than routine authorization: a second unit on one day needs documentation of a genuinely distinct encounter. Most payers cover weekly or biweekly 90837 sessions as medically necessary, but several large commercial payers (UHC, Anthem, Aetna among others) flag high-frequency 90837 utilization for audit when used routinely instead of 90834. Use 90837 when the session genuinely required 53 or more minutes for therapeutic reasons.

90837·CPT (AMA)

Psychotherapy, 60 Minutes

60-minute individual psychotherapy. Higher reimbursement than 90834 (45 min); under some payers requires additional medical-necessity documentation.

CPT 90837 at a glance

CPT 90837
Psychotherapy · therapeutic service
Psychotherapy, 60 Minutes
Typical reimbursement
$130–$180
US national commercial medians; varies by payer, plan and contract.
Scales that bill here
4 validated scales
A claim needs both a CPT and an ICD-10 code. ICD-10 reference

Code descriptor (verbatim AMA)

Psychotherapy, 60 minutes with patient.”
Source: AMA Current Procedural Terminology, code 90837.

Time requirements

Code	Time range	Typical reimbursement
90832	16–37 minutes	$60–95
90834	38–52 minutes	$95–140
90837	53+ minutes	$130–180

Time is based on actual face-to-face minutes, not appointment slot length. Document start and end times in the visit note. See CPT 90832 and CPT 90834 for shorter sessions. A crisis session is billed with CPT 90839, not 90837.

Medical-necessity documentation expectations

Why payers scrutinize 90837

Several large commercial payers (UHC, Anthem, Aetna among others) have flagged 90837 utilization patterns as audit-worthy. The 30–40% reimbursement bump over 90834 creates billing-incentive concerns when used routinely without clinical justification.

To support 90837 billing, document:

Why the session genuinely required 53+ minutes (not just "ran long").
Specific clinical complexity (severe symptoms, complex comorbidity, crisis material, breakthrough work).
Treatment plan justification linking session length to goals.
The client's response and progress evidence over time.

Best practice: use 90837 when the session genuinely required 53+ minutes for therapeutic reasons, and don't make it routine across every client regardless of clinical fit.

90837 with an E/M visit: bill 90838 instead

90837 is psychotherapy on its own. When a prescriber also provides an evaluation and management (E/M) service in the same visit (medication review, for example), the psychotherapy is billed as an add-on to the E/M code, by time:

Psychotherapy time	Alone	With an E/M visit (add-on)
16–37 minutes	90832	+90833
38–52 minutes	90834	+90836
53+ minutes	90837	+90838

The psychotherapy minutes must be separate from the time spent on the E/M service, and the note should show both.

Crisis sessions are not 90837

A session for a client in crisis (urgent assessment, mental status exam, crisis de-escalation and safety planning) is billed with the crisis psychotherapy codes, not 90837:

90839: the first 30 to 74 minutes of crisis psychotherapy.
+90840: each additional 30 minutes, added to 90839.

Use these when the content of the session was crisis care, not simply when a routine session ran long.

Interactive complexity (+90785)

The add-on 90785 can be billed with 90837 when specific communication factors made the session harder to deliver: for example, managing disruptive communication among participants, a caregiver whose emotions interfere with the care plan, or the use of play equipment or a translator. It is not for interpreter services alone or for a session that was simply long. Document which factor applied.

Common ICD-10 pairings

90837's longer duration is often used for higher-complexity presentations:

F33.2 Recurrent MDD, Severe (no psychotic features)
F43.10 PTSD, Unspecified, trauma-focused therapy commonly requires longer sessions
F60.3 Borderline Personality Disorder, DBT and TFP modalities
F31.1 Bipolar I Disorder, current episode manic without psychotic features (a category: bill the specific child code)
F50.0 Anorexia Nervosa (a category: bill the specific child code)
F42.2 OCD, ERP exposure protocols

Assessments that bill under CPT 90837

These validated scales are commonly administered, scored, and documented under this code.

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Frequently asked questions

What is CPT 90837?
CPT 90837 is the AMA billing code for 'Psychotherapy, 60 minutes with patient.' It is the longest standard individual psychotherapy code and reimburses higher than 90834 (45 min) and 90832 (30 min).
How many minutes does 90837 cover?
CPT 90837 covers psychotherapy sessions of 53+ minutes face-to-face with the patient. Sessions of 38–52 minutes are billed under 90834; sessions of 16–37 minutes under 90832. There is no separate code for sessions over 75 minutes, 90837 covers all sessions 53 minutes or longer.
What does 90837 reimburse?
Reimbursement varies by payer. Approximate national medians: $130–180 per session for commercial payers, somewhat lower for Medicare. 90837 reimburses ~30–40% more than 90834 (45 min) but some payers require additional medical-necessity documentation to reduce inappropriate billing of longer sessions when a 45-minute session would have been clinically sufficient.
Why do some payers scrutinize 90837?
Several large commercial payers have flagged 90837 utilization patterns as audit-worthy because the higher reimbursement creates billing-incentive concerns. Payer policies may require: clear medical-necessity documentation for the longer session, treatment plan justification, signs of progress in the therapeutic relationship, or specific clinical complexity. Best practice: use 90837 when the session genuinely required 53+ minutes for therapeutic reasons, document why, and don't routinize it across all patients.
Can 90837 be billed alongside 96127?
Yes. 90837 is the primary service code; 96127 (brief assessment with scoring and documentation) is an add-on billed in addition to 90837. A typical 60-minute MBC session administering PHQ-9 + GAD-7 + AUDIT bills 90837 + 96127×3.
How much does CPT 90837 pay?
CPT 90837 pays $167.00 per session under the 2026 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule national non-facility average, up from $154.29 in 2025 per the CY 2026 Final Rule (an 8.24 percent increase). Commercial payer rates typically range from $130 to $180 per session and vary by contract. CPT 90837 reimburses about 47 percent more than 90834 (45 minutes), but several payers require additional medical-necessity documentation to justify the longer session. Locality adjustments via the Geographic Practice Cost Index (GPCI) apply. Verify your specific payer fee schedule.
Who can bill CPT 90837?
Licensed mental health clinicians bill CPT 90837, including licensed clinical social workers (LCSW, LICSW), licensed marriage and family therapists (LMFT), licensed professional counselors (LPC, LMHC), licensed psychologists (PhD, PsyD), psychiatrists, psychiatric nurse practitioners, and physician assistants. Each state defines scope of practice for trainees and pre-licensed clinicians. Most payers require independent licensure for direct CPT 90837 billing.
Is CPT 90837 billable for telehealth?
Yes, CPT 90837 is billable for telehealth sessions. Use place of service code 02 (telehealth, non-home) or 10 (telehealth, patient home), with modifier 95 for synchronous audio-video psychotherapy when required by the payer. Medicare and most commercial payers extended telehealth coverage for psychotherapy after the public health emergency. Some payers apply tighter scrutiny to 90837 telehealth claims; document medical necessity for the 53+ minute session length carefully.
How often can CPT 90837 be billed?
CPT 90837 can be billed once per session per patient per provider. Medicare's Medically Unlikely Edit (MUE) allows 2 units per date of service, but that ceiling is a clinical benchmark rather than routine authorization: a second unit on one day needs documentation of a genuinely distinct encounter. Most payers cover weekly or biweekly 90837 sessions as medically necessary, but several large commercial payers (UHC, Anthem, Aetna among others) flag high-frequency 90837 utilization for audit when used routinely instead of 90834. Use 90837 when the session genuinely required 53 or more minutes for therapeutic reasons.

Sources

1. 1.American Medical Association. Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) 2026, code 90837.
2. 2.Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Physician Fee Schedule.