u/Scientific_Hypnotist

What US insurers actually pay for a psychotherapy session — crowd-sourced, by CPT code, payer, platform, and state [JSON]

[https://therapistrates.org\](https://therapistrates.org) tracks what insurers and platforms (Headway, Alma, Rula, Grow Therapy, etc.) actually reimburse for psychotherapy sessions. These rates are contractually confidential, so the data is crowd-sourced from therapist reports, with every row linked back to its primary source.

Raw JSON: https://therapistrates.org/data/rates.json (77 rows: platform, payer, state, license level, CPT code, rate, effective date, source link, verified flag). Companion ownership registry of who owns each platform: https://therapistrates.org/data/owners.json

The same 53-minute session (CPT 90837) pays anywhere from $39 to $220 depending on payer and state, and when rates are that low and that opaque, therapists quietly leave insurance networks. Patients inherit the fallout: "ghost network" directories full of therapists who no longer take their plan, months-long waits, sessions quietly shortened from 60 minutes to 45, and full out-of-pocket bills for care their insurance nominally covers. In one sourced case an insurer paid a middleman platform $213.07 for a session while the treating clinician received $101.20 — a spread the patient never sees. There's no official public source for any of these numbers; price transparency rules don't reach behavioral health middleman arrangements.

reddit.com
u/Scientific_Hypnotist — 2 days ago

What US insurers actually pay for a psychotherapy session — crowd-sourced, by CPT code, payer, platform, and state [JSON]

https://therapistrates.org tracks what insurers and platforms (Headway, Alma, Rula, Grow Therapy, etc.) actually reimburse for psychotherapy sessions. These rates are contractually confidential, so the data is crowd-sourced from therapist reports, with every row linked back to its primary source.

Raw JSON: https://therapistrates.org/data/rates.json (77 rows: platform, payer, state, license level, CPT code, rate, effective date, source link, verified flag). Companion ownership registry of who owns each platform: https://therapistrates.org/data/owners.json

Why it matters: this secrecy lands on patients. The same 53-minute session (CPT 90837) pays anywhere from $39 to $220 depending on payer and state, and when rates are that low and that opaque, therapists quietly leave insurance networks. Patients inherit the fallout: "ghost network" directories full of therapists who no longer take their plan, months-long waits, sessions quietly shortened from 60 minutes to 45, and full out-of-pocket bills for care their insurance nominally covers. In one sourced case an insurer paid a middleman platform $213.07 for a session while the treating clinician received $101.20 — a spread the patient never sees. There's no official public source for any of these numbers; price transparency rules don't reach behavioral health middleman arrangements.

reddit.com
u/Scientific_Hypnotist — 3 days ago

Been at a number of high level psychiatry meetings where discussions have been had around if non MD DO should have full diagnosis rights. Argument was that perhaps intital diagnosis needs to be MD DO and NP can provide continuity of care.

The DEA reps at meetings have been floating this idea considering the massive increase in stimulant scripts since 2020— most of which are NPs. Dx limits would only do to for ADHD.

Lotta push back from community docs about access to care. DEA responded with NP and PA were always meant to fill in holes that DO MDs are stretched too thin to cover. Not ever replace MD—thus DEA are only enacting what the degree was designed for.

Curious what others think. I’m of two minds about it.

reddit.com
u/Scientific_Hypnotist — 4 months ago