How to bill for a 2 hour psychotherapy session?
Asked by: Viola Larkin | Last update: July 29, 2025Score: 4.1/5 (65 votes)
How to bill for a 2 hour therapy session?
How do you bill a 2-hour therapy session? For a 2-hour therapy session, you can use 90837 CPT code for the first 60 minutes and 90838 CPT code for each additional 30 minutes. This method adheres to standard therapy billing units and ensures appropriate compensation for extended sessions.
Can you have 2 hour therapy sessions?
Can a therapy session be 2 hours? Yes, it's possible for therapy sessions to last this long. Individuals in intensive therapy programs, such as Intensive Outpatient Programs (IOP) or Substance Abuse Comprehensive Outpatient Treatment (SACOT) might meet with a therapist for longer periods.
How to code a 90 minute therapy session?
While it may seem like the obvious thing to do, adding more units to your billing is not how to bill extended sessions. Rather, what is required to bill for 90 minutes is an add-on code on a new line in box 24 of your CMS1500 form. To bill an insurance claim for a 90 minute individual therapy session: bill 90837.
Can I bill for 90 minutes of psychotherapy?
To bill using Prolonged Services codes, the session had to be a minimum of 30 minutes beyond the original code. This means, for a 90837 (60 minutes) the session minimum would be 90 minutes; for a 50-minute 90847, the session must be a minimum of 80 minutes.
How to Bill for Extended Therapy Sessions (Billing Guide)
What is the CPT code for prolonged services?
CPT Code 99417 Update – Prolonged Outpatient Evaluation and Management Services.
How many minutes is a 90837 session?
Code 90837 is for 60-minute therapy sessions, defined as 53 minutes or longer. Anything less than 53 minutes would use code 90834 (45-minute session). For 90837, the actual session time must be documented in your notes. Rounding up or down is not allowed.
What is the difference between 90837 and 90847?
CPT 90847 denotes “plural” family members [1]. You can think of it as psychotherapy with “all” the family members, plus the patient. With CPT 90837, the therapy is provided to the patient, and/or one (singular) family member.
Can 90837 and 90839 be billed together?
Because 90839 and 90840 are used for crises, you can't bill these codes in conjunction with the following standard therapy codes: 90791 and 90792 (initial evaluations) 90832, 90834, and 90837 (psychotherapy)
Why are therapy sessions only 1 hour?
The extra time allows therapists to better demonstrate empathy, validate the client's feelings, and collaboratively work on strategies for change. A strong therapeutic relationship is associated with better outcomes in therapy, and one-hour sessions foster an environment where this relationship can thrive.
How long is a psychotherapy session?
Typically, patients meet with therapists face to face for 45 to 55 minutes, depending on the situation. Patients also spend 5-10 minutes checking in and filling out short mood questionnaires (the BDI-II, BAI, and BHS).
How to bill for EMDR therapy?
CPT Code 90834 Is The Most Commonly Used Code For EMDR Sessions. Typically, most therapy sessions are in the 38 to 52-minute range, including EMDR therapy. Sometimes, these sessions extend past that time, so what then? All you need to do is add an extended CPT code to cover this extra time.
How to bill 90837 and 99354?
Let's say you had a 120-minute therapy session. The right way to bill this is to submit a claim for 90837 for the first hour then include the add-on CPT code, 99354 for the remaining time. However, if you only met with your client for 80 minutes, then you can only use 90837 to bill for the session.
How to bill for psychotherapy?
CPT Codes 90832-90838 represent psychotherapy. Psychotherapy without medical evaluation and management services are reported as 90832, 90834 and 90837. Psychotherapy with medical evaluation and management services are reported with codes for E/M services plus a psychotherapy add-on code (90833; 90836; 90838).
How do you justify 90837?
your client may have a trauma history: “90837 is medically necessary because significant trauma hx necessitates taking time to create safe space for disclosure and then containment.”
How do you bill for a 1.5 hour therapy session?
Psychologists who conduct sessions that require more than 60 minutes should report CPT® code 90837: Psychotherapy, 60 minutes with patient. Regardless of how long the session lasts, the psychologist's reimbursement will be based on the payment amount ultimately associated with 90837.
How long are 90847 sessions?
CPT Code 90847 Description
These sessions need to be at least 26 minutes in length. This is the CPT code for ongoing couples therapy or marriage and family therapy for two clients. You cannot bill both clients, this is considered one “service code” and will most often reimburse at a higher rate.
Is 90837 GT or 95?
The 95 modifier informs your Medicare payer that you provided medical service via telehealth. The GT modifier is being requested less and less these days and is use to be the standard. Now, most insurance companies want you to use 95 instead, which is defined as synchronous Telehealth.
How to bill 90837 and 90847 together?
90847 is used for family therapy with the client present, while 90837 is used for individual therapy. Can you get 90837 and 90847 the same day? You can bill 90837 (individual therapy) and 90847 on the same day if, and only if, the services were separate and distinct.
When to use modifier 95?
-95: Synchronous telemedicine service rendered via a real-time interactive audio and video communications system.
Does CPT code 90837 require a modifier?
So, you would use the CPT Code 90837 Modifier 95 for virtual sessions that are 53 minutes or longer. To further maximize your reimbursement, include the appropriate extender code if the session exceeds 53 minutes.
What is a prolonged service code for 90837?
So are you out of luck and stuck with just billing 90837? Add-on CPT Code 99354 is defined as a prolonged services code and is defined as an extra 30-74 minutes of therapy. 99354 used to only be allowed by Medical Doctor's, but has since expanded and is applicable to 90837 and 90487.
What are the CMS guidelines for prolonged services?
You can report prolonged services when you use time to select your visit level, and you exceed your total time for the highest-level visit by 15 or more minutes on medically necessary services. See Prolonged Services for detailed reporting instructions.
How to bill critical care time?
For CPT, code 99291 is used to report the first 30–74 minutes of critical care on a given date. It should be used only once per date. Code 99292 is reported when the total critical care time extends beyond the initial 74 minutes allotted by 99291.