44406 Medicaid reimbursement rate by state (2026)
Physician and practitioner services (fee schedule). Medicaid pays a median of $176.42 for 44406 across 41 states, from $34.21 in Missouri to $489.12 in Alabama.
- States publishing
- 41
- National median
- $176.42units vary by state
- Lowest
- $34.21Missouri
- Highest
- $489.12Alabama
What does Medicaid pay for 44406?
41 state Medicaid programs publish a fee-for-service rate for 44406. The national median is $176.42 (units differ between states). Alabama pays the most, $489.12, and Missouri the least, $34.21, a 14.3x spread.
44406 rate by state: highest, middle and lowest
One like-for-like fee-for-service rate per state, ranked. The workspace lists all 41 states with every variant, modifier and effective date.
How to read this table
- Order. States are listed from the highest published rate to the lowest. No single unit is shared by 8 or more states for 44406, so the order is by published amount and is not a like-for-like rank.
- Medicaid rate. The most the state's fee-for-service program pays for one unit, as published. 27 of the 41 states list more than one rate for 44406, by modifier, provider type or setting; the table shows the one that matches the provider level and setting used across states, without add-ons.
- Unit. Of the 41 states, 2 publish 44406 per unit, and 39 schedules print no unit at all (a flat amount per service).
- Per hour. 44406 is not billed in time units in these states, so no hourly figure is shown.
- Managed-care plans. The rule the state sets for its plans on this rate. What each rule means is explained below.
- % of Medicare. No Medicare physician fee schedule amount is on file for 44406, so there is no percentage.
- Source and date. Each Source link opens the state's own document; “since” is the date the rate took effect.
Why 44406 rates differ between states
Published rates for 44406 run from $34.21 in Missouri to $489.12 in Alabama, a 14.3x gap in the same unit. Half the states pay more than the median of $176.42 and half pay less. The usual reasons for a spread like this in physician & professional rates:
- Some states pay physician services as a percentage of the Medicare fee schedule; others keep a schedule of their own that may not have been rebased for years.
- Modifiers such as professional or technical component, bilateral, multiple procedure and assistant at surgery change the amount paid, and states apply them with their own percentages.
- Many schedules pay differently by place of service (office versus facility) and by practitioner, and nurse practitioners and physician assistants are often paid a percentage of the physician amount.
Timing matters too. 27 states set the current rate for 44406 in 2026 or later, while 7 states still pay a rate that took effect in 2022 or earlier. A state that has not updated its rate in years will drift down the ranking as others raise theirs.
What managed-care plans pay for 44406
Most Medicaid members are in managed-care plans, and plans don't publish their provider fee schedules. For 44406, the public signal is the rule each state sets for its plans, recorded on each rate above.
In 10 states, the published rate binds plans: a floor, a pass-through or a state-set rate. In 20 states, plans negotiate and the published rate is a benchmark or out-of-network default. The rule for the remaining 11 states is not classified yet.
- Plans negotiate; the published rate applies out of network (20 states). In-network rates can be above or below the published rate. The published rate is the benchmark both sides know, and the fallback if no contract is signed.
- Plans must pay at least the published rate (10 states). The published rate is your floor. Negotiate up from it, and if a plan pays less, the contract provision is the basis for a payment dispute.
Plan-negotiated rates are never estimated here. To see the rule and its citation for a particular state, open that state's managed-care page, for example Alabama managed care.
Units and billing for 44406
44406 is a CPT surgery code in the physician & professional line, billed mostly by physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants and other licensed practitioners. Surgical codes are paid once per procedure. The fee can include a global period of related care before and after the procedure, and modifiers for multiple, bilateral or assistant procedures raise or reduce what is actually paid.
Physician-fee-schedule codes are billed per service: one unit is one occurrence unless the code itself is defined by time or quantity. Practitioners who are not physicians are often paid a reduced percentage of the published amount, so check the schedule for the reduction that applies to your provider type.
Before billing, confirm the rate, unit and any modifier with the state's current schedule or the plan: the amounts here are as published, not a guarantee of payment.
Frequently asked questions
What does Medicaid pay for 44406?
It depends on the state. Of the 41 states with a published fee-for-service rate, the median is $176.42. Alabama pays the most ($489.12) and Missouri the least ($34.21).
Which state pays the highest Medicaid rate for 44406?
Alabama, at $489.12, effective 2026-09-24.
Which state pays the lowest Medicaid rate for 44406?
Missouri, at $34.21, effective 2022-07-01.
What unit is 44406 billed in?
Of the 41 states, 2 publish 44406 per unit, and 39 schedules print no unit at all (a flat amount per service).
Do managed-care plans pay the same rate for 44406?
Not necessarily. In 10 states, the published rate binds plans: a floor, a pass-through or a state-set rate. In 20 states, plans negotiate and the published rate is a benchmark or out-of-network default. The rule for the remaining 11 states is not classified yet. Each rule is cited to the plan contract, statute or notice in the workspace.