96416 Medicaid reimbursement rate by state (2026)
Physician and practitioner services (fee schedule). Medicaid pays a median of $111.88 for 96416 across 49 states, from $46.19 in California to $232.38 in Arkansas.
- States publishing
- 49
- National median
- $111.88units vary by state
- Lowest
- $46.19California
- Highest
- $232.38Arkansas
What does Medicaid pay for 96416?
49 state Medicaid programs publish a fee-for-service rate for 96416. The national median is $111.88 (units differ between states). Arkansas pays the most, $232.38, and California the least, $46.19, a 5.0x spread.
Medicare (non-facility, 2026 physician fee schedule): $114.66–$187.73 depending on the state's Medicare locality.
96416 rate by state: highest, middle and lowest
One like-for-like fee-for-service rate per state, ranked. The workspace lists all 49 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 96416, 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. 26 of the 49 states list more than one rate for 96416, 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 49 states, 2 publish 96416 per unit, and 47 schedules print no unit at all (a flat amount per service).
- Per hour. 96416 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. Medicare amounts exist for 96416, but no state's Medicaid unit matches Medicare's billing unit closely enough to compute a percentage.
- Source and date. Each Source link opens the state's own document; “since” is the date the rate took effect.
Why 96416 rates differ between states
Published rates for 96416 run from $46.19 in California to $232.38 in Arkansas, a 5.0x gap in the same unit. Half the states pay more than the median of $111.88 and half pay less. The usual reasons for a spread like this in physician & professional rates:
- Each state sets its own physician conversion factor or fee for every code, and many update them on a state budget cycle rather than on Medicare's calendar.
- 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. 32 states set the current rate for 96416 in 2026 or later, while 10 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 96416
What a plan pays for 96416 is negotiated privately, but the state decides how much room there is to negotiate. Here is how the rules break down across the 49 states.
In 11 states, the published rate binds plans: a floor, a pass-through or a state-set rate. In 24 states, plans negotiate and the published rate is a benchmark or out-of-network default. The rule for the remaining 14 states is not classified yet.
- Plans negotiate; the published rate applies out of network (24 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 (11 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 Arkansas managed care.
Units and billing for 96416
96416 is a CPT medicine code in the physician & professional line, billed mostly by physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants and other licensed practitioners. The medicine section runs from vaccines and psychiatry to dialysis, cardiology and therapy. Some of its codes are timed in 15-minute units, others are billed once per session or per test, so the unit matters more here than in most sections.
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.
Medicare's 2026 physician fee schedule pays $114.66–$187.73 for 96416 (non-facility), depending on the Medicare locality. That is a useful reference point, but Medicare and Medicaid can define the unit differently, so compare only where the units match.
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 96416?
It depends on the state. Of the 49 states with a published fee-for-service rate, the median is $111.88. Arkansas pays the most ($232.38) and California the least ($46.19).
Which state pays the highest Medicaid rate for 96416?
Arkansas, at $232.38, effective 2025-06-13.
Which state pays the lowest Medicaid rate for 96416?
California, at $46.19, effective 2026-10-01.
What unit is 96416 billed in?
Of the 49 states, 2 publish 96416 per unit, and 47 schedules print no unit at all (a flat amount per service).
Do managed-care plans pay the same rate for 96416?
Not necessarily. In 11 states, the published rate binds plans: a floor, a pass-through or a state-set rate. In 24 states, plans negotiate and the published rate is a benchmark or out-of-network default. The rule for the remaining 14 states is not classified yet. Each rule is cited to the plan contract, statute or notice in the workspace.