Q4265 Medicaid reimbursement rate by state (2026)
Neostim tl, per square centimeter (add-on. Medicaid pays a median of $127.28 for Q4265 across 13 states, from $35.04 in Colorado to $2,114.70 in California.
- States publishing
- 13
- National median
- $127.28units vary by state
- Lowest
- $35.04Colorado
- Highest
- $2,114.70California
What does Medicaid pay for Q4265?
13 state Medicaid programs publish a fee-for-service rate for Q4265. The national median is $127.28 (units differ between states). California pays the most, $2,114.70, and Colorado the least, $35.04, a 60.4x spread.
Medicare (non-facility, 2026 physician fee schedule): $115.04–$183.51 depending on the state's Medicare locality.
Q4265 rate by state: highest, middle and lowest
One like-for-like fee-for-service rate per state, ranked. The workspace lists all 13 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 Q4265, 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. 6 of the 13 states list more than one rate for Q4265, 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 13 states, 1 publish Q4265 per unit, and 12 schedules print no unit at all (a flat amount per service).
- Per hour. Q4265 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 Q4265, 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 Q4265 rates differ between states
Published rates for Q4265 run from $35.04 in Colorado to $2,114.70 in California, a 60.4x gap in the same unit. Half the states pay more than the median of $127.28 and half pay less. The usual reasons for a spread like this in physician & professional rates:
- Primary-care and pediatric add-ons, enhanced rates for certain specialties and targeted increases for access problems change individual codes without moving the rest of the schedule.
- 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.
- 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. 9 states set the current rate for Q4265 in 2026 or later. 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 Q4265
Most Medicaid members are in managed-care plans, and plans don't publish their provider fee schedules. For Q4265, the public signal is the rule each state sets for its plans, recorded on each rate above.
In 2 states, the published rate binds plans: a floor, a pass-through or a state-set rate. In 5 states, plans negotiate and the published rate is a benchmark or out-of-network default. The rule for the remaining 6 states is not classified yet.
- Plans negotiate; the published rate applies out of network (5 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 (2 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 California managed care.
Units and billing for Q4265
Q4265 is a HCPCS Level II temporary code in the physician & professional line, billed mostly by physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants and other licensed practitioners. Q codes are temporary codes for drugs, biologicals, supplies and services. The unit depends on the code and is often a dose or an item.
Physician-fee-schedule codes are billed per service: one unit is one occurrence unless the code itself is defined by time or quantity. Where a state publishes separate facility and non-facility amounts, the non-facility (office) amount is usually higher because the practice carries the overhead.
Medicare's 2026 physician fee schedule pays $115.04–$183.51 for Q4265 (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 Q4265?
It depends on the state. Of the 13 states with a published fee-for-service rate, the median is $127.28. California pays the most ($2,114.70) and Colorado the least ($35.04).
Which state pays the highest Medicaid rate for Q4265?
California, at $2,114.70, effective 2026-10-01.
Which state pays the lowest Medicaid rate for Q4265?
Colorado, at $35.04, effective 2026-07-01.
What unit is Q4265 billed in?
Of the 13 states, 1 publish Q4265 per unit, and 12 schedules print no unit at all (a flat amount per service).
Do managed-care plans pay the same rate for Q4265?
Not necessarily. In 2 states, the published rate binds plans: a floor, a pass-through or a state-set rate. In 5 states, plans negotiate and the published rate is a benchmark or out-of-network default. The rule for the remaining 6 states is not classified yet. Each rule is cited to the plan contract, statute or notice in the workspace.