T4523 Medicaid reimbursement rate by state (2026)
Adult sized disposable incontinence product, brief/diaper. Medicaid pays a median of $0.80 for T4523 across 44 states, from $0.38 in Virginia to $1.21 in New Mexico.
- States publishing
- 44
- National median
- $0.80units vary by state
- Lowest
- $0.38Virginia
- Highest
- $1.21New Mexico
What does Medicaid pay for T4523?
44 state Medicaid programs publish a fee-for-service rate for T4523. The national median is $0.80 (units differ between states). New Mexico pays the most, $1.21, and Virginia the least, $0.38, a 3.2x spread.
T4523 rate by state: highest, middle and lowest
One like-for-like fee-for-service rate per state, ranked. The workspace lists all 44 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 T4523, 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. 16 of the 44 states list more than one rate for T4523, 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 44 states, 3 publish T4523 per unit, and 41 schedules print no unit at all (a flat amount per service).
- Per hour. T4523 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 T4523, 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 T4523 rates differ between states
Published rates for T4523 run from $0.38 in Virginia to $1.21 in New Mexico, a 3.2x gap in the same unit. Half the states pay more than the median of $0.80 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Timing matters too. 5 states set the current rate for T4523 in 2026 or later, while 22 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 T4523
No managed-care plan publishes what it pays for T4523. What is public is the rule each state's plan contracts set, and that rule decides how much the published rate matters when you contract with a plan.
In 7 states, the published rate binds plans: a floor, a pass-through or a state-set rate. In 22 states, plans negotiate and the published rate is a benchmark or out-of-network default. In 1 state, the service is paid outside the plans or through a state-directed payment. The rule for the remaining 14 states is not classified yet.
- Plans negotiate; the published rate applies out of network (22 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 (5 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.
- The state sets the plan rate (2 states). There is little to negotiate on price. Contracting is about network participation, authorization and billing terms.
- Paid by the state, outside the plans (1 state). Bill the state's Medicaid program, not the plan, at the published rate. There is no plan contract to negotiate for this service.
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 New Mexico managed care.
Units and billing for T4523
T4523 is a HCPCS Level II state Medicaid agency code in the physician & professional line, billed mostly by physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants and other licensed practitioners. T codes were created for state Medicaid agencies, for services such as personal care, private duty nursing, case management and waiver services. Each state defines how the code is used and paid, so units vary from 15 minutes to a month.
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 T4523?
It depends on the state. Of the 44 states with a published fee-for-service rate, the median is $0.80. New Mexico pays the most ($1.21) and Virginia the least ($0.38).
Which state pays the highest Medicaid rate for T4523?
New Mexico, at $1.21, effective 2025-01-01.
Which state pays the lowest Medicaid rate for T4523?
Virginia, at $0.38, effective 2014-01-01.
What unit is T4523 billed in?
Of the 44 states, 3 publish T4523 per unit, and 41 schedules print no unit at all (a flat amount per service).
Do managed-care plans pay the same rate for T4523?
Not necessarily. In 7 states, the published rate binds plans: a floor, a pass-through or a state-set rate. In 22 states, plans negotiate and the published rate is a benchmark or out-of-network default. In 1 state, the service is paid outside the plans or through a state-directed payment. 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.