California Medicaid behavioral health rates
California Medicaid pays $28.38 per 15 min ($113.52 an hour) for mental health counseling delivered by a licensed mental health clinician, effective October 1, 2026. Below: 7 more behavioral health rates compared with every state we track, the wages of the staff who deliver them, and recent rate changes.
- Mental health counseling
- $28.38per 15 min · $113.52/hr
- Rank among states
- —
- Mental health counselor median wage
- $28.48BLS May 2025
- California minimum wage
- $16.90$17.40 from January 1, 2027
California behavioral health rates vs other states
Fee-for-service, like-for-like by provider level. Click a rate to open California's official fee schedule.
| Service | Provider level | Code | CA rate | Unit | Per hour | Rank | Median across states | Lowest | Highest | States |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mental health counseling | Licensed mental health clinician | H0004 | $28.38 | 15 min | $113.52 | — | $21.21 | $0.45 | $28.05 | 7 |
| Outpatient psychotherapy and diagnostic evaluation | Licensed mental health clinician | 90847 | $302.03 | — | — | 1 of 12 | $81.18 | $20.33 | $302.03 | 12 |
| Mental health assessment (non-physician) | Physician or licensed psychologist | 90792 | $668.95 | — | — | 2 of 17 | $83.45 | $9.66 | $687.46 | 17 |
| Skills training and development | Bachelor's-level staff | H2014 | $20.11 | 15 min | $80.44 | 3 of 13 | $47.80/hr | $10.00 | $104.24 | 13 |
| Therapeutic behavioral services | Physician or licensed psychologist | H2019 | $206.47 | 15 min | $825.88 | 1 of 13 | $73.48/hr | $19.52 | $825.88 | 13 |
| Mental health service plan development | Licensed mental health clinician | 99366 | $338.84 | — | — | 1 of 10 | $62.84 | $10.00 | $338.84 | 10 |
| Community-based wraparound services | Licensed mental health clinician | H2021 | $28.38 | 15 min | $113.52 | 4 of 8 | $106.02/hr | $6.28 | $710.72 | 8 |
| Psychiatric residential treatment (daily) | All levels | Not published | $525.00/day | $283.19 | $1,244.07 | 9 | ||||
| Inpatient psychiatric stay (per day) | All levels | H0046 | $894.62 | 24 Hour | — | — | $886.49 | $623.70 | $1,435.69 | 6 |
Mental health counseling: where California ranks
States whose published unit can't be converted are left out of the ranking.
| # | State | Rate | Unit | Per hour | Effective |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Washington | $28.05 | — | — | 2021-01-01 |
| 2 | Wisconsin | $27.43 | — | — | 2022-01-01 |
| 3 | Massachusetts | $22.95 | — | — | 2025-09-01 |
| 4 | Ohio | $21.21 | — | — | 2020-06-12 |
| 5 | North Carolina | $18.49 | — | — | 2025-10-01 |
| 6 | Michigan | $8.62 | — | — | 2018-01-01 |
| 7 | Minnesota | $0.45 | — | — | 2024-01-01 |
What it costs to deliver in California
Median hourly wages from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey (May 2025).
| Role | CA median | US median | vs US |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mental health counselor | $28.48 | $28.53 | -0.2% |
| Mental health social worker | $37.98 | $28.98 | +31.1% |
| Clinical psychologist | $55.77 | $48.36 | +15.3% |
| Psychiatrist | $169.95 | $135.51 | +25.4% |
| Nurse practitioner | $81.02 | $63.61 | +27.4% |
| Psychiatric technician | $23.62 | $21.70 | +8.8% |
Recent California behavioral health rate changes
The workspace adds every modifier, region and provider variant, full rate history, proposed changes, coverage and prior-authorization rules, managed-care plans and a unit-economics calculator. All of it is available through the API.
Rates are taken from California's official Medicaid publications, and each one links to its source. Confirm with the payer before billing. Managed-care plans may pay differently from fee-for-service.