Louisiana Medicaid behavioral health rates
Louisiana Medicaid pays $45.30 per 30 min ($90.60 an hour) for outpatient psychotherapy and diagnostic evaluation delivered by a licensed mental health clinician, effective July 1, 2025. Below: 5 more behavioral health rates compared with every state we track, the wages of the staff who deliver them, and recent rate changes.
- Outpatient psychotherapy and diagnostic evaluation
- $45.30per 30 min · $90.60/hr
- Rank among states
- —
- Mental health counselor median wage
- $18.22BLS May 2025
- Louisiana minimum wage
- $7.25
Louisiana behavioral health rates vs other states
Fee-for-service, like-for-like by provider level. Click a rate to open Louisiana's official fee schedule.
| Service | Provider level | Code | LA rate | Unit | Per hour | Rank | Median across states | Lowest | Highest | States |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mental health counseling | Licensed mental health clinician | Not published | $21.18 | $0.45 | $28.05 | 8 | ||||
| Outpatient psychotherapy and diagnostic evaluation | Licensed mental health clinician | 90832 | $45.30 | 30 min | $90.60 | — | $81.17 | $20.33 | $302.03 | 22 |
| Mental health assessment (non-physician) | Physician or licensed psychologist | H0031 | $10.00 | — | — | 23 of 24 | $117.85 | $9.66 | $687.46 | 24 |
| Skills training and development | Physician or licensed psychologist | H2014 | $7.80 | 15 min. | — | — | $47.80/hr | $10.00 | $120.60 | 23 |
| Therapeutic behavioral services | Physician or licensed psychologist | Not published | $78.64/hr | $16.80 | $825.88 | 20 | ||||
| Mental health service plan development | Licensed mental health clinician | H0032 | $10.00 | — | — | 15 of 15 | $38.10 | $10.00 | $338.84 | 15 |
| Community-based wraparound services | Licensed mental health clinician | H2021 | $177.68 | 15 min | $710.72 | 1 of 9 | $98.52/hr | $6.28 | $710.72 | 9 |
| Psychiatric residential treatment (daily) | All levels | H2013 | $448.73 | day | — | 11 of 12 | $732.72/day | $283.19 | $1,244.07 | 12 |
| Inpatient psychiatric stay (per day) | All levels | Not published | $877.34 | $367.42 | $1,435.69 | 7 | ||||
Outpatient psychotherapy and diagnostic evaluation: where Louisiana ranks
States whose published unit can't be converted are left out of the ranking.
| # | State | Rate | Unit | Per hour | Effective |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | $302.03 | — | — | 2026-07-01 |
| 2 | New Mexico | $144.88 | — | — | 2025-01-01 |
| 3 | Nebraska | $115.68 | — | — | 2026-07-01 |
| 4 | Wisconsin | $95.02 | — | — | 2022-01-01 |
| 5 | Mississippi | $93.38 | — | — | 2026-07-01 |
| 6 | Minnesota | $87.61 | — | — | 2026-02-01 |
| 7 | Texas | $85.32 | — | — | 2026-03-01 |
| 8 | Maryland | $85.29 | — | — | 2025-07-01 |
| 9 | North Carolina | $83.68 | — | — | 2025-10-01 |
| 10 | Colorado | $82.99 | — | — | 2026-07-01 |
| 11 | Nevada | $81.42 | — | — | 2024-12-02 |
| 12 | Georgia | $80.92 | — | — | 2017-01-01 |
| 13 | Connecticut | $80.33 | — | — | 2026-01-01 |
| 14 | Alabama | $80.12 | — | — | 2025-12-01 |
| 15 | Arkansas | $77.27 | — | — | 2025-06-13 |
| 16 | Washington | $76.89 | — | — | 2026-07-01 |
| 17 | Kansas | $73.68 | — | — | 2024-08-01 |
| 18 | Michigan | $69.15 | — | — | 2025-01-01 |
| 19 | Massachusetts | $63.68 | — | — | 2026-10-01 |
| 20 | Iowa | $58.46 | — | — | 2018-09-01 |
| 21 | Pennsylvania | $44.57 | — | — | 2016-10-31 |
| 22 | Missouri | $20.33 | — | — | 2022-07-01 |
What it costs to deliver in Louisiana
Median hourly wages from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey (May 2025).
| Role | LA median | US median | vs US |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mental health counselor | $18.22 | $28.53 | -36.1% |
| Mental health social worker | $22.64 | $28.98 | -21.9% |
| Clinical psychologist | $34.29 | $48.36 | -29.1% |
| Psychiatrist | $165.88 | $135.51 | +22.4% |
| Nurse practitioner | $60.38 | $63.61 | -5.1% |
| Psychiatric technician | $15.12 | $21.70 | -30.3% |
Recent Louisiana behavioral health rate changes
| Change | Status | Change | Effective |
|---|---|---|---|
| LDH Informational Bulletin 25-31: ASAM Criteria 4th Edition Service Updates and Rate Revisions | effective | — | 2026-01-01 |
| Specialized Behavioral Health fee schedule issued 2026-01-01 | effective | +177.8% | 2026-01-01 |
| Specialized Behavioral Health fee schedule issued 2025-10-01 | effective | +17.4% | 2025-10-01 |
| Specialized Behavioral Health fee schedule issued 2025-07-01 | effective | +25.0% | 2025-07-01 |
| CMS approves Louisiana SDP LA_Fee_BHO2_Renewal_20250101-20251231 | approved_cms | — | 2025-01-01 |
| Specialized Behavioral Health fee schedule issued 2024-08-01 | effective | -0.8% | 2024-08-01 |
| CMS approves Louisiana SDP LA_Fee_BHO3_Renewal_20240701-20250630 | approved_cms | — | 2024-07-01 |
| CMS approves Louisiana SDP LA_Fee_BHO_Renewal_20240701-20250630 | approved_cms | — | 2024-07-01 |
| CMS approves Louisiana SDP LA_Fee_BHO2_New_20240101-20241231 | approved_cms | — | 2024-01-01 |
| CMS approves Louisiana SDP LA_VBP.Fee_HCBS.BHO_Renewal_20240101-20241231 | approved_cms | — | 2024-01-01 |
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 Louisiana'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.