15833 Medicaid reimbursement rate by state (2026)
Physician and practitioner services (fee schedule). Medicaid pays a median of $628.29 for 15833 across 29 states, from $90.56 in Rhode Island to $891.85 in Hawaii.
- States publishing
- 29
- National median
- $628.29units vary by state
- Lowest
- $90.56Rhode Island
- Highest
- $891.85Hawaii
What does Medicaid pay for 15833?
29 state Medicaid programs publish a fee-for-service rate for 15833. The national median is $628.29 (units differ between states). Hawaii pays the most, $891.85, and Rhode Island the least, $90.56, a 9.8x spread.
15833 rate by state: highest, middle and lowest
One like-for-like fee-for-service rate per state, ranked. The workspace lists all 29 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 15833, 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 29 states list more than one rate for 15833, 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 29 states, 2 publish 15833 per unit, and 27 schedules print no unit at all (a flat amount per service).
- Per hour. 15833 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 15833, 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 15833 rates differ between states
Published rates for 15833 run from $90.56 in Rhode Island to $891.85 in Hawaii, a 9.8x gap in the same unit. Half the states pay more than the median of $628.29 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. 19 states set the current rate for 15833 in 2026 or later, while 7 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 15833
Most Medicaid members are in managed-care plans, and plans don't publish their provider fee schedules. For 15833, the public signal is the rule each state sets for its plans, recorded on each rate above.
In 6 states, the published rate binds plans: a floor, a pass-through or a state-set rate. In 15 states, plans negotiate and the published rate is a benchmark or out-of-network default. The rule for the remaining 8 states is not classified yet.
- Plans negotiate; the published rate applies out of network (15 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 (6 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 Hawaii managed care.
Units and billing for 15833
15833 is a CPT surgery code in the physician & professional line, billed mostly by physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants and other licensed practitioners. Surgical codes are paid once per procedure. The fee can include a global period of related care before and after the procedure, and modifiers for multiple, bilateral or assistant procedures raise or reduce what is actually paid.
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.
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 15833?
It depends on the state. Of the 29 states with a published fee-for-service rate, the median is $628.29. Hawaii pays the most ($891.85) and Rhode Island the least ($90.56).
Which state pays the highest Medicaid rate for 15833?
Hawaii, at $891.85, effective 2026-06-01.
Which state pays the lowest Medicaid rate for 15833?
Rhode Island, at $90.56, effective 1993-04-01.
What unit is 15833 billed in?
Of the 29 states, 2 publish 15833 per unit, and 27 schedules print no unit at all (a flat amount per service).
Do managed-care plans pay the same rate for 15833?
Not necessarily. In 6 states, the published rate binds plans: a floor, a pass-through or a state-set rate. In 15 states, plans negotiate and the published rate is a benchmark or out-of-network default. The rule for the remaining 8 states is not classified yet. Each rule is cited to the plan contract, statute or notice in the workspace.