99291 Medicaid reimbursement rate by state (2026)
Physician and practitioner services (fee schedule). Medicaid pays a median of $215.02 for 99291 across 49 states, from $84.68 in New York to $538.26 in Alaska.
- States publishing
- 49
- National median
- $215.02units vary by state
- Lowest
- $84.68New York
- Highest
- $538.26Alaska
What does Medicaid pay for 99291?
49 state Medicaid programs publish a fee-for-service rate for 99291. The national median is $215.02 (units differ between states). Alaska pays the most, $538.26, and New York the least, $84.68 per unit, a 6.4x spread.
Medicare (non-facility, 2026 physician fee schedule): $281.30–$386.53 depending on the state's Medicare locality.
99291 rate by state: highest, middle and lowest
One like-for-like fee-for-service rate per state, ranked. The workspace lists all 49 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 99291, 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. 40 of the 49 states list more than one rate for 99291, 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 49 states, 2 publish 99291 per unit, and 47 schedules print no unit at all (a flat amount per service).
- Per hour. 99291 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 99291, 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 99291 rates differ between states
Published rates for 99291 run from $84.68 in New York to $538.26 in Alaska. The two publish it in different units (no unit printed versus unit), so part of that gap is the unit rather than the price. Half the states pay more than the median of $215.02 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Timing matters too. 31 states set the current rate for 99291 in 2026 or later, while 8 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 99291
What a plan pays for 99291 is negotiated privately, but the state decides how much room there is to negotiate. Here is how the rules break down across the 49 states.
In 14 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. The rule for the remaining 13 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 (14 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 Alaska managed care.
Units and billing for 99291
99291 is a CPT evaluation and management code in the physician & professional line, billed mostly by physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants and other licensed practitioners. Evaluation and management codes are billed once per visit. The code itself sets the level of the visit, so there is no time unit to multiply, and the setting (office, hospital, facility) decides which code applies.
Where a state publishes separate facility and non-facility amounts, the non-facility (office) amount is usually higher because the practice carries the overhead. 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.
Medicare's 2026 physician fee schedule pays $281.30–$386.53 for 99291 (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 99291?
It depends on the state. Of the 49 states with a published fee-for-service rate, the median is $215.02. Alaska pays the most ($538.26) and New York the least ($84.68 per unit).
Which state pays the highest Medicaid rate for 99291?
Alaska, at $538.26, effective 2026-07-01.
Which state pays the lowest Medicaid rate for 99291?
New York, at $84.68 per unit, effective 2023-01-01. It publishes the code in a different unit from Alaska, so compare per unit with care.
What unit is 99291 billed in?
Of the 49 states, 2 publish 99291 per unit, and 47 schedules print no unit at all (a flat amount per service).
Do managed-care plans pay the same rate for 99291?
Not necessarily. In 14 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. The rule for the remaining 13 states is not classified yet. Each rule is cited to the plan contract, statute or notice in the workspace.