North Carolina Medicaid behavioral health rates
North Carolina Medicaid pays $18.49 for mental health counseling delivered by a licensed mental health clinician, effective October 1, 2025, the 6th highest of 8 states with comparable rates. Below: 4 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
- $18.49
- Rank among states
- 6 of 8-12.7% vs median
- Mental health counselor median wage
- $26.68BLS May 2025
- North Carolina minimum wage
- $7.25
North Carolina behavioral health rates vs other states
Fee-for-service, like-for-like by provider level. Click a rate to open North Carolina's official fee schedule.
| Service | Provider level | Code | NC rate | Unit | Per hour | Rank | Median across states | Lowest | Highest | States |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mental health counseling | Licensed mental health clinician | 96152 | $18.49 | — | — | 6 of 8 | $21.18 | $0.45 | $28.05 | 8 |
| Outpatient psychotherapy and diagnostic evaluation | Licensed mental health clinician | 90845 | $83.68 | — | — | 9 of 22 | $81.17 | $20.33 | $302.03 | 22 |
| Mental health assessment (non-physician) | Physician or licensed psychologist | H0031 | $19.22 | — | — | 22 of 24 | $117.85 | $9.66 | $687.46 | 24 |
| Skills training and development | Physician or licensed psychologist | Not published | $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 | $81.25 | — | — | 5 of 15 | $38.10 | $10.00 | $338.84 | 15 |
| Community-based wraparound services | Licensed mental health clinician | Not published | $98.52/hr | $6.28 | $710.72 | 9 | ||||
| Psychiatric residential treatment (daily) | All levels | Not published | $732.72/day | $283.19 | $1,244.07 | 12 | ||||
| Inpatient psychiatric stay (per day) | All levels | $895.63 | — | — | 3 of 7 | $877.34 | $367.42 | $1,435.69 | 7 | |
Mental health counseling: where North Carolina 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 | Connecticut | $21.14 | — | — | 2026-01-01 |
| 6 | North Carolina | $18.49 | — | — | 2025-10-01 |
| 7 | Michigan | $8.62 | — | — | 2018-01-01 |
| 8 | Minnesota | $0.45 | — | — | 2024-01-01 |
What it costs to deliver in North Carolina
Median hourly wages from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey (May 2025).
| Role | NC median | US median | vs US |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mental health counselor | $26.68 | $28.53 | -6.5% |
| Mental health social worker | $27.98 | $28.98 | -3.5% |
| Clinical psychologist | $44.29 | $48.36 | -8.4% |
| Psychiatrist | $81.19 | $135.51 | -40.1% |
| Nurse practitioner | $62.01 | $63.61 | -2.5% |
| Psychiatric technician | $19.54 | $21.70 | -10.0% |
Recent North Carolina 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 North Carolina'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.