Virginia Medicaid behavioral health rates
Virginia Medicaid pays $85.02 per 45 min for outpatient psychotherapy and diagnostic evaluation delivered by a licensed mental health clinician, effective July 1, 2026. 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
- $85.02per 45 min
- Rank among states
- —
- Mental health counselor median wage
- $28.79BLS May 2025
- Virginia minimum wage
- $12.77$13.75 from January 1, 2027
Virginia behavioral health rates vs other states
Fee-for-service, like-for-like by provider level. Click a rate to open Virginia's official fee schedule.
| Service | Provider level | Code | VA rate | Unit | Per hour | Rank | Median across states | Lowest | Highest | States |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mental health counseling | Licensed mental health clinician | Not published | $21.21 | $0.45 | $28.05 | 7 | ||||
| Outpatient psychotherapy and diagnostic evaluation | Licensed mental health clinician | 90836 | $85.02 | 45 min | — | — | $81.18 | $20.33 | $302.03 | 12 |
| Mental health assessment (non-physician) | Physician or licensed psychologist | H0032 | $45.21 | — | — | 9 of 15 | $91.21 | $9.66 | $687.46 | 15 |
| Skills training and development | Agency provider | H0046 | $102.72 | — | — | — | $44.08/hr | $10.00 | $104.24 | 12 |
| Therapeutic behavioral services | Physician or licensed psychologist | Not published | $73.80/hr | $19.52 | $825.88 | 12 | ||||
| Mental health service plan development | Licensed mental health clinician | H0032 | $102.72 | — | — | 3 of 8 | $81.85 | $13.67 | $338.84 | 8 |
| Community-based wraparound services | Behavior technician | H2021 | $70.00 | 15 min | $280.00 | 1 of 7 | $98.52/hr | $32.40 | $280.00 | 7 |
| Psychiatric residential treatment (daily) | All levels | $571.62 | Per Diem Rate | — | — | $891.57/day | $283.19 | $1,244.07 | 6 | |
| Inpatient psychiatric stay (per day) | All levels | Not published | $877.34 | $623.70 | $1,435.69 | 5 | ||||
Outpatient psychotherapy and diagnostic evaluation: where Virginia 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 | Nebraska | $115.68 | — | — | 2026-07-01 |
| 3 | Texas | $85.32 | — | — | 2026-03-01 |
| 4 | Maryland | $84.67 | — | — | 2021-11-01 |
| 5 | North Carolina | $83.68 | — | — | 2025-10-01 |
| 6 | Colorado | $82.99 | — | — | 2026-07-01 |
| 7 | Georgia | $79.36 | — | — | 2017-01-01 |
| 8 | Washington | $76.89 | — | — | 2026-07-01 |
| 9 | Michigan | $68.48 | — | — | 2026-01-01 |
| 10 | Massachusetts | $63.68 | — | — | 2026-10-01 |
| 11 | Pennsylvania | $26.25 | — | — | 2020-01-17 |
| 12 | Missouri | $20.33 | — | — | 2022-07-01 |
What it costs to deliver in Virginia
Median hourly wages from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey (May 2025).
| Role | VA median | US median | vs US |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mental health counselor | $28.79 | $28.53 | +0.9% |
| Mental health social worker | $30.89 | $28.98 | +6.6% |
| Clinical psychologist | $41.60 | $48.36 | -14.0% |
| Psychiatrist | $141.83 | $135.51 | +4.7% |
| Nurse practitioner | $61.45 | $63.61 | -3.4% |
| Psychiatric technician | $23.23 | $21.70 | +7.1% |
Recent Virginia 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 Virginia'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.