Doctor visits and therapy CPT 90834 Outpatient

Therapy session, 45 min cost in Boston, MA

In Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH, 21 hospitals list a cash price for psychotherapy session, 45 minutes: from $100.00 to $1,029.00, with a median of $340.00. The lowest listed price is at Cambridge Health Alliance — $240.00 less than the median here. Across Massachusetts, the median is $250.50 at 25 hospitals.

  • The median here, $340.00, is 59% above the US median of $213.24.
  • That is 1.9× Medicare's 2026 national rate for the same service ($181.34).
  • 13 of 21 hospitals list a cash price equal to their full list price, with no self-pay discount.

Cash prices at 21 facilities across 16 cities for code 90834, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Nov 3, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Dec 15, 2025 and Sep 1, 2026.

Lowest$100.00Cambridge Health Alliance
Median$340.00half of hospitals charge less
Highest$1,029.00in this market
Difference10.3×highest vs lowest

Where each hospital's price falls

Each dot is one hospital's cash price on a scale from the lowest to the highest in Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH.

median
Lowest $100.00Highest $1,029.00

Hospitals, cheapest first

HospitalCash priceList priceInsurers payOff list
Cambridge Health Alliance lowest Cambridge, MA · (617) 665-1000 Psychotherapy Patient &/ Family 45 Minutes File of Mar 20, 2026 · source file $100.00 $100.00 $11.72–$297.70 —
Boston Medical Center Boston, MA · (617) 638-8000 HC Psychotherapy W/Patient 45 Minutes File of Mar 13, 2026 · source file $114.30 $254.00 $27.84–$512.54 55%
Northeast Hospital Beverly, MA · (978) 922-3000 HC PSYCHCHOTHERAPY, 45 MINUTES WITH PATIENT File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file $123.00 $123.00 — —
Tufts Medical Center Boston, MA · (617) 636-5000 Hosp Psychotherapy W Patient Level 3 File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file $142.80 $204.00 $31.64–$399.22 30%
Cambridge Health Alliance Cambridge, MA · (617) 665-1000 HC IP Psychotherapy 45 Min+1 more line at this price File of Mar 20, 2026 · source file $165.00 $165.00 $11.72–$297.70 —
Tufts Medical Center Boston, MA · (617) 636-5000 HC Telemed Psytx W Pt 45 Min File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file $176.40 $252.00 $31.64–$399.22 30%
Boston Medical Center Brighton Boston, MA · (617) 789-3000 HC Psychotherapy W/Patient 45 Minutes File of Mar 13, 2026 · source file $184.89 $410.86 $40.19–$475.07 55%
Lowell General Hospital Lowell, MA · (978) 937-6000 Hosp Psychotherapy W Patient Level 3 File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file $221.20 $316.00 $27.16–$316.00 30%
Melrosewakefield Healthcare Melrose, MA · (781) 979-3000 Hosp Psychotherapy W Patient Level 3 File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file $233.80 $334.00 $41.74–$530.75 30%
Signature Healthcare Brockton Hospital Brockton, MA · (508) 941-7000 PSY TX; W/PT 45 MIN File of Jan 28, 2026 · source file $247.10 $353.00 $116.02–$264.68 30%
Southcoast Hospitals Group - Tobey Hospital Campus Wareham, MA · (508) 679-3131 HC Psychotherapy W/Patient 45 Minutes File of Dec 15, 2025 · source file $250.50 $501.00 $107.11–$411.86 50%
Emerson Hospital Concord, MA · (978) 369-1400 PSYTX W PT 45 MINUTES+1 more line at this price File of May 18, 2026 · source file $308.25 $411.00 $189.62–$411.00 25%
Mount Auburn Hospital Cambridge, MA · (617) 492-3500 HC PSYCHCHOTHERAPY, 45 MINUTES WITH PATIENT File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file $340.00 $340.00 — —
Lahey Hospital & Medical Center, Burlington Burlington, MA · (781) 744-5100 HC PSYCHCHOTHERAPY, 45 MINUTES WITH PATIENT File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file $366.00 $366.00 — —
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Boston, MA · (617) 667-7000 HC PSYCHCHOTHERAPY, 45 MINUTES WITH PATIENT File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file $438.00 $438.00 — —
New England Baptist Hospital Boston, MA · (617) 754-5800 HC PSYCHCHOTHERAPY, 45 MINUTES WITH PATIENT File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file $490.00 $490.00 — —
Winchester Hospital Winchester, MA · (781) 729-9000 HC PSYCHCHOTHERAPY, 45 MINUTES WITH PATIENT File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file $762.00 $762.00 — —
Frisbie Memorial Hospital Rochester, NH · (603) 332-5211 INDIV SESSION 45MIN File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file $806.00 $806.00 $66.41–$486.02 —
Portsmouth Regional Hospital Portsmouth, NH · (603) 436-5110 INDIV SESSION 45MIN File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file $1,007.00 $1,007.00 $41.49–$956.65 —
Seabrook Emergency Seabrook, NH · (603) 436-5110 INDIV SESSION 45MIN File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file $1,007.00 $1,007.00 $41.49–$956.65 —
Dover Emergency Room Dover, NH · (603) 436-5110 INDIV SESSION 45MIN File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file $1,007.00 $1,007.00 $41.49–$956.65 —
Plaistow Fser Plaistow, NH · (603) 421-2100 INDIV SESSION 45MIN File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file $1,029.00 $1,029.00 $31.80–$977.55 —
Parkland Medical Center Derry, NH · (603) 421-2100 INDIV SESSION 45MIN File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file $1,029.00 $1,029.00 $31.80–$977.55 —
Hospital The hospital that published the price, its city and the line exactly as written in its price file.
Cash price The hospital's own price for a patient paying without insurance (“discounted cash” in its price file). Hospitals must publish it under federal law, 45 CFR 180.50. Call to confirm it before booking. More
List price The hospital's full chargemaster price (“gross charge”) before any discount. Almost nobody pays it; the gap to the cash price shows what the self-pay discount is worth. More
Insurers pay The lowest and highest rates this hospital has agreed with insurance plans for the same item, from its price file. If the cash price is below what your plan pays and you have not met your deductible, paying cash can cost you less. More
Off list How much lower the cash price is than the list price.
At or below Medicare This cash price is at or below what Medicare pays a hospital for the same service, which is unusually low. It is what the hospital's file says; confirm it and what it includes before booking. More
No cash discount This line's cash price equals the hospital's full list price. Many hospitals still reduce bills for uninsured patients: ask the billing office for its self-pay discount in writing. More

Outpatient: lowest $100.00, median $340.00, highest $1,029.00 — a 10.3× difference within the same market.

As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 14 facilities here, median $240.45. Inpatient and outpatient prices are not comparable and are kept on separate pages: the inpatient charge covers admission, not the same purchase.

Cash or insurance?

At 9 of 15 hospitals that publish insurer rates for this code here, the cash price is below the highest rate a health plan has negotiated, and at none is it below every plan's rate. If you have insurance but have not met your deductible, you usually pay your plan's negotiated rate, which falls somewhere in the "Insurers pay" column. Paying cash can cost less, but a cash payment usually does not count toward your deductible. Ask the hospital for both numbers before you book.

What therapy session, 45 min is, what the price covers and why prices differ: Therapy session, 45 min explained.