Crisis therapy cost in Boston, MA
In Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH, 16 hospitals list a cash price for psychotherapy for crisis, first 60 minutes: from $107.55 to $938.29, with a median of $403.00. The lowest listed price is at Boston Medical Center — $295.45 less than the median here. Across Massachusetts, the median is $403.00 at 18 hospitals.
- The median here, $403.00, is 58% above the US median of $254.84.
- That is 2.2× Medicare's 2026 national rate for the same service ($181.34).
- 11 of 16 hospitals list a cash price equal to their full list price, with no self-pay discount.
Cash prices at 16 facilities across 10 cities for code 90839, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Sep 27, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Jan 28, 2026 and Apr 1, 2026.
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.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston Medical Center lowest Boston, MA · (617) 638-8000 HC Psychotherapy for Crisis Initial 60 Minutes File of Mar 13, 2026 · source file | $107.55 | $239.00 | $27.84–$512.54 | 55% |
| Cambridge Health Alliance Cambridge, MA · (617) 665-1000 HC Psychother for Crisis 1st 60m File of Mar 20, 2026 · source file | $165.00 | $165.00 | $11.72–$297.70 | — |
| Northeast Hospital Beverly, MA · (978) 922-3000 HC PSYCH THERAPY CRISIS INIT 60 MIN File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $191.00 | $191.00 | — | — |
| Tufts Medical Center Boston, MA · (617) 636-5000 Hosp Psychotherapy for Crisis Initial File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $241.50 | $345.00 | $31.64–$345.00 | 30% |
| Signature Healthcare Brockton Hospital Brockton, MA · (508) 941-7000 PSY TX; CRISIS FRST 60 MIN File of Jan 28, 2026 · source file | $247.10 | $353.00 | $130.61–$501.00 | 30% |
| Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Boston, MA · (617) 667-7000 HC PSYCH THERAPY CRISIS INIT 60 MIN File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $296.00 | $296.00 | — | — |
| Tufts Medical Center Boston, MA · (617) 636-5000 HC Telemed Psytx Crisis Initial 60 Min File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $319.20 | $456.00 | $31.64–$456.00 | 30% |
| Lahey Hospital & Medical Center, Burlington Burlington, MA · (781) 744-5100 HC PSYCH THERAPY CRISIS INIT 60 MIN File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $366.00 | $366.00 | — | — |
| Mount Auburn Hospital Cambridge, MA · (617) 492-3500 HC PSYCH THERAPY CRISIS INIT 60 MIN File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $385.00 | $385.00 | — | — |
| New England Baptist Hospital Boston, MA · (617) 754-5800 HC PSYCH THERAPY CRISIS INIT 60 MIN File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $421.00 | $421.00 | — | — |
| Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital - Needham Needham, MA · (781) 453-3002 HC PSYCH THERAPY CRISIS INIT 60 MIN File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $472.00 | $472.00 | — | — |
| Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital-Milton Milton, MA · (617) 696-4600 HC PSYCH THERAPY CRISIS INIT 60 MIN File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $499.00 | $499.00 | — | — |
| Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital - Plymouth Plymouth, MA · (508) 746-2000 HC PSYCH THERAPY CRISIS INIT 60 MIN File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $499.00 | $499.00 | — | — |
| Anna Jaques Hospital Newburyport, MA · (978) 463-1000 HC PSYCH THERAPY CRISIS INIT 60 MIN File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $499.00 | $499.00 | — | — |
| Winchester Hospital Winchester, MA · (781) 729-9000 HC PSYCH THERAPY CRISIS INIT 60 MIN File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $535.00 | $535.00 | — | — |
| Boston Medical Center Brighton Boston, MA · (617) 789-3000 HC Psychotherapy for Crisis Initial 60 Minutes File of Mar 13, 2026 · source file | $938.29 | $2,085.09 | $29.12–$1,579.04 | 55% |
| Boston Medical Center South Brockton, MA · (508) 427-3000 HC Psychotherapy for Crisis Initial 60 Minutes File of Mar 13, 2026 · source file | $938.29 | $2,085.09 | $30.54–$1,563.82 | 55% |
Outpatient: lowest $107.55, median $403.00, highest $938.29 — a 8.7× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 16 facilities here, median $403.00. 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 6 of 6 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 crisis therapy is, what the price covers and why prices differ: Crisis therapy explained.