How Much Does a Psychiatrist Cost in New Jersey?

Labyrinth Psychiatry Group · Published October 15, 2026 · Clinical review by Dr. Salvatore G. Savatta pending

The short answer

In Northern New Jersey, which includes Union County and Cranford, Medicare’s 2026 approved amount for a first psychiatric evaluation with medical services (CPT 90792) is $220.41. A typical 30-minute follow-up visit (CPT 99214) is $150.65. With Original Medicare you pay 20% of those amounts once you have met the $283 Part B deductible: $44.08 for the evaluation and $30.13 for a follow-up. With an employer plan, the average specialist copay in 2025 was $45. Without insurance, the practice sets the price, and federal law gives you the right to a written estimate before you go.

What a psychiatrist visit is billed as

A psychiatry bill is a list of procedure codes, and the price follows the code. The first visit is the longest and is billed either as a psychiatric diagnostic evaluation or as a new-patient office visit. Later visits for medication management are billed by complexity, with a separate add-on code when therapy happens in the same visit. Medicare publishes an amount for every code in every region; the figures below come from the CMS Physician Fee Schedule Look-up Tool for 2026, for a visit in a doctor’s office.

Northern New Jersey is Medicare locality 01: Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Hunterdon, Middlesex, Morris, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex, Union and Warren counties. Every other county is in locality 99. Cranford is in Union County, so Labyrinth’s office uses the Northern New Jersey amounts. A follow-up with 30 minutes of therapy added (99214 plus 90833) comes to $239.43.

What you would pay with Original Medicare

Medicare Part B covers outpatient mental health care, including psychiatric evaluation and medication management, in an office or by telehealth. You pay the yearly deductible, which CMS set at $283 for 2026, and then 20% of the Medicare-approved amount. Until the deductible is met, you pay the full approved amount.

A Medicare supplement (Medigap) or a secondary plan may pay some or all of the 20%. A Medicare Advantage plan sets its own copays and network rules, so ask that plan for its psychiatry copay. If you are comparing plans now, Medicare’s Open Enrollment runs October 15 to December 7, and a new plan starts January 1.

Who you see changes the amount

Medicare pays nurse practitioners 85% of what it pays a physician for the same service and clinical social workers 75%; clinical psychologists are paid the full fee schedule amount. Your 20% shrinks or grows with it. Labyrinth’s care team includes psychiatrists, psychiatric nurse practitioners, clinical social workers and therapists.

Therapy on its own, without a medication visit, is billed by session length:

What you would pay with a work or Marketplace plan

Every Marketplace plan must cover mental health services as an essential health benefit. With a Marketplace or employer plan, your cost comes down to three numbers on your plan summary:

• A copay: a flat amount per visit. In KFF’s 2025 survey of employer health plans, the average copay for a specialist visit was $45.
• A deductible, then coinsurance: you pay the plan’s contracted rate until the deductible is met, then a percentage. The average coinsurance for a specialist visit was 19%, and the average deductible for single coverage was $1,886 among workers whose plan has one.
• The out-of-pocket maximum: once you reach it, the plan pays covered in-network care in full for the rest of the plan year. For 2026 Marketplace plans the limit is $10,600 for one person and $21,200 for a family.

Finding a psychiatrist in your network can be the hard part. In the same KFF survey, 89% of employers offering coverage said their largest plan gave timely access to specialty care, but only 70% said the same for mental health services. Labyrinth lists Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna, Medicare, TRICARE and UnitedHealthcare / Oxford. That list is not a guarantee of coverage, and the insurance and access page explains what the office checks.

Without insurance: what self-pay costs

If you have no insurance, or see a psychiatrist outside your plan’s network, the practice sets its own price, and Medicare’s amounts do not limit it. (People with Medicare have more protection; see the next section.) Labyrinth has not published self-pay prices, and this article does not guess at them; call 908-336-1187 to ask. Two federal rules protect you when you pay yourself:

1. A written estimate before the visit. Under the No Surprises Act, if you are not using insurance and schedule at least 3 business days ahead, the practice must give you a good faith estimate of expected charges. You can ask for one before you schedule.
2. A way to dispute a bill that runs over. If the bill comes in $400 or more above the estimate, you can start a federal dispute. Keep the estimate; you cannot dispute without it.

Psychiatric care counts as a medical expense under IRS Publication 502, so HSA or FSA money can usually pay for it. If cost is what is stopping you, community health centers charge based on income and refer to specialized care, including mental health, and NJ FamilyCare gives New Jersey residents who qualify free or low-cost coverage that includes mental health care. NJ FamilyCare is not on the list of plans Labyrinth publishes.

Why some psychiatrists charge $600 or more

A price like that is a practice’s own cash rate. Without Medicare, paying yourself or going out of network, nothing ties it to Medicare’s amounts. For people with Medicare, the rules depend on how the psychiatrist works with Medicare (Medicare.gov explains all three):

• Participating: accepts the Medicare amount as full payment. For a 90792 evaluation in Northern New Jersey, that is $220.41.
• Non-participating: Medicare’s approved amount for a non-participating provider is 5% lower than the regular amount (CMS manual, §20.4.1), and the provider may charge up to 15% above that lower amount. That cap is the limiting charge. CMS’s look-up tool lists it as $240.79 for the same evaluation and $164.59 for a 99214 follow-up.
• Opted out: charges what a private contract with you says, and Medicare pays nothing for the visit, even if Medicare would normally cover it.

Ask which of the three applies before the first visit. It changes your cost more than anything else on this page.

Can you go straight to a psychiatrist?

Often, yes. With Original Medicare, in most cases you do not need a referral to see a specialist; with Medicare Advantage you may. Many HMO plans require a referral from your primary care doctor before they pay for a specialist. At Labyrinth you can call the office or send a request yourself. Check your plan’s referral rule first, because a missing referral can leave the whole visit on your bill.

How to keep the cost down

1. Check the network for your exact plan. The plan name on your card matters, not only the insurer’s name. Out-of-network care does not count toward a Marketplace plan’s out-of-pocket limit.
2. Plan around your deductible. Medicare’s Part B deductible is yearly. Once you have met it, a visit costs you 20% of the approved amount instead of the full amount.
3. Ask for a good faith estimate if you pay yourself. If you are not using insurance and schedule at least 3 business days ahead, the practice must give you one, and you can ask for one before you schedule.
4. Use pre-tax money if you have it. IRS Publication 502 lists psychiatric care as a medical expense, the definition HSA and FSA rules generally follow. Your plan administrator has the final word.
5. Bring a second plan’s card. A Medicare supplement (Medigap) or a second plan may pay some or all of what the first plan leaves.
6. If money is the barrier, say so early. Community health centers charge by income, and NJ FamilyCare, New Jersey’s Medicaid program, covers mental health care for people who qualify.

What the first visit at Labyrinth covers

The first visit is a full evaluation. The clinician reviews your symptoms, history, earlier treatment and how it went, safety, health factors and your goals; what to expect from a psychiatry evaluation walks through each step. The plan that follows may include medication management, therapy, telehealth follow-ups when location and clinical needs fit, TMS, SPRAVATO, another approach or further assessment. If depression or anxiety is the reason you are coming in, that page explains how those evaluations work. A consultation does not guarantee a particular treatment.

Labyrinth Psychiatry Group sees patients at 11 Commerce Drive, Lobby Floor, Cranford, in Union County. Bring your insurance card and a list of every psychiatric medication you have taken, with doses and dates if you have them. Call 908-336-1187, use the evaluation request form, or request an appointment. Office staff follow up to arrange a time. Ask them and your plan about copays, deductibles and self-pay options before the visit.

Questions about psychiatrist cost