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Welcome  » June 18, 2026 3:22 AM
Program Name: BadgerCare Plus and Medicaid Handbook Area: Behavioral Treatment Benefit
06/18/2026  

Covered and Noncovered Services : Codes

Topic #18959

Procedure Codes

Use of CPT procedure codes and applicable modifiers is required on all behavioral treatment claims. Claims or claim adjustments received without an appropriate CPT code and corresponding modifier will be denied. The maximum allowable fee schedule indicates maximum allowable fees and copayment rates.

The following table lists CPT codes and applicable modifiers that providers are required to use when requesting PA and submitting claims for behavioral treatment services. Information on PA coding guidance and procedure codes for claims when commercial health insurance is the primary payer is available. For the full description of current procedure codes and current CPT coding guidance, refer to the current year's CPT code books.

Note: ForwardHealth is required to comply with the CMS NCCI standards. If NCCI standards change, ForwardHealth will comply with the updated standards.

Documentation requirements are available for:

Behavioral Treatment Procedure Codes

Service Type Procedure Code Procedure Code Description Required Modifier* Renderer ForwardHealth Limits
Assessment 97151 Behavior identification assessment, administered by a physician or other qualified healthcare professional, each 15 minutes of the physician's or other qualified healthcare professional's time face-to-face with patient and/or guardian(s)/caregiver(s) administering assessments and discussing findings and recommendations, and non-face-to-face analyzing past data, scoring/interpreting the assessment, and preparing the report/treatment plan TG or TF Licensed supervisor PA required for more than 96 units (24 hours) per calendar year; non-face-to-face time should not exceed face-to-face time.**
Assessment 97152 Behavior identification-supporting assessment, administered by one technician under the direction of a physician or other qualified healthcare professional, face-to-face with the patient, each 15 minutes TG or TF Licensed supervisor or treatment therapist Service is limited to two hours per DOS.
Treatment 97153 Adaptive behavior treatment by protocol, administered by technician under the direction of a physician or other qualified healthcare professional, face-to-face with one patient, each 15 minutes TG, TF, or TF-52 Any level of behavioral treatment provider as indicated by modifier Units per week established via PA.
Treatment 97154 Group adaptive behavior treatment by protocol, administered by technician under the direction of a physician or other qualified health care professional, face-to-face with two or more patients, each 15 minutes TG or TF Any level of behavioral treatment provider PA required; limited to 8 units (2 hours) per member per DOS.
Treatment 97155 Adaptive behavior treatment with protocol modification, administered by physician or other qualified healthcare professional, which may include simultaneous direction of technician, face-to-face with one patient, each 15 minutes TG or TF Licensed supervisor or treatment therapist PA required; do not bill separately for 97153 during simultaneous direction of technician.***
Treatment 97156 Family adaptive behavior treatment guidance, administered by physician or other qualified health care professional (with or without the patient present), face-to-face with guardian(s)/caregiver(s), each 15 minutes (Family Treatment Guidance) TG or TF Licensed supervisor PA required; limited to 8 units (2 hours) per DOS.
Treatment 97156 Family adaptive behavior treatment guidance, administered by physician or other qualified health care professional (with or without the patient present), face-to-face with guardian(s)/caregiver(s), each 15 minutes (Team Meeting) TG or TF with AM (Physician, team member service) Licensed supervisor or treatment therapist PA required; limited to 4 units (1 hour) per week.
Treatment 97158 Group adaptive behavior treatment with protocol modification, administered by physician or other qualified health care professional, face-to-face with multiple patients, each 15 minutes TG or TF Licensed supervisor or treatment therapist PA required; limited to 8 units (2 hours) per member per DOS.

* TG = Comprehensive treatment, TF = Focused treatment, TF-52 = Focused treatment that can be rendered by technicians
** Providers are required to document exceptional circumstances that require more than 50 percent non-face-to-face hours for behavior identification assessment (procedure code 97151)
*** Providers are required to request all direct treatment units for CPT procedure codes 97153 and 97155 by including the cumulative total of requested treatment units as a single line item using procedure code 97153. Direct treatment units submitted on claims using either of these CPT procedure codes will be deducted from the cumulative total of approved treatment units.
 
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