Select Health Prohibited Extended Therapy Billing
The insurer limited psychotherapy billing to one unit of service starting in January 2026.
Updated on Oct. 10, 2026 in Mental Health
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In January 2026, Select Health implemented policy CR-110, which prohibits the billing of extended psychotherapy sessions exceeding 60 minutes. This change impacts therapists in Utah who previously billed for longer, medically necessary services.
Why it matters
The policy change creates significant administrative burdens for providers and may force patients to pay multiple co-pays for split sessions. Select Health claims the shift aligns with documentation requirements and supports consistent billing practices.
Select Health now restricts billing to one unit of service per patient, effectively ending the practice of billing for sessions lasting 90-120 minutes. The American Medical Association removed the relevant modifier codes for these extended services in 2023.
The players
Select Health
This is a health insurance provider that maintains a significant network of members and contracted clinicians within the state of Utah.
American Medical Association
This national professional association sets clinical standards and maintains the CPT code sets used by healthcare providers for billing purposes.
The details
Therapists must now either reschedule patients or split extended sessions into multiple appointments to account for time exceeding the 60-minute standard. Providers have noted this transition disrupts continuity of care and forces clients to incur additional out-of-pocket co-pay costs.
Timeline
In 2023, the AMA removed modifier codes for extended psychotherapy.
Select Health notified providers of the billing change in January 2026.
FOX 13 published an initial report on the billing practices in September 2026.
This article was published on October 9, 2026.
Health Landscape
The insurer's policy change follows a pattern set by the American Medical Association's 2023 removal of extended psychotherapy modifier codes. This shift reflects a broader trend of insurance providers tightening adherence to standardized time-based documentation requirements.
Patients requiring sessions longer than 60 minutes may face the inconvenience of splitting their treatment into multiple visits. This change often results in patients paying additional co-pays for each individual session booked with their provider.
The takeaway
Patients who need extended therapy should review their coverage documents to understand how session time limits might impact their care schedule. Proactively discussing billing options with a therapist can help clarify whether split sessions will lead to recurring out-of-pocket costs.
Further reading
For more on local healthcare trends, visit the Mental Health section for Utah.
Source note: This article includes information reported by FOX 13 News Utah (KSTU).
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