Even if you don’t bill insurance through the Alma billing platform, you may read my article on Aetna’s decision to pay 90834 and 90837 sessions at the same rate for Alma clinicians, 99214 and 99215 at the same rate, and to pay doctoral and master’s level clinicians at the same rate.
Here’s the update: On July 9th, 2026 Alma sent an email to members stating that after negotiations with Aetna they were able to “partially reverse” the proposed changes. CPT codes 90837 and 90834 rates will not be the same, E&M codes 99214 and 99215 rates will not be the same, and “reimbursement will continue to reflect degree type and training,” rather than paying the same rate for providers with different license levels. The rate changes were postponed until August 15th.
However, Aetna’s final rates will reduce overall reimbursement for providers.
Alma acknowledges that this “partial reversal” came about due to push back from members and professional associations who became involved. So if you ever think advocacy doesn’t work, remind yourself that it can — even if only “partially.”
What Alma wrote to their providers
