SESSION RATES

A few clients have asked why I don’t take insurance and in an attempt for full transparency, please read below.

1) If you are using your insurance, I will need to give you a diagnosis. This diagnosis will be on your medical file forever once the insurance companies are aware of it. If I am seeing your child, this diagnosis will follow them into adulthood.  These diagnoses may also affect you getting life insurance, getting a firearm or any job where your mental health might be called into question.

2) If you come to therapy and I am unable to diagnosis you with a diagnosis that the insurance company will pay for (such as coming to therapy for personal growth, your ex has issues and you don’t know how to end the relationship etc), therapy will have to be discontinued. Why? The insurance companies will not pay for this as this is not a diagnosis.

3) If you use your insurance, when it comes time to renew it, your premiums may rise due to your mental health diagnosis as the insurance companies could see it as a “pre-existing condition.” If you change jobs, due to having a “pre-existing condition” you may have to share it with your new company.

4) There is less confidentiality if you use insurance. The insurance companies can request an audit at any time and ask to see notes from our sessions. Why? Because the insurance companies want to make sure that your diagnosis matches up with what is being discussed in sessions.

My client’s privacy is my number one priority. I also don’t like labeling people just because the insurance companies demand it. In my sessions, my clients are able to talk about anything that is bothering them, work on goals, develop boundaries, work through their school stressors etc and as a result, they are able to achieve whatever goals they have for themselves without anyone else knowing their business.

However, if you wish your therapy session to be possibly reimbursed by your insurance company, please check your coverage carefully by asking the following questions:

Is telemental health covered?

What is my deductible and has it been met?

What is the coverage amount per therapy session?

How many sessions per year does my health insurance cover?

How do I obtain reimbursement for therapy with an out-of-network provider?

Is approval or pre-authorization required?

Not sure if therapy is right for you at this point in time?

Set up a free 10 minute consultation call so that we can discuss further.

For all clients and potential clients please read below. This is a new billing disclosure that takes effect in January 2022 and I legally have to post this on my website as well as verbally inform you.

 “Good Faith Estimate for Health Care Items and Services” Under the No Surprises Act

Under Section 2799B-6 of the Public Health Service Act, health care providers and health care facilities
are required to provide a good faith estimate of expected charges for items and services to individuals
who are not enrolled in a plan or coverage or a Federal health care program, or not seeking to file a
claim with their plan or coverage both orally and in writing, upon request or at the time of scheduling
health care items and services.

Under the new rule, psychologists and other providers must take the following steps for their uninsured or self-pay patients:

1. Ask if the patient has any kind of health insurance coverage (including government insurance programs like Medicare, Medicaid, or Tricare), and if so, whether the patient intends to submit a claim to that insurance for the service.
2. Inform all uninsured and self-pay patients that a good faith estimate of expected charges is
   • available in a written document that is clear, understandable, and prominently displayed;
   • orally provided when the service is scheduled or when the patient asks about costs; and
   • available in accessible formats, and in the language(s) spoken by the patient.
3. Provide a good faith estimate of expected charges for a scheduled or requested service, including items or services that are reasonably expected to be provided in conjunction with such scheduled or requested item or service.” That estimate must be provided within specified timeframes:
   • If the service is scheduled at least three business days before the appointment date, no later than one business day after the date of scheduling;
   • If the service is scheduled at least 10 business days before the appointment date, no later than three business days after the date of scheduling; or
   • If the uninsured or self-pay patient requests a good faith estimate (without scheduling the service), no later than three business days after the date of the request. A new good faith estimate must be provided, within the specified timeframes if the patient reschedules the requested item or service.