Payment

Payment for Services

Payments for psychotherapy services must be made prior to the time of each session. I only accept Medicare and self-pay. Acceptable payment forms include check, cash, and credit/debit card. Please note: a 2.75% tax is added onto credit/debit card transactions.

Advantages of Self-Pay

1. Paying for psychotherapy out of pocket minimizes the exposure of your protected health information (PHI). Whenever you use insurance benefits to cover psychotherapy, the provider, albeit with your consent, has to release certain types of information to the insurance carrier in order to a) verify your eligibility for coverage, b) pre-authorize services (if applicable), and c) to process claims to obtain payment. As the result, the provider informs the insurance carrier of such personal matters as the nature of the issues you struggle with (presenting problem), psychiatric diagnosis, your treatment plan, and prognosis. In the event of Self-pay, your therapy remains completely private (with the exceptions to confidentiality such as in the event of persistent suicidal ideation, etc.). No reports of your treatment are shared with your insurance and all records remain with the therapist only.

2. Furthermore, the advantage of Self-Pay includes the fact that no records of therapy exist in the Medical Information Bureau. MIB records of your therapy could potentially compromise your ability to get current or future life, health, disability, or long-term care insurance. Self-Pay, thus, involves no psychiatric diagnosis code. If, however, you were using your insurance benefits, you would have to be assigned a psychiatric diagnosis in order for the provider to justify the medical necessity for the services provided. Once such diagnosis code is recorded by the insurance, it becomes part of your health care record.

3. Since there are certain types of therapy that may not be covered by your insurance, such as relationship or couples therapy or group therapy, and certain modalities of therapy that might not be covered by your insurance, Self-Pay allows you to stay in control of your treatment. Self-pay allows you to also determine the length of your treatment based on your needs rather than on the basis of the allotted session benefits.

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Fees and Insurance

Although I only accept Medicare, I am happy to provide you with a monthly statement that you can submit for reimbursement should you have another insurance provider. I strongly encourage you to contact your insurance regarding their willingness to reimburse an out-of-network provider as many do so.

Below are some simple steps to helping you get reimbursed :

1. Find out what your insurance plan allows for mental/ behavioral health coverage by calling or looking online for the specific reimbursement rate (for out of network providers) that your plan allows.
2. Check to see if there is a deductible that you will need to meet first.
3. If you have HSA or FSA funds, these can often be used to pay directly for my clinical services.
4. Locate the correct form from your insurance company. The form is usually called "Claim form for Out of Network Reimbursement."
5. I will provide you with the proper code information on a super bill that will serve as your receipt.
6. When your forms are filled out, you will send in the paperwork (by mail, email, fax, uploading) and your insurance company will process it. The insurance company will send you a check back directly to the policy holder for the money that they will return as reimbursement.

If you have any other questions, please call my office at 802-451-0241