"What are your fees and
how do you handle payments?"
- My standard rate for individual, family, or couple therapy is $130/ 50 minute "hour” if paid with check, cash, Venmo or PayPall and $135/"hour" if paid by charge, debit, or FSA/FLEX card. Full payment is expected at the time of service.
- "Extended sessions" beyond the standard 50 minute "hour" are prorated in quarter hour increments based on the standard rates noted above.
- Phone, video, and email consultations are also at the standard rate with payment to be paid within 10 days of service.
- Missed meetings, not cancelled 24 hours in advance, will result in a $65 charge to be paid within 10 days of the missed appointment.
- Court related consultation, evaluation, or testimony must be paid in advance at $275/ “hour”.
"Do you take insurance?"
- After serious consideration, I decided to resign from all mental health/ behavioral health insurance panels as of January 1, 2019. As a result, I am no longer be able to submit insurance claims. However, you may still be able to use your insurance for seeing me as an "out of network provider" by self-submitting a "member claim form" to your insurer.
- You can call the phone number on the back of your insurance card (or go to your insurer's website) to find out the procedure for filing your own claim form, their reimbursement rate for an "out of network provider," and where to get the "member claim form".
- If self-submitting, you will also need a statement from me with the necessary
information for your insurer to process the claim (diagnosis, service code, date of service, and provider
information). You can let me know if you'd like a statement and I will generate one you.
“Is there anything that might be important for me to know about using mental or behavioral health
insurance benefits?”
- A mental health diagnosis must be given if insurance is used. This diagnosis must be provided to the insurance (or managed care) company for them to “process” claims. Your diagnosis may be stored in the Medical Information Data Bank, which is accessible to all U.S. insurers.
- Insurance companies
make a point of stating that they do not
guarantee payment for the services you receive.
A “determination” will be made once a claim is submitted and
“processed”. When making determinations,
some companies may ask for chart notes and/or a review of your complete
history, symptoms and therapy progress.
This review is conducted by one of the company's “case managers,” or sometimes by
their staff psychiatrist to “make a determination”.
- Services must be determined to be “medically necessary,” based on diagnosis and symptom severity, for an insurance company to pay. Many reasons people seek counseling and therapy are not generally considered “medically necessary,” such as relationship difficulties, life changes or life stresses, losses, personal growth issues, or learning coping skills. Only “mental (or behavioral) health disorders” diagnosable using the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders are considered by the insurance company for payment.
- If
your claim is denied, and you disagree with the insurance company's determination, you can challenge their denial through the company’s appeals
process. Usually there are several levels to the appeal process which you can pursue if your original appeal is denied.