Forms and Notices

I do not participate with insurance at this time.  Instead, I work directly with you for payment and offer a sliding scale for people who cannot afford my full fees. chose to set my practice up in this way for several reasons.  

First, when working with insurance companies, they often request some of your personal information to process payments.  After I provide them with that information, you and I have no power over how your information is shared and what happens.  I cannot speak to how plans address and train for confidentiality and HIPAA compliance matters. From my personal experience, I was shocked at how often HIPAA was violated once this information was turned over.  Wanting to protect your information was one reason I elected to set up my practice the way I have.  

Second, insurances tend to create roadblocks to your improvement from my experience when operating in-network.  Whether it is limiting the number of sessions they will pay for (often without a sufficient basis in your case) to claiming recommended treatments are not "medically necessary" without sufficient evidence to claim such.  These create additional stress and hassles on both our parts.  When using self-pay or out-of-network benefits, I have encountered few benefits to providing you with the care you need.

Third, insurances require mental health diagnoses to be able to treat you even if you are not coming for mental health reasons.  In many cases, you may not have a mental health condition which creates yet another roadblock with you obtaining care.  Not only is this a roadblock, but this information can also cause future difficulties if you apply for benefits such as life insurance and create further stress for you.  In other cases, they do not accept the diagnoses I would use to treat you being a pain psychologist (I have had many disagreements due to this fact).  My current system is the best I have found to reduce stress during care.

Payments for each session are due at the time of the appointment via debit, credit, or HSA card. Payment plans and sliding scale are available based on financial need.   I am out of network with all insurance companies.  This means I do not accept payment directly from them.  As a courtesy, I provide support to you in completing out-of-network reimbursement so your insurance and reimburse you for the costs  Depending on your specific plan, the insurance will reimburse you directly.  You should contact your specific insurance carrier to determine your out-of-network coverage.   

Many insurance companies will compensate you for money spent on services from providers who are not in their network.  In some cases, this can be equivalent to or better than seeing an in-network provider.  Most of my patients have great success with such compensation, with rates being upwards of 100% of the cost reimbursed to you.