Payment
Can I use my insurance for treatment?
I accept some insurance, including the following:
Blue Cross, including: Personal Help Connection, Managed Care Behavioral Health Network, Medicare Advantage HMO and PPO, Indemnity and Blue Cross PPO. I also accept out-of-state BCBS, so if you have a plan with a different name on it, just call them and tell them I'm in-network for Massachusetts, so I should be for yours. In most cases, if your card says "Blue Cross" on it, I can take it. However, sometimes a plan will use Blue Cross for medical and will use another provider, like US Healthcare or Optum, for mental health benefits. I am not in-network for those, so it's best to call the number on the back of your card and ask whether I will be in-network for your mental health benefits.
I also accept Medicare/Medex and Medicare Advantage plans. I can also accept just Medicare, but there is a small copay and deductible with that.
I see a number of people who have “out of network” benefits for other plans; usually you pay a little more, but you can still see me. I will take care of the insurance paperwork for you, and you just pay your part. If your insurance card says "PPO" on it, I may be able to see you; if it says "HMO" and isn't Blue Cross, I probably can't unless you have a Flex Spending or Health Savings Account that will cover my fees.
I can take payments from HSA or FSA accounts, or will take checks and give you receipts so you can get reimbursed from them. I do have a fair number of people who don't have Blue Cross, but have out of network benefits, and often the HSA makes it possible for them to see me. If you don't know what any of this means, I can help you figure that out too!
On Credit and Debit card use:
I can take credit cards, and FSA/HSA cards. My software will securely store the information and I can just charge it each time. You can give permission for that when you register.
How much do you charge?
As of January 1, 2019, my standard fee is $130 per session, except for the first session, which is $200 and lasts one hour. This also applies to phone sessions, since insurance companies won't pay for those. If you're in-network, I accept whatever the insurance pays plus your copay, so you have no additional balance. Insurance pays for 45 minute sessions, so that is why sessions are that length. I can offer hour sessions under some circumstances, and I charge $150 per hour for that.
How can I afford therapy? Here are some things clients have done to manage the cost:
*If your employer offers a higher level of insurance benefit, and you think you may be in treatment for awhile, you may choose to switch at open enrollment to one that covers my services more fully. I will be happy to help you compare plans and help you figure out what plan will cover me most effectively.
*Take advantage of Flexible Spending Accounts or Health Spending Accounts offered by your employer, which will cover co-pays, deductibles, phone sessions or other medically necessary expenses which are not covered by insurance. Whenever you request, I will give you a statement with the information they need, you send it in, and they send you a check which represents money you have had deducted from your paycheck before being taxed on the rest of your paycheck. This can reduce your cost by about 30%. Or you can use the debit card that comes with the account, in my office.
*If you are seeking treatment because you are the victim of a violent crime, or a survivor impacted by a crime such as the homicide of a family member, you may be eligible for funding through the Victim Compensation and Assistance Division of the Attorney General’s office. You may be eligible if you reported the crime to police within five days (unless there is good cause for delay), you cooperate with law enforcement officials in the investigation and prosecution of the crime, you apply for compensation within three years of the crime, and the expenses are not covered by insurance. See www.ago.state.ma.us or call the Attorney General’s office at (617) 727 4765 for more information.
*If none of these options works for you, we can still figure out how to contain costs by deciding how often you should come, and for how many sessions at a time. Sometimes people come for a few sessions and then come back later if they need to, some people work on one problem at a time with time off in between, and others come weekly or biweekly to work on more complicated issues. We will decide together what makes the most sense clinically and in terms of your time and your budget. I will not encourage you to come more frequently or for longer than is likely to provide the most benefit to you, and you can change your scheduling arrangements as needed. If I don’t think you will make progress because you can’t come often enough, we can discuss whether it might be better to see someone who can see you more often and I will help you find someone.
However we decide to manage payment, I ask that people pay their portion of the fee at each session, which prevents people from building up unmanageable bills and reduces my billing issues. I can take checks, credit cards, or cash. I charge $30 for a same-day cancellation or a no-show, which insurance and FSA/HSA accounts will not cover.
I accept some insurance, including the following:
Blue Cross, including: Personal Help Connection, Managed Care Behavioral Health Network, Medicare Advantage HMO and PPO, Indemnity and Blue Cross PPO. I also accept out-of-state BCBS, so if you have a plan with a different name on it, just call them and tell them I'm in-network for Massachusetts, so I should be for yours. In most cases, if your card says "Blue Cross" on it, I can take it. However, sometimes a plan will use Blue Cross for medical and will use another provider, like US Healthcare or Optum, for mental health benefits. I am not in-network for those, so it's best to call the number on the back of your card and ask whether I will be in-network for your mental health benefits.
I also accept Medicare/Medex and Medicare Advantage plans. I can also accept just Medicare, but there is a small copay and deductible with that.
I see a number of people who have “out of network” benefits for other plans; usually you pay a little more, but you can still see me. I will take care of the insurance paperwork for you, and you just pay your part. If your insurance card says "PPO" on it, I may be able to see you; if it says "HMO" and isn't Blue Cross, I probably can't unless you have a Flex Spending or Health Savings Account that will cover my fees.
I can take payments from HSA or FSA accounts, or will take checks and give you receipts so you can get reimbursed from them. I do have a fair number of people who don't have Blue Cross, but have out of network benefits, and often the HSA makes it possible for them to see me. If you don't know what any of this means, I can help you figure that out too!
On Credit and Debit card use:
I can take credit cards, and FSA/HSA cards. My software will securely store the information and I can just charge it each time. You can give permission for that when you register.
How much do you charge?
As of January 1, 2019, my standard fee is $130 per session, except for the first session, which is $200 and lasts one hour. This also applies to phone sessions, since insurance companies won't pay for those. If you're in-network, I accept whatever the insurance pays plus your copay, so you have no additional balance. Insurance pays for 45 minute sessions, so that is why sessions are that length. I can offer hour sessions under some circumstances, and I charge $150 per hour for that.
How can I afford therapy? Here are some things clients have done to manage the cost:
*If your employer offers a higher level of insurance benefit, and you think you may be in treatment for awhile, you may choose to switch at open enrollment to one that covers my services more fully. I will be happy to help you compare plans and help you figure out what plan will cover me most effectively.
*Take advantage of Flexible Spending Accounts or Health Spending Accounts offered by your employer, which will cover co-pays, deductibles, phone sessions or other medically necessary expenses which are not covered by insurance. Whenever you request, I will give you a statement with the information they need, you send it in, and they send you a check which represents money you have had deducted from your paycheck before being taxed on the rest of your paycheck. This can reduce your cost by about 30%. Or you can use the debit card that comes with the account, in my office.
*If you are seeking treatment because you are the victim of a violent crime, or a survivor impacted by a crime such as the homicide of a family member, you may be eligible for funding through the Victim Compensation and Assistance Division of the Attorney General’s office. You may be eligible if you reported the crime to police within five days (unless there is good cause for delay), you cooperate with law enforcement officials in the investigation and prosecution of the crime, you apply for compensation within three years of the crime, and the expenses are not covered by insurance. See www.ago.state.ma.us or call the Attorney General’s office at (617) 727 4765 for more information.
*If none of these options works for you, we can still figure out how to contain costs by deciding how often you should come, and for how many sessions at a time. Sometimes people come for a few sessions and then come back later if they need to, some people work on one problem at a time with time off in between, and others come weekly or biweekly to work on more complicated issues. We will decide together what makes the most sense clinically and in terms of your time and your budget. I will not encourage you to come more frequently or for longer than is likely to provide the most benefit to you, and you can change your scheduling arrangements as needed. If I don’t think you will make progress because you can’t come often enough, we can discuss whether it might be better to see someone who can see you more often and I will help you find someone.
However we decide to manage payment, I ask that people pay their portion of the fee at each session, which prevents people from building up unmanageable bills and reduces my billing issues. I can take checks, credit cards, or cash. I charge $30 for a same-day cancellation or a no-show, which insurance and FSA/HSA accounts will not cover.