Frequently Asked Questions

• Initial Assessment / Evaluation $175.00
• Individual Sessions 50-55 minutes: $150.00
• Individual Sessions 40-45 minutes $135.00
• Couple Sessions 45-50 minutes: $160.00
• Group Sessions 60 minutes: 45.00 – 50.00 depending on the group
• Case Coordination, Reports, etc: Charges depend on service and time spent by therapist
• Initial phone consultation with our intake staff: No charge

• Blue Cross Blue Shield PPO  (all practice therapists are in-network)

• Blue Choice (all practice therapists are in-network)

• United HealthCare / Optum (certain therapists are in-network: Janet, Reshma, Colleen, and Salena) 

• Other Plans that use Optum/United Providers:

  • Oxford (certain therapists are in-network: Janet, Reshma, Colleen, and Salena) 

  • UMR (certain therapists are in-network: Janet, Reshma, Colleen, and Salena) 

• Medicare Part B (not Medicare Advantage) (Colleen is the only therapist in this network)

We are considered out of network with other insurance companies. We encourage you to contact them to inquire as to what your out of network rates are. 

If you would like to work with one of our clinicians but have an out of network insurance, we welcome the opportunity to work with you. We will collect payment at the time of session for the fees stated above. In addition, we may have the ability to submit an out of network electronic billing claim for you if your insurance company is connected and “talks to” to our billing system. If the two systems don’t talk, then we would provide you with an itemized statement for each fully paid session, and you can then submit it directly along with your claim to your health insurance provider for direct reimbursement to you. 

Some out of network insurance companies reimburse our clients a portion of the full cost for each therapy session, however there is no guarantee. We encourage you to contact your insurance provider to see if they accept out-of-network provider billing statements and at what rate they would cover the cost of therapy. 

Look at the back of your card and call the number that is listed for mental health and/or behavioral health services or MH/SA.

Below are some questions we encourage you to ask:

• Is authorization of approval required by my primary care physician?

• Do I have mental health counseling and/or marriage counseling benefits?

• Do I have outpatient mental health benefits for non-preferred providers/out of network providers?

• What is my deductible and has it been met?

• Do I need to meet my deductible before my plan will begin covering the cost of my therapy?

• How many sessions per the calendar year does my plan cover?

• What is the coverage amount per therapy session?

Please see the above section What insurance do you accept and are you in my network? for more information about insurance billing.

Yes, you can use your Health Savings Account or Flexible Spending Account for therapy and counseling services. Using a pre-tax Flexible Spending or Health Savings Account for therapy is an excellent way to save some money.

If you are a self-pay client, that means you are:

• a person who is not requesting Health and Healing Therapy to bill and submit your insurance for you
• a person who will be submitting a claim yourself through your out of network insurance company
• a person who is specifically requesting to not use any insurance to help pay for services
• a person who has no current insurance and has opted to pay for services in full

Health and Healing Therapy shall provide you a Good Faith Estimate in writing prior to your first session, and will additionally provide one upon request. If you receive a bill that is substantially higher (more than $400) than we estimated on your Good Faith Estimate, you can dispute the bill. We suggest that you save a copy of your Good Faith Estimate.

If you have further questions or for more information about your right to a Good Faith Estimate, visit: http://www.cms.gov/nosurprises

For Out-of-Network clients:

If you have an insurance plan for which we are not in-network and you choose to work with us, receiving care from Health and Healing Therapy could cost you more than if you received care from an in-network provider. 

If your insurance plan covers the item or service you are getting, federal law protects you from higher bills when you get emergency care from out-of-network providers and facilities or when an out-of-network provider treats you at an in-network hospital or ambulatory surgical center without your knowledge or consent. Ask your healthcare provider or patient advocate if you need help knowing if these protections apply to you. 

According to federal regulations, a waiver can be signed to pay the full fees, which may be more than your in-network benefits, which may mean you have given up your protections under the law. You may owe the full costs billed for items and services received. Your health plan might not count any of the amount you pay toward your deductible and out-of-pocket limit. Contact your health plan for more information regarding your out of network benefits. 

You should not sign any waivers if you did not have a choice of providers when receiving care. For example, a doctor was assigned to you with no opportunity to make a change (or without choice). Before deciding whether to sign a waiver, you can contact your health plan to find an in-network provider or facility. If there isn’t one, your health plan might work out an agreement with a provider or facility. 

What is “balance billing” (sometimes called “surprise billing”)?

Your Rights and Protections Against Surprise Medical Bills 

When you get emergency care or get treated by an out-of-network provider at an in-network hospital or ambulatory surgical center, you are protected from surprise billing or balance billing. 

When you see a doctor or other health care provider, you may owe certain out-of-pocket costs, such as a copayment, coinsurance, and/or deductible. You may have other costs or have to pay the entire bill if you see a provider or visit a healthcare facility that isn’t in your health plan’s network.

“Out-of-network” describes providers and facilities that have not signed a contract with your health plan to be in their network. Out-of-network providers may be permitted to bill you for the difference between what your plan agreed to pay (in network rate) and the full amount charged (private fee) for a service. This is called “balance billing.” This amount is likely more than in-network costs for the same service and might not count toward your annual out-of-pocket limit. 

“Surprise billing” is an unexpected balance bill. This can happen when you can’t control who is involved in your care – like when you have an emergency or when you schedule a visit at an in-network facility but are unexpectedly treated by an out-of-network provider. 

You are protected from balance billing for:

Emergency services

If you have an emergency medical condition and get emergency services from an out-of-network provider or facility, the most the provider or facility may bill you is your plan’s in network cost-sharing amount (such as co-payments, deductible and co-insurance). You as a client or patient cannot be balance billed for these emergency services. This includes services you may get after you’re in stable condition, unless you give written consent and give up your protections by agreeing to be billed for the out of network balance for your care. 

Certain services at an in-network hospital or ambulatory surgical center

When you get services from an in-network hospital or ambulatory surgical center, certain providers may be out-of-network. In these cases, the most these providers may bill you is your plan’s in-network cost-sharing amount. This applies to emergency medicine, anesthesia, pathology, radiology, laboratory, neonatology, assistant surgeon, hospitalist, or intensivist services. These providers can’t balance bill you and may not ask you to give up your protections not to be balance billed. 

If you receive other services at these in-network facilities, out-of-network providers can’t balance bill you, unless you give written consent and thus giving up your protections.

However, You are never required to give up your protections from balance billing. You also aren’t required to seek and receive out-of-network care. You can choose to see and go to a provider or facility in your plan’s network.

When balance billing isn’t allowed, you also have the following protections: 

You are only responsible for paying your share of the cost (like the copayments, coinsurance, and deductibles that you would pay if the provider or facility was in-network). Your health plan will pay out-of-network providers and facilities directly. Your health plan generally must:

• Cover emergency services without requiring you to get approval for services in advance (prior authorization),
• Cover emergency services by out-of-network providers,
• Base what you owe the provider or facility (cost-sharing) on what it would pay an in-network provider or facility and show that amount in your explanation of benefits,
• Count any amount you pay for emergency services or out-of-network services toward your deductible and out-of-pocket limit.

For more information about your rights under federal law, visit: https://www.cms.gov/nosurprises/consumer-protections/Payment-disagreements

We require that all clients place a card on file so that all fees can be charged electronically through our practice management system. The card on file can be a credit, card, debit card, flexible spending account (FSA), or health savings account (HSA) card. This allows us to leave the billing and payment process to happen behind the scenes and outside the therapy session.

This is a great question. Yet, this is a question that ultimately you will need to trust yourself that you know what is right for you. However, we can share with you some of the things we believe therapy offers and is able to provide to you. Seeking counseling is an incredibly personal decision.

We assume you are reading this because you are feeling a need to reach out for some kind of professional support. Perhaps you are thinking about seeking therapy because:

• There is an issue you don’t believe you can talk to your partner, family, or friends about
• You feel lonely and uncertain about how to make things better for yourself
• Maybe you worry about and believe you shouldn’t burden those around you with the difficulties that you are having
• You want and need to feel heard and supported, and it doesn’t seem like that is happening for you

These are just a few important reasons to seek therapy. If something is happening for you that is painful, causing you stress, or you are struggling and feeling anxious, depressed, or fearful, receiving professional assistance and support is something that can be extremely helpful.

Most people attend sessions weekly. We think it works best if people make a commitment for at least the first 6-8 weeks to meet weekly. After two months of care its a good time to review with your therapist how things are going and if weekly therapy seems right to you. At any time when you feel ready you and your therapist can discuss meeting every other week. It is also an option that if you find yourself working through a crisis or an emotionally difficult or painful time, you may choose to meet twice a week. 

Counseling lasts as long as you decide it needs to. What length of sessions we have, how often we meet or for how many weeks, months, or longer we meet is always your decision. When someone wants to work on a specific coping skill or a specific change and they can maintain focus on that one central theme, counseling can be short-term, such as 6-8 sessions.

On the other hand, if a person wants to explore patterns of issues like poor self-care, negative beliefs about themselves that stem from childhood, addiction-related issues, chronic illness concerns, long-term depression, or unresolved grief, etc., therapy may be long term.

However, it is always up to you. Throughout our time together, we will check in with you to make sure we are still working on your goals and spending our time together on whatever is most important to you. We always want to make sure our work together is supporting and helping your reach your goals and overall mental wellness.

Yes, therapy is confidential. State and Federal laws protect your confidential and private healthcare information, and your information can rarely be disclosed without your consent.

As therapists, we are required to follow legal and ethical expectations, guidelines, and laws within our scope of practice. Therefore, there are some exceptions to confidentiality and below are some of those exception.

• Suspected child abuse or dependent adult or elder abuse, for which we are required by law to report this to the appropriate authorities immediately.
• If a client is threatening serious bodily harm to another person(s), we must notify the police and inform the intended victim.
• If a client intends to harm himself or herself, we will make every effort to enlist their cooperation in ensuring their safety. If they do not cooperate, we will take further measures without their permission that are provided to us by law in order to ensure their safety.

Absolutely not. Seeking out therapy doesn’t mean you are crazy or have a mental illness. It does, however, mean that you have courage and a willingness and desire to change, and you know you need help to do so successfully.

We would venture to guess you have already tried to do several things to improve your situation. Reaching out for therapy is the next step because whatever you have been doing hasn’t been able to get you to the point you want to be.