How To Bill Insurance Companies For Mental Health Services

If you re out of an insurer s network you may accept reimbursement from the insurer and then bill the patient for the rest.

How to bill insurance companies for mental health services. The mental health parity and addiction equity act of 2008 prohibits private insurers from discriminating against people with mental health diagnoses or providers who offer mental health services. For example medicare part b will cover mental health services as long as they are medically necessary for the diagnosis or treatment of an illness or injury. As a result of the law a single deductible now applies to both mental health treatment and medical services.

Using this strategy allows the client to submit the bill directly to the insurance company. Another cost effective insurance billing strategy is the superbill. For a customized list of insurance companies to work with reach out about our credentialing service for mental health therapists and behavioral health providers.

For counselors and other healthcare providers time management becomes a major issue when one is trying to see patients and simultaneously file insurance claims. The hardest part for providers conducting mental health billing is the variety of hoops that each insurance company makes the biller jump through. A healthy mind is part of a healthy body.

This beginner s guide to mental health billing is for the brand new and having no clue outpatient therapist looking to learn how to bill insurance companies. Insurance companies of all shapes sizes and locations need to find reliable effective practitioners for their panels. Prior to the parity law many insurance plans required patients to meet different and often higher deductibles for mental health services than for medical services.

As such most insurance companies cover mental health services as long as they are considered medically necessary. What insurance panels want need. Superbill is the term for a billing format in which the mental health clinician wants to handle billing in a simplified manner.