The most frequent complaint psychotherapists have when working with insurance is the low reimbursement rates, which can be less than half of their normal fee. This issue alone leads many therapists to avoid contracting with insurance, or to resign. While this is a major pain point, the vast majority of us don’t really understand how plans come up with their reimbursement rates, don’t know how to fight it when a rate drops, and most of us have never asked for a raise. In fact, many of us aren’t aware that raises are possible.
This webinar (appropriate for all therapists nationwide) will help you understand how insurance plans come up with their rates, how to fight rate changes, how to ask for a raise, and ethical and practical considerations when you resign from a health plan.
Educational Objectives
After attending this webinar, participants will be able to
- Identify steps that can be taken to ask health plans for higher reimbursement rates, to prevent resignations, and thus makes therapy more accessible to the public
- Identify the practical, clinical, and ethical steps that should be taken if they decide to resign from a health plan
Syllabus
- Some Definitions: Network Provider, Out of Network, Superbill
- Reimbursement Rates:
- Understanding Allowed Amounts
- Key Factors Affecting Reimbursement Rates
- The Dangers of Courtesy Billing, and How This Can Impact Treatment
- Raises
- Statistical Findings of One Survey about Raises
- Asking for a Raise: 7 Steps
- What to Say When Asking for a Raise -- and Common Mistakes
- Handout: Sample Raise Request Letter
- Will a Raise Request Trigger an Audit?
- Frequently Asked Questions around Raises
- Resigning from a Network
- Can a Network Therapist Ethically Refuse Insurance Clients?
- Things to Consider Before Resigning
- Steps to Resigning from a Health Plan -- And Some Common Mistakes That Can Be Costly
- What Ethics Codes Say About Resignation
- Resigning and Therapist Self-Care
- Ethically Handling Clinical Issues Related to Resignations
- How to Help Clients Afford Your Fee After Resignation
- Handout: Out-of-Network Checking Coverage Handout for Clients
- If Time: Bonus Topics:
- Medicare Clients and Private Pay
- Apps to Help Out of Network Clients to Afford Your Fee
