No Insurance? No Problem!
How Do I Pay For Specialized Mental Health Care?
As a mental health specialty clinic, most services are paid out-of-pocket in order to access the specialized care we provide at The Healing Group. Many people reach out wondering if they can make an appointment with us if they don’t have insurance or if we are not in-network with their insurance. The short answer is yes! However, the longer answer may be helpful for you to understand how the billing side of mental health specialty care works.
What Is Specialized Mental Health Care?
When The Healing Group’s founder, Kristin Hodson, went to graduate school, she didn’t learn about issues such as pregnancy and postpartum depression and anxiety, sex addiction or out of control sexual behavior, trauma or even couple’s work. Yet she was seeing the need to address these issues in her community. She was given general tools to help treat very specific problems and she knew she wanted to provide better care.
After seeking out additional postgraduate training and certification, The Healing Group followed a very narrow niche specializing in maternal mental health, sexual health and couple’s work all from a trauma informed lens. Our level of specialization is very similar to the difference between a general medical provider who knows a little about many things and then will refer you to a specialist to dig deeply into a specific issue. We are practitioners who know a lot about a few things rather than a little about many. By being specific in our focus it facilitates us in being targeted and precise in your care. We know our areas of specialization well which is why so many seek us out for services.
While we are an in-network provider for a few insurances, we are not an “insurance clinic” but rather a specialty clinic that accepts insurance. We recognize our specializations aren’t common within the mental health field so we strive to make our services accessible to as many clients as possible through multiple ways to pay.
Payment Options For Specialized Mental Health Counseling
SELF PAY: First and foremost, many of our clients utilize self pay for a variety of reasons. Some of these reasons include wanting specialized care, not wanting to have a diagnosis in their medical record, maintaining privacy and not having their notes accessible to insurance, and being able to fully determine their treatment without the barriers of insurance. Many of our clients pay with credit cards, pre-pay by check, or HSA and FSA plans.
OUT-OF-NETWORK: Many clients will recover some of their out of pocket costs by utilizing their out-of-network benefits. They pay for their services and then receive what is known as a “superbill” or a medical receipt that they submit to their insurance. Depending on their benefits many clients receive up to 80% back from what they pay.
SPECIALTY INTERN CLINIC: In an effort to make our services accessible to the community and provide mentorship to those in the field, we have our specialty intern clinic where students in their second year of graduate school provide services. Our specialized interns are being supervised by our teams of supervisors who have over 40 years of combined experience. Accessing our specialty intern clinic means you are getting services at a lower cost with more than one clinician supporting your treatment goals.
GROUPS: Joining a therapy or educational group is a great way to access services at a lower cost! There are so many benefits to joining a group such as meeting others experiencing similar struggles as you, hearing group members ideas on how they are working through their issues, and accessing a greater network of support. Groups are often a fraction of the cost of individual therapy and are a great option on their own or as a supplement to your individual care.
IN-NETWORK: Being a member of an insurance plan is like being a member of Costco. The insurance company works with providers like ourselves and we agree to accept an even further discounted rate for certain services for certain diagnoses in exchange for a larger pool of folks to be able to access our specializations. We are also limited in what we are able to bill. For example, insurance covers only the first 53-60 minutes of treatment per session and only a certain number of sessions in a given time period. If we deem it necessary for your treatment to progress that we need to spend extra time, like in the case of couples and relationships or the use of EMDR and other evidence-based, targeted interventions, you will still be financially responsible for this. We encourage you to reach out to your insurance provider and understand the limits of your coverage to avoid any surprises.
If you feel that you could benefit from specialized care but have questions about pay we have a dedicated, in-house billing team that can support you. Please reach out via text or phone 801-305-3171 or email billing@thehealinggroup.com
