Considering Paneling with Insurances?
Are you wondering if you should accept insurance at your practice? While insurance has a bad reputation for being time consuming, confusing, and frustrating. It’s not all bad… Right?
Insurance Pros
Taking insurance can have some positives such as helping you connect with clients looking for in-network providers.
This helps more people get access to mental health services they might not have afforded without insurance.
It also can help with your marketing efforts as you would be listed as an in-network provider which can lead to more referrals to you. (Keyword being help, it should not be your only source of marketing)
Many people looking for a therapist will filter their search by their insurance plan.
Insurance Cons
Additional administrative tasks for you.
In my opinion, it can take a lot of effort and time to set up, but once you have your systems in place it is not a hugeworkload added to your weekly tasks.
Note: I am an admin, not a therapist, so I find these tasks to be enjoyable, you may not love it!
Reimbursement rates are usually lower than your private pay rate.
You may feel constricted with your sessions.
You have unique experiences and expertise to help your clients – and should be able to have flexibility to help your clients without worrying about which CPT and diagnosis codes to use.
Insurance Considerations
Taking insurance isn’t right for every provider and practice. This can be especially true if you have a specific niche, unique expertise, or want to have more control of your finances. Make sure you have a consistent marketing plan in place so you can attract and retain your ideal clients.
If you’ve decided that taking insurance is right for you, check out our top 5 tips to get started!
Our Top 5 Tips
If you don’t have already, get your NPI and EINs numbers for free.
Create your CAQH profile, again this is free.
There are companies and consultants that can assist with this process as it is time-consuming.
If the company/consultant is asking for an hourly rate, be cautious of the company charging an hourly rate for application follow ups. This can quickly add up!
Plan ahead; it’s a long journey to get paneled, so start your applications before leaving marketplaces (such as Headway, Alma, Rula, etc.).
Look for integrations in your EHR. Several EHRs like Simple Practice and Jane have insurance billing integrations. Take advantage of these to make the process easier for you.
Speaking of EHRs, utilize their support team and guides to ensure you are all set with submitting and receiving insurance payments.
Purple Pandas Supporting Your Practice
Are you swamped in administrative, marketing, and financial tasks? Get real help from real humans (sorry, we aren’t actually pandas). Purple Pandas are virtual assistants that specialize in supporting therapists and their practices. Fill out our contact form for a free consult to learn about how we can support your practice.