Fees and Forms
If you are using your insurance for our services, you should carefully read the section in your insurance coverage booklet that describes mental health benefits. If you have questions about coverage, call your plan administrator. In most cases, we will have already determined your deductible and co-pay before your first session. Your portion of the fee IS DUE AT THE TIME OF SERVICE. Should you agree to any psychological testing, the full testing fee is due at the time of service.
If you don’t have insurance coverage, the initial session fee is $180; regular 45 to 50 minute sessions are $150. If your insurance considers us an “out of network” provider, in most instances it is their policy to reimburse you directly instead of paying Person to Person Resources, Inc. In these cases, we will expect you to pay your full fee at the time of service. We will then bill your insurance company. Your health insurance company typically only requires us to provide basic information, including diagnosis, date and type of service, and charges. At your first visit you will be asked to give us signed permission to provide this information. Should more information be requested, you will be contacted in advance. It is important to remember that you always have the right to pay for our services yourself to avoid the release of any information about you.
In fact, we are finding that an increasing number of our clients are choosing this option. While insurance can help defray the cost of our services, clients express the following concerns:
1. A loss of confidentiality. Particularly if your insurance is managed care, your therapist may be required contractually to write detailed updates periodically to the managed care company. It is then possible that some of the issues discussed in counseling could be logged into an insurance computer. While managed care companies generally endeavor to keep this information private, insurance companies can share information with each other if you apply for coverage elsewhere.
2. Future Insurance Denial/Rating. Clients sometimes find that because of previous psychological/psychiatric diagnoses, that they are either unable to get health, disability, or life insurance coverage in the future, or are required to pay higher premiums. Even if you don’t tell an insurance company on your application that you have had treatment, all medical services are logged with the Medical Information Bureau each time your provider bills an insurance company. If you self-pay, then no diagnosis is filed in insurance computers, and thus there is no record of treatment outside of our office, unless you choose to share this.
3. Promotion Difficulties. Before making promotion decisions some companies check the health/insurance records of their employee without the employees knowledge or consent. If your employer is enlightened, they may know that therapy is a useful tool to help employees be healthier and happier in their lives. However, if you do not know this about your employer and you prefer to maintain privacy, you may wish to self-pay.
If you have any further questions about self pay options, feel free to talk to our office staff or your therapist.
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Thank for your interest in our professional services. If you have already called our office and set an appointment, click on the “FORMS” tab below, enter the password and download and print the appropriate form. If you are an adult, fill out the adult PDI. If you are coming as a couple, both partners should fill out an adult PDI. If the appointment is for your child, fill out the Child PDI for him/her.
If you have not called our office yet and are not sure whom it is that you want to see, return to the home page and hit the “staff” tab to learn about our training and experience. Since choosing a therapist can often be a difficult decision, I would be happy to talk to you personally if you still have questions after reading up on us. Call Dr. Dan Schaefer at 419-874-3201.
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