Private Practice Therapists: Outsourcing Your Insurance Billing
Updated 1/19/2023
We get questions about using insurance all the time. We refer a lot of detailed questions over to Navigating the Insurance Maze but haven't found a great resource yet about how to hire a biller for your psychotherapy private practice.
Benefits of a Cash-Pay Private Practice
I chose to have a cash-pay private practice for many reasons. It was wonderful to enjoy a successful private practice with a glut of clients and not take insurance. However, I know awesome therapists who choose to take insurance or are still transitioning to complete private pay who need some support about how to do insurance.
How to Take Insurance as a Therapist
One suggestion we always encourage therapists to explore is outsourcing your billing completely. I shared a building while in private practice with an awesome therapist who had been in private practice for a few decades.
That 20 years meant he didn’t have to worry about "marketing" the way a new therapist would. And, even though he could have a cash-pay private practice- he choose to have an insurance-based practice. His house is paid off, he has a savings account, a retirement account, and funds for regular vacations. He has a plan for using insurance that makes sure his needs are met! (Our biggest gripe about insurance is that most therapists don't have a plan that allows them to be paid well).
Why Outsourcing Insurance Billing Makes Sense
Working in the same space with someone means you get to see exactly how their practice operates- the good and the not-so-good. My awesome suitemate had a wonderful system for insurance that worked well for him and his clients. Namely, he outsourced his psychotherapy practice insurance billing.
He worked with a lovely woman who was his "billing department." All questions went through her, she took care of determining coverage, explaining it to clients, informing the therapist, etc. She also took care of any phone calls or issues that came up.
A great biller is going to reduce the number of denials or insurance problems you experience. However, even if you do everything right, insurance companies mess up. Just 1 problematic claim can lead to you spending hours on hold. It isn't uncommon for therapists to report that it can take 10 hours or more to resolve ONE problematic claim for a client.
Even if you get paid, that 10 hours could've been spent seeing other clients, doing progress notes, or doing some yoga! When you outsource your billing, you can get an all-in-one package where you play one flat % based on what they collect- and they take care of all the ugly hold times!
Learn All About Outsourcing Your Insurance Billing Below
I met Tiffany, a biller who works with psychotherapy practices on LinkedIn. (Yes, LinkedIn can be a wonderful way to grow your business!) Tiffany was so wonderful and agreed to answer some questions about the following:
How to outsource your billing and how this works.
What questions you should ask potential billers.
What to watch out for and avoid.
Watch this quick and insightful 10-minute video below for all the answers to your questions.
I interviewed Tiffany about how to outsource insurance billing, how to avoid insurance problems, understanding how to use an external biller, etc. It is primarily about therapists working in private practice who are taking insurance directly, and they can also help with the process of getting on insurance panels. Tiffany is the owner of http://www.preferredmedicalservices.com/
Do you have more questions about how to outsource your insurance billing? Post them in the comments below? Have a great biller that you use that is taking new clients? Post their information below! Let's be a resource for one another in having stress-free practices!
p.s. Notice Tiffany reached out to me on LinkedIn, introduced herself beautifully, allowed herself to be videotaped- even though it is nerve-wracking, and now a video that highlights her and her business will be presented to almost 5k therapists. What would happen if someone met you, liked you, and shared your passion with 5000 people they knew? Learn more about Tiffany and her teams psychotherapy billing services or contact her by clicking here.
