Private Pay vs Insurance Documentation for Mental Health Therapists

[@angienixonmaalcncc8698]

Dr. McCaffrey, thank you SO MUCH for this helpful video! As a private pay therapist, you have blessed me by setting my mind at ease when it comes to the differences in required documentation!

[@MaelisaMcCaffrey]

Oh, so glad to know this was helpful!

[@daprivatepracticeguru]

I love this so much. As a therapist that is preparing to transition to completely private pay by 2026 I love the video on the differences needed in documentation. Thank you for sharing your expertise!

[@MaelisaMcCaffrey]

You're welcome and thanks for your comment! Good luck as you transition :)

[@t.l.nelson6467]

Thank you so much! This is an amazing video!

[@TherapyWithRicardo]

Very useful info, Maelisa. Thank you, R

[@familylifescienceeducation5227]

Dr. McCaffrey, okay here were the choices: read through pages and pages of white papers w confusing language or listen to you for 7.5 minutes. Thanks for providing a useful alternative.🥰

[@MaelisaMcCaffrey]

Ha ha, thank you, I'm glad it was helpful!

[@maribelflores6470]

When the client has too many problems and impairments, is it better to stick to one to finish the note faster?

[@MaelisaMcCaffrey]

It is totally fine to stick with just one problem/impairment! Just make sure you're capturing the content of the session, maybe by listing a few different topics discussed if you did review quite a few things in one session.

[@wendyleeconnelly2939]

How much do insurance companies read notes? Do they read every note? Every detail? What should we be considering for client confidentiality since notes are not really confidential?

[@MaelisaMcCaffrey]

The key is letting clients know that if they choose to use their insurance, there's always potential for records to be requested. This is the case for any of us any time we use insurance to pay for any service. Highlight it in your informed consent document and review this with clients as soon as possible, because they absolutely should know their records are NOT totally confidential if they want insurance to pay. Insurance companies vary in how they do audits. Some just want a summary, some want to talk with you on the phone, and some want a copy of the records. Some are more detailed than others but in general, they're looking for medical necessity. Check out this video for more info on that: kzbin.info/www/bejne/boe2fp9_eNR6bKMsi=PGD271mT-ryM_OUd

[@wendyleeconnelly2939]

If you don't notice that a session starts at 3:01 (who does) what difference will it make? Do insurance companies really check up on that? How would they verify? Why does a 1 minute difference matter?

[@MaelisaMcCaffrey]

It's more that if you ALWAYS put 3:00pm as the time, they will assume you're not paying attention, because it's so unlikely that would actually be the case. And yes, they do check for this if they're doing an in depth audit. Now, personally, I wouldn't worry about it a whole lot and would just put 3:01pm or 3pm or 3:02pm at random, as long as it's not changing the total time of the session and making an impact on the CPT code. It's silly, I know. I'm just the messenger ;)