Rates
Initial session is $125
$125 per 60 minute session and $25 per each additional 15 minutes of session or for more than two (2) people per session. $100 per 45-50 minute session. Sessions less than 45 minutes are rarely scheduled or conducted.
Cancellations of sessions happen. If you need to cancel or reschedule a session please let me know via text, call or email at least two (2) hours in advance. If advance notification is not provided a $60 fee will be charged.
Outside of therapy contact an occasional email, text message or phone call, of less than 10 minutes, will be at no charge. If they become a pattern, take up more than 10 minutes between sessions or are used instead of a therapy session there will be a charge. At that time charges will be based upon the time involved rounded to the nearest 15 minutes.
Insurance
I currently accept the following insurances.
- Aetna
- Anthem
- Blue Cross Blue Shield
- Beacon Healthcare / Value Options
- Cigna
- Humana
- Optum
- United Healthcare / Optum
- Tri-Care
If you do not have insurance, and there is a real need, I do provide a sliding scale rate for a small number of dedicated clients. Together we can make your therapy affordable. If you have health insurance from a company that I do not accept, I will provide you with a Superbill upon request. You you can use the superbill to submit to your insurance company for reimbursement. Services may be covered in full or in part by your health insurance or employee benefit plan. Please check your coverage carefully by asking the following questions:
- Is Anita Mullins, LMFT / I Need Family Therapy part of my network, ask about Out of Network Benefits
- What is my deductible and has it been met?
- Does my deductible apply or do I pay my copay amount?
- Is the copay rate the normal or specialist rate? (Usually I am considered a specialist.)
- How many sessions per year does my health insurance cover?
- What is the coverage amount per therapy session?
- In order to ensure your co-pay and insurance amounts I request you send me a copy of the front and back of your insurance card, along with your date of birth at least 24 hours prior to your session so that I may verify benefits.
Occasional Insurance Situations:
- Quality of Care - Insurance companies are concerned with cost containment. They do this by regulating all care to what is based upon Medical Necessity. With Behavioral Health or Mental Health there may not be an obvious physically MEDICAL componet to your health. If there isn't the insurance company will severly limit the number of sessions you may recieve. They may dictate the type of therapy you recieve, even if their designated technique isn't the best one for you, they may attempt to regulate how we both perform during treatment. To me and my philosophy this is not the best way to establish an effective and efficent therapeutic relationship. If this occurs I will notify you as soon as I know and we will work together to develop the best solution for you.
- Diagnose Dilemma - With insurance I have to diagnose you with a mental health disorder or they won't pay. This can present an ethical dilemma. What if you are seeking therapy for a stressful situation but don't meet the clinical criteria for a mental illness? Do I still diagnose you with the closest one to fit you which I may find unethical? Do I tell you I can't see you? Also, if you miss an appointment due to illness or vacation the insurance company can decide that you no longer need treatment due to the skipped appointment. If we are working on one issue and another crisis situation comes up the insurance company can determine if we can work on one or both of the problems. We will need to resolve these issues together if they arise.
- Holistic Strength based approach. I believe in treating the whole person based upon your strengths not your weaknesses and deficits. Insurance focuses on the deficits and weaknesses. You have to show growth but not to much or to quickly because they then want to know if you are really improving or faking. I / we need to recognize that you, like everyone else, has deficits and weaknesses but they aren't going to move you from point A to point B on your treatment goals. Your strengths are going to do that. We will build on those strengths to achieve your goals. Insurance doesn't always allow us to work that way.
- Privacy and Confidentiality. Insurance companies require frequent Utilization Review reports. These reports require the Utilization Reviewer to describe you at your worst and to possibly share discomforting and private details of your life. That information may then be reviewed by a review team at the insurance company, claims managers, non-clinical staff, and potentially many other people. I understand knowing this may interfere with what you are comfortable sharing. Please understand that I only share what is specifically required to ensure you are able to achieve the level of care you need. As much as possible I maintain the strictest confidentiality with all of your information.
- Survival versus Growth Insurance forces us to work on issues of survival not issues surrounding quality of life. While survival is a neccessity most of us want to do more in life than merely survive. If you come to me barely hanging onto your survival that will be our immediate focus, with the longer term intent being to grow to enjoy life, not just hang on by a finger nail. Insurance doesnt' let us focus strictly on quality of life, professional growth, personal growth or relationship health. It is all about your medical necessity. I let you know this so you are aware that at times your insurnace company may determine you no longer meet medical necessity criteria. At that point you may need to advocate for your needs with the insurance company or we may need to work on a different fee structure or session structure.
- Cost containment - Personally I would much rather have additional time available to focus on you and your specific needs than to spend hours justifying your need to grow, change and become better than to tell the insurance company how bad off you are. For me there is a significant cost factor in working with insurance companies and if they choose they can delay payment on a claim for up to 180 days (six months) or they can initially say they will authorize a claim and then later deny it or months later pull their payment back on a specific claim. All of that activity is stressful and requires a lot of time and energy to track, argue, and potentially end up having to bill you months later. Unfortunately - with insurance all of the above can be a concern/factor. I'm happy to bill your insurance. I respect your desire to use insurance. I hope you will respect my potential need to bill you for non-insurance covered services at a later date if the insurance company is non-cooperative or refuses to cover treatment sessions.
Reduced Fee
Reduced fee services are available on a limited basis. If you qualify for and receive a reduced fee please understand that failure to keep appointments, especially on a no call no show basis will result in the reduced fee privilge being revoked and a return to full fee for all services.
Payment
Cash, check and all major credit cards accepted for payment. Payment is due at the start of the therapy session.
Cancellation Policy
If you do not show up for your scheduled therapy appointment, and you have not notified us at least 2-4 hours in advance, you will be required to pay a $60 cancellation fee.
Schedule Online
Request a therapy appointment online here .
Contact
Questions? Please contact me for further information. You may contact me via text message but please include your name.