Fees and Insurance

We aim to provide as much detailed information about our fees and insurance to help you determine whether you want to work with us. We recognize that evidence-based treatment is often hard to access. Consequently, we do our best to make our services available and affordable. We are committed to making treatment available to those who need it. As such our therapists are contracted with several insurance carriers and with certain types of Medi-Cal. Please read on for details.

Pro-Bono Therapy

We are proud to be a member of the Project Heal Healer’s Circle. Each year we provide an 18-session course of therapy to two Project Heal Treatment Access Grant recipients at no cost. These sessions are with our graduate externs. To inquire about these grants, contact Project Heal.

 

Low-Cost Eating Disorder Therapy

In order to help bring specialized eating disorder therapy to more individuals in California in need, our psychology externs, practicing under Dr. Muhlheim, offer low-cost therapy for $60 per session. To inquire, complete this form (and put Psychology Extern) under “Requested Clinician.”

 Psychotherapy Fees

• Our owner’s (Dr. Muhlheim’s) fee is $290 for an initial session and $260 for a 55-minute follow-up.
• Our doctoral-level rate and certified eating disorder specialist rate (Dr. Carcieri, Mr. Dang) is $255 for an initial session and $230 per 55-minute follow-up session.
• Our masters-level therapist (Ms. Wermer) charges $195 for an initial session and $175 for each 55-minute follow-up session.
• Our associate-level therapists (Dr. Flanigan, Dr. Tantini, Dr. Poynter, Ms. Houshangi, and Ms. Haren) have a flat introductory rate of $150.

Major credit cards including Visa, MasterCard, Discover, and Paypal are accepted.

Payment is due at the time of your appointment.

Once you have scheduled an appointment, you will be expected to pay for it unless you provide 24-hour advance notice of cancellation. You will be charged for no-shows and appointments canceled with less than 24 hours’ notice. Insurance will not cover missed sessions and you will be responsible for the full fee, not just the co-pay.

Please feel free to discuss any billing or payment matters with us.

YOUR RIGHTS AND PROTECTIONS AGAINST SURPRISE MEDICAL BILLS (OMB Control Number: 0938-1401)

See your rights under the Patient Protection Against No Surprises Act

Insurances Accepted for Eating Disorder Counseling

Our psychotherapists are preferred providers only with: Anthem Blue Cross, Aetna, Kaiser, Meritain, Lyra, Anthem Medi-Cal, and Carelon (formerly Beacon Partnership), which is a medi-cal umbrella for the following behavioral health plans: LA Care Health Plan, CareMore, San Francisco Health Plan LA Care PASC & Covered California.

You should also be aware that sometimes insurance companies subcontract out their behavioral health contracts. Please verify that your behavioral health benefits are with Blue Cross or Aetna and not some third party. Even if you hold an insurance card from one of the companies above, you should call to make sure that the company actually administers your behavioral health benefits and check to see what your plan covers. If your behavioral health benefits are subcontracted out to another company then our psychotherapy services will likely be considered out-of-network.

Please note that within California, Blue Cross and Blue Shield are two separate companies. Our psychotherapists ARE in-network providers for Anthem Blue Cross but ARE NOT in-network for Blue Shield of California. If you have Blue Cross/Blue Shield from another state WE MIGHT be an in-network provider.

How We Work With Insurance

We will submit claims electronically directly to the insurance companies with whom we are in-network. Our administrative staff will help try to verify your benefits and make you aware of any deductibles and copays that need to be met before insurance will contribute to the cost of your sessions. While we do our best to verify benefits, an estimation of benefits is not a guarantee of coverage. We encourage you to call and verify coverage with your insurance company. You must disclose to us all active insurance policies as well as inform us immediately of any changes or lapses in insurance coverage. You are ultimately responsible for all charges for services rendered if services rendered are not covered by your insurance company.

If you have mental health coverage by another insurance company and have a PPO plan, services with our psychotherapists as an “out-of-network provider” may still be covered in full or in part by your health insurance or employee benefit plan. We are willing to complete the necessary paperwork for you to receive any mental health benefits to which you are entitled. However, you are responsible for paying us for your sessions regardless of what your insurance company decides, and we cannot guarantee that you will be reimbursed. If you wish to be reimbursed, it is important that you discuss these issues with your insurance company prior to your first appointment.

If you plan on using insurance to pay for psychotherapy, please be aware of the following information:

• Payment for psychotherapy sessions by insurance companies requires us to submit a psychiatric diagnosis.
• Some mental health insurance plans require pre-authorization before the first session. If this is the case, they may deny billing until that authorization is obtained. Most student insurance plans (including Aetna Student and Anthem UC SHIP require a referral from the student counseling center. Please be prepared to provide your authorization number, co-payment, and number of sessions allowed at your first appointment.
• Insurance companies do not pay for missed sessions or late cancellation fees. We have a 24-hour cancellation policy. If you miss an appointment or cancel with less than 24 hours’ notice, we will charge you. In this situation, you are responsible for the entire contracted rate (your regular co-pay plus the insurance portion). If you arrive late for a session, the insurance cannot be billed for the full time of your session and you are financially responsible for the difference.
• If you decide to use your insurance for psychotherapy, check your coverage carefully. Before the initial session, call them and ask the following questions:
  1. Do I have mental health benefits?
  2. What insurance company provides my mental health coverage and what is the billing address to send claims?
  3. Do I need to obtain authorization for individual psychotherapy?
  4. What is my deductible and has it been met?
  5. How much does my plan cover for an in-network and out-of-network provider?
  6. What is my co-pay for Individual Psychotherapy sessions for an in-network provider?
  7. How many sessions per calendar year does my plan cover?

Get Help for an Eating Disorder

If you have further questions about our fees and insurance or are ready to begin the journey to recovery, contact us. Our practice manager can answer questions and help you get connected to a therapist who can help.