Medical Billing and Coding Resources
A strong understanding of various codes that behavioral health treatments comprise of is required to be able to successfully bill the claims. It is important for practices to bring in reliable and expert vendors to handle billing, to overcome unique behavioral health billing challenges. Outsourcing behavioral health billing services can reduce practices’ overhead costs, increase reimbursements, decrease claim denials, and rejections. This can enable practices to focus more on their patients rather than spending hours constructing and interpreting the billing reports.
Psychotherapy Codes There are two sets of psychotherapy codes. One set is the set of codes to report psychotherapy only i.e., CPT 90832- 30 minutes; CPT 90834-45 minutes; and CPT 90837- 60 minutes. While these are most frequently reported by social workers, psychologists and therapists, they can be reported by psychiatrists, psychiatric NPs, and PAs […]
Psychotherapy Codes There are two sets of psychotherapy codes. One set is the set of codes to report psychotherapy only i.e., CPT 90832- 30 minutes; CPT 90834-45 minutes; and CPT 90837- 60 minutes. While these are most frequently reported by social workers, psychologists and therapists, they can be reported by psychiatrists, psychiatric NPs, and PAs […]
While many psychologists and patients have adopted video conferencing for psychological treatment, that option is not viable for everyone because of technology and access limitations or preference concerns. Phone-only or audio-only therapy has solid evidence supporting its effectiveness and should be considered a viable option for care. However, audio-only therapy does have some unique aspects […]
Co-occurrence of Mental Health and Substance Abuse The co-occurring problem of mental health and substance abuse is more common than you think. According to the reports in the Journal of the American Medical Association, around 50% of people with severe mental disorders are substance abusers. About 37% of alcohol abusers and 53% of drug abusers […]
Psychotherapy Codes Psychotherapy codes are used for billing clients and filing health insurance claims with all third-party payers, including Medicare and all private health insurance carriers, for psychotherapy services. All mental health professionals including psychologists, psychiatrists, nurses, and social workers delivering psychotherapy services use the same applicable CPT codes when billing clients and filing health […]
It’s evident that teletherapy offers numerous benefits for both counselor and client, some aspects of this service, such as insurance coverage, remain blurry. If you accept insurance, you’re probably wondering if you’ll get reimbursed for online therapy. In this blog, we’ll answer some of your questions about insurance coverage for teletherapy, so that you can […]
Challenges in Mental Health Billing Medical billing can be extremely complicated on its own, but medical billing for mental health services brings its own set of unique challenges. Between the types of services offered, pre-authorization, unbundling concerns, and the size and time availability of office staff, mental health facilities are often at a disadvantage compared […]
New Cognitive Function Intervention Code Effective January 1, 2020, CPT code 97127 (cognitive function intervention, per day) and Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) code G0515 are deleted and replaced with two new timed codes: a base code for the initial 15 minutes of cognitive function intervention (97129 CPT Code) and an add-on code for […]
Basics of Modifier 95 Modifier 95: Synchronous telemedicine service rendered via a real-time interactive audio and video telecommunications system. The modifier 95 was introduced in 2017 and is different from CPT or procedure codes, and describes the claim. Synchronous telemedicine service is defined as a real-time interaction between a physician or other qualified healthcare professional […]
Basics of 90834 CPT Code 90834: Psychotherapy, 45 minutes with a patient in an outpatient setting. 90832, 90834, and 90837 describe individual psychotherapy services for the patient and may include an informant. The patient is required to be present for all or most of the service. The codes include an ongoing assessment and adjustment of […]
