Payment for services is due at the time of service unless other arrangements have been made. We accept the following payment types: Cash, Check, Credit/Debit Card, HSA, and FSA card. Please note that we do not accept assignment of insurance benefits for payment. Please see our statement regarding insurance below.
Regarding Health Insurance and our position of not accepting assignment of benefits
At Integrated Functional Health we have made the decision not to accept assignment of benefits for health insurance. This position is due to several factors. Insurance companies have historically exerted a large amount of control over the healthcare and delivery of service processes. From dictating lower reimbursement rates to providers, to limiting the types or length of treatment. This is even more evident in the area of Mental Health services. The amount of time and paperwork involved in dealing with insurance companies is excessive and continues to increase. As labor rates and other costs for businesses continue to rise, this additional time and energy spent dealing with insurance companies is also becoming financially unsustainable for those in private practice. The practice of moving away from accepting insurance payments is becoming increasingly more common, with many top level practitioners making this same decision for many of the same reasons mentioned above. As they do make this move, practitioners are finding more valuable use of their time in actually helping their clients versus spending countless hours on paperwork.
Insurance companies also require that a client have a diagnosis assigned to them. (Such as "Major Depressive Disorder", "Generalized Anxiety Disorder", or something else. With more and more people seeking Mental Health treatment, many do not fall into these labels, nor do we find that these labels are helpful. In fact, in some cases, they can be detrimental.
Many people in certain professions avoid Mental Health services because of these labels, or the fear that disclosure of information to their insurance company may have a negative impact on their career. These include some of the most needed occupations in our society. (Teachers, Police, Fire EMS, Military, and others.). By taking the insurance company and their requirement of these labels out of the equation, this reduces the apprehension on the part of the client seeking help, and provides more freedom in choice of treatments for both the provider and the client.
Another reason many clients have given for not wanting to utilize their health insurance benefits is that once a diagnosis is provided, it can then be referenced as a pre-existing condition, which may have an impact on future health and life insurance coverage.
With the cost of needing to meet an insurance deductible prior to any type of payment made by the insurance company, (We have seen insurance deductibles continue to increase more and more over the years), then the cost of co-pay, and then a percentage of the bill the client is responsible for (Typically around 30%), many clients find our services to be very valuable in terms of finacial investment.
Psychotherapy and your health in general requires a commitment of time, emotional vulnerability, and financial resources. The impact of proper care and optimal health can be monumental, resulting in a domino effect of positive outcomes throughout your life.
