Insurance Documentation Made Easy (for Therapists)

Have you ever tried to research the answer to a question about insurance billing or documentation? You'll wind up with all kinds of resources that are often overwhelming.

Worse yet, ever post an insurance documentation question in a Facebook group? You're bound to get five different answers to the same question! 

Why does this happen? How come the answer isn't easily accessible?

Because each therapist provider has a different contract, with different stipulations. That means you and your therapist friend may each have a contract with Magellan but actually have different requirements for billing.

What's the takeaway then? Don't blindly follow someone's advice about your contract with the insurance company! Instead, I recommend you always contact the company directly to get the answer to your question (or read through your contract). 

Don't feel disheartened, though. There are a few things that are pretty universal in the insurance world. Those things are billing codes and the concept of medical necessity. 

And because I like to make things nice and easy for you, I have a nice little cheat sheet with common billing codes (CPT Codes) that counselors use. Click here to download the cheat sheet.

This cheat sheet is part of the insurance lesson in my online program, Meaningful Documentation. There are plenty of other cheat sheets you can find if you do a Google search but this one is very specific to the common codes therapists in private practice use. Plus, I give you a little description of when each code is used. 

Remember that whether or not you're actually allowed to use each code is dependent on your individual contract but this should help you determine what is needed and when.

I also recommend you hop on over to one of my previous blogs, Top 5 Things to Know About Insurance Billing, if you're new the insurance world or simply searching around for answers. This topic can become overwhelming very easily but that's not necessary!

Make sure you know your contract and understand medical necessity first and foremost. Then make sure you're using the correct documents (like a Notice of Privacy Practices) and sharing with your clients the limits to their confidentiality. 

Then keep doing the awesome work you do! And make sure you're on my email list so you get notices about other cool blog posts like this one ;)

Hope you find the cheat sheet useful and let me know how it goes! And happy writing.