Should Therapists Hire a Biller or Do Their Own Billing
Dear Reader,
I often get asked if it's better to be your own biller, or hire someone to do your billing, claim submitting, and claim tracking for you.
3 Reasons Therapists Should Be Their Own Biller
Overall, I recommend being your own biller for a few reasons:
1. TO SAVE MONEY:
Billers can charge you 8%-10% of your total income in order to cover the costs of their start earning six figures. (which is totally doable and very common in private practice, by the way).
2. TO KNOW EXACTLY WHERE YOUR CLAIMS ARE AT:
While it sounds nice to have someone else handling your claims for you, they sometimes do minimal work while taking 8% of your gross monthly earnings. Plus, it can be disempowering to still be in the dark/clueless as to which claims did and didn't pay, why they paid/didn't pay, and what the insurance reimbursement rates actually are.
3. TO SAVE MONEY (again):
Because certain insurance plans (such as HMSA and Kaiser) have platforms that allow you to submit and track claims for free. OR you can submit and track claims through your EHR for $0.14-$0.25 per claim (i.e. way less than 8%-10% of your total income)
Therapist Billing: Save Money by Managing Claims Yourself
I temporarily hired a biller during the 2024 Change Healthcare Cybersecurity attack, and she unfortunately did very minimal work. Hence my reason for believing that you can and should do your own billing if you can.
If you want to use an EHR that will effortlessly help you with submitting claims, tracking the status of claims, telling you exactly which claims you did and didn't get paid for all while keeping track of your notes, client paperwork, calendar, and everything else, I highly recommend Sessions Health.
Why I Recommend Sessions Health
Sessions Health makes it incredibly easy to submit claims (for only $0.25/claim), follow up on the status of claims, receive notifications on payments, and process credit card payments (2.9% + $0.30 per transaction- much cheaper than many of the other EHRs out there).
All of these tasks can be done within just a few clicks and a matter of seconds. Plus, their support team is incredibly helpful. Sessions Health makes insurance billing easy so that we can spend more time focusing on what matters most, seeing our clients.
Their monthly subscription for solo practitioners starts at only $39/month, much more affordable than many other EHRs on the market.
Another Recommendation: TherapyNotes
TherapyNotes offers similar features to Sessions Health. TherapyNotes allows you to submit claims at just $0.14/claim, and also makes it incredibly easy to submit, track, and manage claims. Both EHRs simplify billing, scheduling, and documentation.
I’m an affiliate with both platforms. If you’d like to try TherapyNotes specifically, I’ve created a quick walkthrough video showing you exactly how to apply a promo code so you can get 2 free months to try it out:
Watch the video below:
Ready to give TherapyNotes a try? Use my affiliate link to sign up and claim your 2 free months.
Use Promo Code: "Davine"
Need More Support?
If you have other areas you’d like help with, or any private practice–related questions, feel free to reply to this email. You can also schedule a consultation with me over Zoom to talk through your questions one-on-one.
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About Jessica Wong, LCSW
Jessica Wong is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and the founder of The Hawaii Therapist Hub, LLC and DaVine Counseling Services, LLC. She provides step-by-step support for Hawaii therapists who want to simplify insurance credentialing, billing compliance, and private practice growth. Jessica’s courses and consultations are designed to cut through the confusion so therapists can run their practices with confidence and clarity.Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.