Several strategies can be implemented to increase revenue in behavioral health:
Increase Revenue of Behavioral Health Practice:
1. Accepting More Insurances
Apart from increased behavioral health practice revenue, accepting more insurance can be beneficial for various reasons. As healthcare providers, behavioral health professionals have a responsibility to provide care to as many people as possible. By accepting more insurance, providers can fulfill this ethical obligation and ensure that patients who need care can receive it.
Accepting more insurance also provides you a competitive advantage as patients may be more likely to choose a provider who accepts their insurance plan, particularly if they have a high deductible or limited out-of-network benefits. By expanding the number of insurance plans they accept, providers can ensure a steady stream of revenue and reduce the financial risk of depending on a small number of payers.
Following are some of the steps behavioral health practitioners can take to accept more insurance plans:
- Research insurance networks: Start by researching different insurance networks that cover behavioral health services. You can check online or contact insurance providers directly to learn about their coverage for behavioral health services. Once you identify potential networks, research their requirements for joining their panel of providers.
- Verify your license and credentials: Most insurance networks require that providers have a valid license to practice and meet certain credentialing criteria. Make sure your license is up-to-date and that you have the necessary qualifications and certifications to meet the network’s requirements.
- Negotiate reimbursement rates: When you apply to join a new insurance network, you’ll likely be asked to agree to certain reimbursement rates. It’s important to negotiate rates that are fair and reasonable for your services. You can research typical reimbursement rates in your area and negotiate from there.
- Communicate with your patients: Once you’ve joined new insurance networks, let your patients know. Make sure they’re aware of the insurance plans you now accept and any changes to their coverage. This can help build loyalty and improve patient satisfaction.
By taking these steps, you can increase your chances of being accepted onto more insurance panels and expand the number of patients you’re able to serve.
2. Expanding Behavioral Health Services
Behavioral health providers can expand their services to increase revenue in several ways. Expanding behavioral health services means that more people can access the care they need. This is particularly important in areas where there is a shortage of mental health professionals or where people have difficulty accessing care due to financial, geographic, or other barriers.
Some of the strategies to expand behavioral health services include,
- Offer teletherapy/telehealth services: Offering teletherapy services can expand the reach of behavioral health providers and increase revenue by allowing them to provide services to clients who may not be able to access in-person therapy. Teletherapy can also help reduce overhead costs associated with maintaining a physical office.
- Offer group therapy: Group therapy can be a cost-effective way to provide services to multiple clients at once, which can increase revenue for behavioral health providers. Group therapy can also provide a sense of community and support for clients.
- Offer specialized services: Behavioral health providers can consider offering specialized services such as trauma-focused therapy, addiction treatment, or couples therapy. These specialized services can attract clients who may be seeking specific treatment options and can help increase revenue.
- Expand hours of operation: Expanding hours of operation can provide clients with more flexible scheduling options, which can increase revenue for behavioral health providers. Offering evening or weekend appointments can be particularly beneficial for clients who work during traditional business hours.
- Develop referral networks: Behavioral health providers can develop referral networks with other healthcare providers, such as primary care physicians or psychiatrists, to increase referrals and revenue.
Overall, behavioral health providers can expand their services and increase revenue by offering a range of treatment options, expanding their hours of operation, and developing referral networks.
3. Offer Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs)
Consider offering EAPs to companies and organizations as a way to attract more clients and increase revenue. Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) are workplace programs that offer support and resources to employees experiencing personal or work-related challenges that may impact their mental health and well-being.
EAPs typically provide confidential counseling, referral services, and other resources to employees and their family members.
In behavioral health practice, EAPs can play an important role in promoting mental health and addressing mental health concerns in the workplace. By providing access to mental health services and resources, EAPs can help employees manage stress, improve work performance, and reduce absenteeism and presenteeism (when employees are physically present but not fully engaged).
Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) can directly and indirectly help to increase the revenue of behavioral health practice. EAPs can provide referrals to mental health professionals or other resources in the community.
EAPs can offer education and training programs to help employees and supervisors better understand mental health issues and promote mental health. EAPs can provide short-term counseling to employees and their family members. This can include individual, group, or family therapy.
4. Offer Sliding Scale Therapy
Consider offering a sliding scale fee to clients who may not be able to afford the full cost of therapy, but still want to seek help. Sliding scale therapy refers to treatment priced by each person’s income and dependents.
This fee structure exists to help make therapy more affordable for people living at a lower income level. A sliding fee scale may be ideal for clients who pay in cash, often because they don’t have health insurance.
When starting in private practice, you’ll face several important financial decisions, including what fees you’ll set for therapy services. Deciding how much to charge per session may take some time and consideration. If you work with both individuals and couples or families, you may have one rate for individual therapy and another rate when you work with more than one person at a time.
Whatever rate you set, it’s important to make sure it’s affordable but not so low it undercuts other providers. You also need to charge enough per session to allow you to cover your operational costs and still earn a living.
The most Common CPT Codes used for Behavioral Health Billing
Here are some of the most common CPT codes used for Behavioral Health Billing:
- 90791 – Psychiatric diagnostic evaluation
- 90832 – Psychotherapy, 30 minutes with patient and/or family member
- 90834 – Psychotherapy, 45 minutes with patient and/or family member
- 90837 – Psychotherapy, 60 minutes with patient and/or family member
- 90839 – Psychotherapy for crisis; first 60 minutes
- 90846 – Family psychotherapy (without the patient present)
- 90847 – Family psychotherapy (with the patient present)
- 90853 – Group psychotherapy (other than of a multiple-family group)
- 96127 – Brief emotional/behavioral assessment (e.g., depression inventory, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder [ADHD] scale)
- 96152 – Individual psychophysiological therapy (e.g., biofeedback) with evaluation and reprogramming of the device
These codes are used to bill for various behavioral health services, including diagnostic evaluations, psychotherapy sessions, family therapy, group therapy, and psychophysiological therapy, among others. It’s essential to use the appropriate code based on the specific service provided during the patient encounter.
Medical Billers and Coders (MBC) is a leading medical billing company providing complete revenue cycle services. We can assist you in increasing your behavioral health practice revenue by timely submitting claims, avoiding claim rejections, accurate coding, claim follow-up, addressing claim denials, recovering old accounts receivable, and assisting in provider credentialing.
To know more about how MBC can be a value-adding billing partner to your practice, email us at: info@medicalbillersandcoders.com or call us at 888-357-3226.
FAQs:
Behavioral health practices can increase revenue by accepting more insurance plans, expanding their services, offering Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs), and providing sliding scale therapy options.
Accepting more insurance plans helps providers serve a wider patient base, reduce financial risks, and stay competitive, as patients often prefer providers who accept their insurance.
Providers can expand services by offering teletherapy, group therapy, specialized services (like trauma-focused therapy), and extending hours of operation to accommodate more patients.
EAPs are workplace programs that offer mental health support and counseling to employees. Behavioral health providers can partner with companies to offer these services, increasing revenue by reaching more clients.
Sliding scale therapy allows providers to offer affordable services based on a client’s income, which attracts more clients and makes mental health care accessible to those who may not have insurance.
Catering to more than 40 specialties, Medical Billers and Coders (MBC) is proficient in handling services that range from revenue cycle management to ICD-10 testing solutions. The main goal of our organization is to assist physicians looking for billers and coders, at the same time help billing specialists looking for jobs, reach the right place.
