Figuring it all out?

You may be responsible for a co-pay. It can be paid by cash, check, credit card. 

I submit my claims directly by secure electronic format to the insurance company for reimbursement. 

The insurance company will reimburse me for what they believe is their value of the appointment. The co-pay remains in your balance unless you have already paid. It can be paid in your portal or in person. Any difference I will write off as a business loss. [Insurances use a formula for reimbursements. If we "charge" $100 for a session, they don't PAY that- they pay a percentage. Therefore, if I lower my rates, they lower their reimbursement.] 

This means the provider has sent in an application to the insurance company to be accepted as an "in network" provider with the insurance company but has not yet received approval. They can reject my application for various reason (e.g. "not hiring" due to too many providers, etc.) 

Call the "Behavioral Health" number on the back of your card to check on the status of this provider. Until approved, this provider can give you Superbills for your sessions. 

Superbills are "invoices" that include all the information required by insurances in order to pay for a session. You will pay for your session at time of services. You can submit this directly to your insurance company to seek reimbursement. This will be impacted by any copays, deductibles, etc. on your policy. Again, you can call the "Behavioral Health" number on the back of your card for more information. I cannot get this information for you.  

Yes. If you are the first person with that insurance, I will have to apply. It can take months to get credentialed or paneled with an insurance company. Superbills will be provided until then. Some companies do not reimburse well, they may not be appealing to work with, or they may not have openings for another provider right now- (e.g. they are not "hiring"). 

It is a long process which takes lots of paperwork. Once that paperwork is done, I have to make sure online information is up to date (e.g. insurance certificates) or it can delay the process; even make me have to start over. Read more here about the whole process https://blog.therapynotes.com/getting-on-insurance-panels-how-to-navigate-the-process

You can ask to pay for sessions out of pocket and keep your information private. It will not be sent to your insurance. Session are paid for at time of service by check, cask, or credit card. Individual sessions are $100 per 55 minutes. There is a one time intake at $50 per 30 minutes and takes 90-120 minutes depending on if you do electronic assessments ahead of time (saves a lot of time) and if you have a complex history. 

There is a federal income sliding scale that I use to determine a lower rate. You can use the application to determine if you fall within that sliding scale and at what rate. 

Superbills are "invoices" that include all the information required by insurances in order to pay for a session. You can submit this directly to your insurance company to seek reimbursement. This will be impacted by any copays, deductibles, etc. on your policy. Again, you can call the "Behavioral Health" number on the back of your card for more information. I cannot get this information for you.  

Yes. If you are the first person with that insurance, I will have to apply. It can take months to get credentialed or paneled with an insurance company. Superbills will be provided until then. Some companies do not reimburse well, they may not be appealing to work with, or they may not have openings for another provider right now- (e.g. they are not "hiring"). Read more here:  https://blog.therapynotes.com/getting-on-insurance-panels-how-to-navigate-the-process

Yes. But that is illegal. Everything is regulated. It is a government healthcare system even though I am a private practice. Please be patient. This is not "Doc Hollywood" as much as I would like it to be (Caton-Jones, M.(Director).(1991). Doc Hollywood. [Film]. Warner Brothers.) That is fiction and idealistic, utopian artistic nostalgia. Yes, Brene Brown, nostalgia. (Brown, B. (2021). Atlas of the Heart; Mapping Meaningful Connection and the Language of Human Connection. Random House Books.)

Your insurance may determine a "session" is only 30-45 minutes (because they pay less). If your therapist is reimbursed by code ending in 09834, that means they will not be paid for a full 60-minute session. If your therapist bills for a 09837 (60 minutes), they will not get paid at all. Hmmm. So- If you are prepaying privately, AND If your Superbill says this code (90837), and you did not get reimbursed, you may want to ask your insurance company if that is the issue.