Steven Garte-Wolf, LICSW

• ​​Individual Therapy

• Relationship/Couples Therapy

• Clinical Supervision

• Executive Functioning Skills Coaching

• Life Coaching​​

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I am no longer accepting clients with insurance other than Blue Cross Blue Shield. Additionally, there are several reasons you may choose to not participate in reimbursement with insurance. Please discuss with me if you are concerned about any of the following:

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• Insurances often do not support alternative evidence-based practices that are on the cutting edge of behavioral health research as they must be vetted over the course of many years. Self-pay allows for these cutting-edge/alternative methods to be used without insurance companies denying payment for these services.

• Insurance companies often request (through third-party companies) any and all paperwork and individual client notes (this is called auditing, and is a common practice among therapists that take insurance) in order to report back the information to insurance companies for various reasons. This may seem like an invasion of privacy to some who seek therapy and can involve the disclosure of details clients may wish to remain solely between the therapist and client. With self-pay, there are no audits by insurance companies or the third parties they hire to review therapists' notes and assessments.

• Counseling and therapy should be accessible financially and without stigma. A diagnosis informs treatment and can provide context to understand the symptoms you may experience. However, a diagnosis is required by an insurance company for therapy to be covered as it helps the insurer judge whether to pay based on "medical necessity." (This means that if you seek therapy for personal growth, talking through an issue, challenge, or other situation and do not meet symptom criteria for a mental illness, the therapist should not be billing insurance and you would likely need to pay for services in full anyway.)

• Therapy and counseling can be about growth for positive outcomes or as part of ongoing mental wellness and health. It does not have to be limited to an intervention during the most difficult mental health crises, but can be part of preventative care. Unfortunately, there are no mental health wellness checks authorized by insurance.

• Therapists who are paneled with insurance companies are also unable to offer sliding scale rates as insurance contracts prohibit them from that practice.

 

SUPERBILL NOTICE: Sometimes people pay for out-of-network care and later submit to their insurance company and request what is called a "superbill" from their therapy provider. This option is not available to clients who receive services on a sliding scale and is only available for those paying the standard therapy rate for a 50-minute session. If you pay the standard rate for a session, please discuss this prior to requesting a superbill. The superbill must list a diagnosis as this is required for the treatment to be considered for coverage. Additionally, since the insurance company may request additional treatment records, you will need to sign a release as oftentimes the insurer wants to establish medical necessity for counseling. A superbill can only be provided if your symptoms meet the criteria for a diagnosis, so discussing this as early as possible in treatment is essential. It is recommended that this is discussed in an introductory call or the first session if it will be requested so that clear communication is established around charges/billing, diagnosis, and treatment.

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By law, you are entitled to and will receive a Good Faith Estimate (GFE) of how much my services will cost you--depending on how often--you wish to see me. You will also need to sign a document that is required as of 1/1/2022 from a recent legislation called the No Surprises Act that highlights that you have the option to choose a provider that participates in your insurance and costs may be higher if you choose someone out-of-network (aka "self-pay"). 

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