Home | Mental Health Billing
Mental Health Billing: Claims Paid for Every Session
Billing Built for Psychiatry, Therapy and Counseling Practices
Billing Care Assistant handles billing for psychiatrists, psychiatric nurse practitioners, psychologists and licensed therapists: diagnostic evaluations, psychotherapy, medication management and telehealth sessions. We check benefits and authorizations before the first visit, code each session by its documented time and follow up until it is paid. Not sure where your revenue is slipping? Start with a free medical billing audit.
Mental Health Billing Expertise
Psychiatry and therapy codes we work with every day
Behavioral health claims are most often denied for time, documentation and authorization problems. Our coders work with psychiatric diagnostic evaluations (90791, 90792), psychotherapy by session time (90832, 90834, 90837), psychotherapy add-ons with E/M visits for medication management (90833, 90836, 90838), crisis psychotherapy (90839, 90840), family and group therapy (90846, 90847, 90853) and interactive complexity (90785). We make sure the documented session time supports the code billed before the claim goes out.
Telehealth and Authorizations
Benefits, visit limits and telehealth rules
Before the first session we verify mental health benefits, including plans where a separate behavioral health company manages them, check visit limits and get prior authorization where the plan requires it. We bill telehealth and audio-only sessions with the right place-of-service codes and modifiers, and we track authorized visits so sessions are not provided after an authorization runs out. For a code-by-code guide, see our mental health CPT codes article.
Full Revenue Cycle Management
From eligibility to payment
We handle the whole cycle for behavioral health practices: insurance verification and authorizations, charge entry and coding, clean claim submission, payment posting, denial management, A/R follow-up and patient statements for copays and deductibles. Denied sessions are corrected or appealed with the clinical record, and every month you get a clear report on collections, denials and what is still open.
Dedicated Support for Your Practice
One team that knows behavioral health
You get one point of contact and billers who know mental health billing. We handle credentialing for psychiatrists, psychiatric nurse practitioners, psychologists and licensed therapists, including Medicare enrollment for marriage and family therapists and mental health counselors, which Medicare has allowed since 2024. We work with practices across Texas from our Sugar Land office and support behavioral health practices nationwide. Book a free consultation to see what we would change in your billing.
Common Mental Health Billing Problems We Fix
| Billing problem | Why it costs you | How we fix it |
|---|---|---|
| Psychotherapy time codes | 90832, 90834 and 90837 are chosen by actual minutes of therapy | We code sessions from documented start and stop times |
| Add-on codes missed | Interactive complexity and therapy done with a medication visit are often left off | We add 90785 and 90833, 90836 or 90838 when documented |
| Telehealth codes and modifiers | Payers differ on place of service 02 or 10 and modifiers 95 or 93 | We follow each payer’s current telehealth rules |
| Authorizations and session limits | Many plans limit visits or require authorization after a set number | We track authorizations and visit counts for every patient |
| Therapists not credentialed | LCSWs, counselors and psychologists must be enrolled before billing | We enroll every clinician with each payer |
Mental Health Billing FAQs
How is psychotherapy time coded?
By the minutes of psychotherapy: 90832 for 16 to 37 minutes, 90834 for 38 to 52 minutes and 90837 for 53 minutes or more. Start and stop times or total time should be documented. See our list of mental health CPT codes.
Can a medication visit and psychotherapy be billed together?
Yes, for prescribers. The office visit is billed with an add-on psychotherapy code (90833, 90836 or 90838), and the therapy time cannot include time spent on the medication visit.
How do you bill teletherapy?
Payers differ on the place of service code (02 or 10) and modifiers such as 95, or 93 for audio-only visits. We follow each payer’s current rules. Read more about telehealth billing.
Can counselors and marriage and family therapists bill Medicare?
Yes. Since 2024, licensed professional counselors and marriage and family therapists can enroll in Medicare and bill for their services. They must be enrolled before they see Medicare patients.
Not Sure Where Your Revenue Is Leaking?
Get a free, no-obligation medical billing audit. We review your claims, denials and A/R, then show you what to fix first.
