FEES AND PAYMENTS

Payment is due at the time of service.  If there is an unpaid balance, I will ask you to provide payment during your visit to cover this. This includes co-pays, coinsurance, and any unpaid visit balances.  I take cash, check and credit card (Visa, MC, Discover, AMEX, HSA/FSA cards) payments in the office. For existing patients, you can also update your payment information, review billing statements and securely pay for outstanding visit balances directly.

If you are more than 90 days past due with a visit balance, I will do my best to reach you to proactively address payment before any future appointments are scheduled.  If you do not contact me after several attempts, your balance if exceeding a certain amount may be 1) turned over to a collections service and/or 2) need to terminate our treatment relationship due to non-payment. Let's please stay in touch to avoid this!

We can review treatment policies, fees/insurance/billing, patient portal tips and tricks, and any other "housekeeping" questions during your intake.  If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me at cathy@mindfulcathy.com.  

COMMERCIAL INSURANCES ACCEPTED 

• Premera (Blue Cross) of WA - Global, Heritage, Heritage Plus 1, Heritage Prime, Heritage Signature, LifeWise Assurance, Lifewise Connect, Lifewise Health Plan of Washington.

• First Choice Health Network

• Regence (Blue Shield) of WA

• Aetna

• Kaiser/GroupHealth - HMO, PPO, Options

I do not accept Medicare, Medicaid, or local Apple Health (Molina, Community Health Plan) insurance coverage at this time. 

Before your first appointment, please call the member number on the back of your card and check with your insurance whether I am an in-network provider, under your specific plan.

It is your responsibility to know what costs to expect regarding co-pays, co-insurance, and/or or meeting any deductibles for your appointments.  Because of changing healthcare requirements - it is also important to verify with your specific insurance plan regarding approval for appointments to see me, as you may also require preauthorization or referral from your primary care provider.

If your plan offers "out-of-network" coverage, I do not bill for you. I can provide you with a “superbill” payment invoice, upon payment - so you are able to submit this receipt to your insurance company for direct reimbursement.  

PRIVATE PAY:  I also accept private pay patients, for those seeking services outside of commercial insurance and can offer a small cash/check discount for those who pay at the time of service.  

Please see below for a general estimate of my fees and rates.

office appointment TYPES & FEES

Appointment fees listed below do vary, and can depend on many things such as 1) acuity/severity of symptom(s) and condition(s), 2) time spent during appointment, 3) clinical/medical complexity, 4) counseling and patient education needs and 5) care coordination with other providers or local crisis agencies for acute psychiatric situations.

Believe me - I do wish it could be more simple too!  As a result, your coinsurance/copay and the length of the appointment can be different for each visit.

INTAKE appointment is up to 85 minutes.  Fee is $300-350.

Psychiatric Intake - Comprehensive medication and treatment evaluation and past health history.  This may take one, two, or three visits to accomplish. Intake goals, collaborate on initial treatment and medication goals. 

BASIC FOLLOW-UP appointment is up to 25 minutes, follow-up and med check.  Fee Range is $185-285.

Review of symptoms, assessments, discuss plan and treatment goals, and supportive counseling.  Refills and referrals provided during appointment.

EXTENDED FOLLOW-UP appointment is up to 55 minutes, follow-up and med check.  There are also 85 minute appointments available, when needed, for extra counseling/treatment. Fee Range is $205-365.

Review of symptoms, assessments, discuss plan and treatment goals.  Additional time to discuss significant medication adjustments, diagnostic updates and supportive counseling.  Refills and referrals provided during appointment.  

OTHER FEES

*Late Cancellation/No Show Fee is $150.  If you don't show or don't call, please be aware that you will be charged a standard fee for the missed appointment.  You must cancel/reschedule with at least 24 hours notice, as I am able to contact others on my waiting list to fill the spot.  This fee is not covered by your insurance.  

If you are signed up for the patient portal, a reminder email is sent 3 days before your appointment, and you will also be receiving a text reminder 1 day and 2 hours before your appointment.  These reminders are helpful tools but not guaranteed to work 100% of the time.  Remember, if it is less than 24 hours, you will be charged the late cancel fee. It is still your responsibility to confirm/cancel/reschedule your appointment at 24 hours in advance. You can cancel and reschedule directly through the online portal. 

If there is an urgent situation or unexpected medical or personal emergency that you needed to cancel your appointment - please don't hesitate to contact me by phone, through the patient portal or by email, so we can work together to find a workable solution.   

*Refill request outside of appointments is $50.   Please pay close attention to when you are running low or out of medication and do your best to schedule an appointment before you run out of medication.  I do not routinely refill your medications outside of appointments, especially, if they are controlled substances that require in-person monitoring and check-ins.  This fee is not covered by your insurance.  If there is a pattern of refill requests without appointments, my private practice may not be the best fit for your treatment, and I would be happy to provide you with referrals to colleagues working in larger group practices or local clinics, who tend to have additional on-call services and the benefit of multiple providers.    

*Forms and paperwork, phone consults - outside of appointments are billed based on my standard hourly rate of $300.  This is reserved for extraordinary clinical circumstances such as complex case coordination, comprehensive clinical and legal forms, and/or extensive phone consultations outside of appointments, exceeding 10 minutes per week.  What works best if we address forms, paperwork and consults in-person during an appointment.  

As a part-time ARNP in solo private practice, my time, resources, and scope of practice are more limited than treatment services at a larger clinic or group practice.  There is no charge for brief and routine telephone calls for administrative tasks such as scheduling appointments or for billing questions.  

Please call my main number (206) 588-5578 to leave me a message, email me at cathy@mindfulcathy.com, or contact me directly through the secure patient portal to keep me updated if you are unable to make an appointment.