Financial policy and fee schedule
Thank you for choosing Exposure Therapy Designs, A Marriage and Family Therapy Professional Corporation (Exposure Therapy Designs). We appreciate that you have entrusted us with your counseling needs and are committed to providing you with the best care possible.
Care delivered by Exposure Therapy Designs, A Marriage, and Family Therapy Professional Corporation, will be administered regardless of race, color, creed, social status, national origin, handicap, or sex.
Mission
The mission of Exposure Therapy Designs is to foster a supportive therapeutic environment for children, adolescents, and adults to feel empowered and encouraged to succeed in life.
Payment is due at the time of service
You are responsible for paying at the time of your session unless prior arrangements have been made. It is best to pay when you arrive for your session as we may discuss challenging material, and you may be more comfortable leaving directly after the session is over. However, payment at the end of the session is completely fine as well.
Forms of payment accepted
Payments can be made by cash, certified check, money order, or major credit card. Clients can also set up automatic credit card payments to be processed after each visit. There will be a $75 service charge for all returned checks.
Fee schedule
Exposure Therapy Designs, A Marriage and Family Therapy Professional Corporation, provides quality counseling at a standard fee from $160 per hour. Our fees are a reflection of the specialized education, training, and experience of our talented staff, and we encourage you to view this as a caring way of investing in you and/or your loved ones’ health and well-being. Exposure Therapy Designs works to keep the fee reasonable and is competitive with a well below-average fee within the San Francisco Bay Area.
Individual session – $225 per session (for an ERP, EMDR, CPT session), $160 for a standard therapy session
Individual session for members of the Open Path Collective – $70
Lotus Therapy Fund Recipients – $125 for approved recipients, paid directly by the fund, covers 8 sessions, Available for sessions with Practice Manager only.
Initial assessment – $250 with a licensed clinician.
45 minutes – $185
30 minutes – $125
Couples counseling – $350 per session for an hour with a licensed clinician. A minimum commitment of 3 sessions is required.
Family session with two people – $425 per session for an hour with a licensed clinician. A minimum commitment of 3 sessions is required.
Group Therapy – $75 to $80 per individual.
Insurance – clients who want to use their insurance must contact the office as fees and co-pays vary. Our biller will verify benefits and co-pays for your plan.
M.R. Estante: contact the office as the fee varies by insurance and client’s legal state of residence.
Elizbaeth Ribicki or M.R. Estante: If you have Spring Health or Lyra benefits through your employer, and still have alloted sessions for the calendar year, the cost of sessions are fully covered. However, please still contact the office to schedule a phone consultation. If we decide to work together the office will explain how to utilize Spring Health or Lyra benefits.
Other services that require more than 15 minutes are billed directly to you (not covered by insurance) at the pro-rated rate of $200.00 per hour. These services include:
- Telephone/Email consultations
- Review of records such as prior treatment reports, custody evaluations, and the like.
- Reports, testing, and letters to others (which are only provided at your written request)
- Expert testimony for depositions and/or court appearances, including travel and preparation time, if necessary. 50% of the anticipated fee for these services must be paid one week in advance.
Reimbursify
If you have private health insurance make sure to file your claims using the Reimbursify app. You’ll get your first claim for free.
Click here to file fast with Reimbursify.
Learn more about how Reimbursify helps clients get reimbursed without being overwhelmed by paperwork. Click here to download Reimbursify’s Fact Sheet for clients.
Financial security
Exposure Therapy Designs, A Marriage, and Family Therapy Professional Corporation would like you to provide us with a credit or debit card that we will keep on file. We use Ivy Pay as a payment processor. This information will facilitate the settlement of any balances that may be your responsibility after we have settled with your insurance carrier. Under HIPAA, we are under strict rules and guidelines for protecting client privacy, and a credit card is considered protected health information. We treat your financial information with the same respect and privacy guidelines as your medical records. We assure you that we will only bill your credit card in the following situations: you instruct us to bill your credit card for any outstanding balance, or your balance is 60 days past due.
Minors
A parent or legal guardian must accompany the minor patient at the time of the initial visit. The parent or legal guardian is responsible for full payment as outlined in the financial policy. The parent or legal guardian that accompanies the minor patient to the clinic will have full responsibility for the payment should any dispute arise.
Financial responsibility for minors
We realize that many families are in a state of change. Divorced, separated, single parent, and blended families are common. In many of these families, the question of who is responsible for the children’s medical bill is uncertain. The policy of our office is that the parent who requests treatment for the child is responsible for all fees incurred. However, our office is happy to work with families who would like to put two forms of payment on file when sharing the financial responsibility for co-payment and session fees.
Cancellation policy
The power and helpfulness of therapy is directly tied to the therapist-client therapeutic relationship. The relationship is fostered through consistent, regular contact that better allows your therapist to assist you. If you need to cancel an appointment, kindly give us a minimum of 48-hours notice. Exceptions will be made when circumstances exist such as illness or when weather conditions make it impossible to get to your appointment. It is important to note that insurance companies do not provide reimbursement for canceled sessions. You will be billed directly, and copayment amounts do not apply. The missed appointment/late cancellation is billed at the reduced rate of $95 per session. If you are late, your appointment will still need to end on time.
Statements
Clients carrying a balance will be sent a statement at the beginning of each month. If you have any questions regarding your statement, please call our billing office at 323-332-1655.
Updates
It is important that we have your correct information on file. Please advise us anytime there is any change to your address, telephone, email, or other contact information.
Collection procedures
Collection procedures will be initiated when payments are 90 days past due. This may involve using a collection agency or filing a claim in small claims court. Before we engage a collection agency, we will provide you with written notice of our intent to do so, sent to your last address we have on record, and give you an opportunity to make payment arrangements. The responsible individual agrees to pay all collection fees, including attorney fees, court costs, and other expenses incurred in the collection of delinquent accounts.
Disputes regarding superbill reimbursements
Your insurance policy is a contract between you and your insurance company. We will not become involved in disputes between you and your insurance company regarding your policy.
Refunds
A refund is issued when an overpayment has been identified. If you feel a refund is due, please contact our billing office at 323-332-1655.
Balances
Exposure Therapy Designs does not permit clients to carry a balance of more than three sessions and if you are unable to pay this balance, we will discuss whether it makes sense to pause your care or develop another strategy so that you can avoid incurring additional debt. Please let us know if any problem arises during the course of therapy regarding your ability to make timely payments.
Expert witness rates/fees
Our practice does NOT provide expert testimony. If we are compelled to testify in this capacity, the fee is $600.00 per hour with a two-hour minimum deposit.
Disability
Exposure Therapy Designs does NOT evaluate patients for disability. There are doctors in the community specifically trained to evaluate disability. We do not have this training and cannot, in good conscience, evaluate people for benefits as we are not trained to do so.