Payments with Insurance Coverage

• If you will be accessing a health insurance plan, co-payments and/or co-insurance are due before or at the time of your session(s).

• Insurance clients must obtain - and renew when necessary - an authorization from the referring physician/Primary Care Manager (PCM) even if their policy states a referral is not necessary.

• Clients who have not met deductibles must be prepared to pay any costs out of pocket.

• If insurance coverage is denied for any reason, clients must be prepared to pay privately for therapy services at the reimbursable rate.

Payments without insurance coverage

• Private payments for therapy services are due before or at the time of your session(s).

• Prior to your initial session, a Good Faith Estimate will be provided to you in accordance with the No Surprises Act.

Card on file

• Better Learning Therapies will keep a valid credit card securely on file for ALL clients. This card will be used to pay any balance due for services rendered and/or applicable fees to include cancellation fees.

• Client financial responsibility is due at the time of service. This includes therapy charges, co-pays, coinsurance and any applicable fees.

• Your ability to dispute a charge or question your insurance company’s determination of payment will remain unchanged.

If you have any questions about our policy, please do not hesitate to ask.

Account Balances and Payments

Better Learning Therapies accepts the following forms of payment:

• Cash

• Cashier’s Checks

• Credit/Debit Cards

• Health Savings Account (HSA) Cards

Overdue account Balances and Payments

• Better Learning Therapies reserves the right to cancel your appointment and/or suspend the provision of therapy services due to an outstanding balance until the balance is paid.

• If payment is not collected at or before the time of service, then the card on file will be charged by the end of the following business day.

Our Overdue Balance timeline is outlined below:

• [30-60 DAYS OVERDUE] A late fee of 10% of the total balance will be added to your account. 

• [60-90 DAYS OVERDUE] A second late fee of 10% of the total balance will be added to your account. 

• [90+ DAYS OVERDUE] The account will be submitted for collections activity to an outside agency. This can affect your credit. 

Payments for Cancelled Sessions

All clients are advised that a full session rate fee may be charged for any canceled appointments. If you cannot make your original appointment time, we strongly encourage you to contact our office as soon as possible to arrange a reschedule. We will work with you to find a time suitable for you and a member of our team.

Grants and Scholarships are available to help offset the cost of treatment

Documentation

Better Learning Therapies will make requests to renew authorizations/precertifications as needed, however, it is ultimately the policyholder's responsibility to obtain new authorizations/precertifications.

Better Learning Therapies will provide documentation upon request in accordance with the 21st Century Cures Act. Our electronic health record, Jane, allows clients access to files through the secure online client portal. We are happy to email documents to the responsible party (client if of age or parent/legal guardian). The fee for printed documentation is $5. The fee for a faxed report is $10. The fee for printed and mailed reports is $15.

Please provide external documentation for inclusion in the medical record (examples: previous reports from evaluations, Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) and progress reports from school based services, etc.)

Scheduling

• Treatment may be needed for many months or longer. Once a therapy treatment schedule has begun it is important that sessions are attended regularly. Bulk scheduling is completed three times annually. Sessions will be booked for the number of approved visits on an authorization.

• You have the option to book sessions in advance or schedule on a first come first served basis. The first come first served option may result in a higher chance of your preferred provider or time slot being unavailable.

• All cancelled/no-show appointments will be charged a fee equal to the client’s insurance plan contracted/allowed amount billed via invoice on the day of the cancellation.

• These charges are not billable to insurance and must be paid out of pocket.

• You are always welcome to reschedule and attend your appointment within four weeks of the original appointment date.

• Cancellation of a rescheduled appointment will incur the fee for both the original and subsequently missed appointments.

• Unexcused absences will slow progress and are a serious inconvenience to the treating therapist.

• If you fail to appear for your scheduled appointment three (3) times during the course of treatment, therapy will be terminated. If you feel your circumstances are unique, please speak with reception or administration. We are happy to work with you and your family.

Safety

Therapy provision at Better Learning Therapies involves inherent risks that are beyond the control of BLT and their staff, agencies and employees. By entering into this agreement, you assume all risk for any personal injury to yourself and/or your family members.

Holidays and Professional Leave 

Please confirm clinic closings with your provider. Clinic closings for holidays will not be rescheduled, however your individual providers have control of their calendars and may offer you an additional session. Providers will have professional development at regular intervals with notice. Providers’ vacation and professional training days will be taken with notice and will be rescheduled with our PRN staff or another treating therapist.

Illness

• We thank you in advance for helping us keep our clinic healthy.

• If your child is sick with a fever or stomach illness, they cannot be seen in the clinic for therapy until 24 hours fever free and 48 hours after the last diarrhea or vomit.

• If your child has pink eye, head lice, hand-foot-mouth disease or any other contagious ailment, please reschedule sessions until they have been cleared by a physician.

If you have questions about when it is safe to return to therapy, please visit www.cdc.gov for more information or call us so we can help you make your decision.

Continued or excessive reschedules due to sickness can be subject to pausing services, fees and/or termination of services. Acknowledgement and Assumption of risk (COVID Policy)

Better Learning Therapies is undertaking all recommended and reasonable steps to lessen the risk of transmission of COVID-19, a highly contagious and dangerous disease that the World Health Organization (WHO) has classified as a pandemic. Participation in services (including any related travel) carries with it certain inherent risks related to COVID-19 transmission (“Inherent Risks”) that cannot be eliminated regardless of the care taken to avoid such risks.

Travel Time

• In regards to traffic patterns and inclement weather, please notify the clinic as soon as it is possible if you anticipate a longer travel time to the clinic. If you're having connectivity issues regarding your teletherapy appointment, please notify the clinic as soon as it is possible.

• Depending on the clinic schedule, a late arrival/connection time may cause your session to be rescheduled or applicable fees will be enforced.

• Our policy typically follows travel restrictions that have been issued by the military installation or local school system to include school closures. Should the clinic be closed due to weather/travel restrictions, you will be notified via text, phone call or email to reschedule into teletherapy sessions or reschedule for a later time.

Additional Services and Home Plans

We endeavor to provide information to parents during and following each therapy appointment, but understand that longer conversations are sometimes needed and can be beneficial to the treatment process.

Consultation and support appointments are available when you would like to meet with the therapist to further discuss your child's needs and progress.

In addition, we are happy to attend school IEP meetings and parent/teacher conferences as well as consult with other service providers at parents' request.

These types of appointments are not direct treatment and may not always be billed to insurance. These appointments will be billed at the reimbursable rate and if not covered by insurance must be paid out of pocket.

Home Practice

The long-term success of therapy does not occur in the treatment room. Families must commit to regular practice at home in order for newly developed skills to generalize and become habitual. We welcome your presence and participation in the therapy session.

Minimizing Distractions

We understand that you may need to bring siblings to speech therapy sessions. You are responsible for your children while in the clinic.

While you are observing or participating we must ask that you do your best to minimize distractions/interruptions to treatment sessions. If the treating therapist feels that other children are interfering with progress, we may ask that they do not return.

Presence during sessions

Please accompany your children to the restroom to assist/clean as needed.

• Please remain with your child during therapy sessions. Our insurance coverage mandates that a responsible party must be present for minor children. In the unlikely event of an emergency, we would want your children to be safely escorted from the building in your care.

• If you choose not to participate in sessions you are welcome to utilize our waiting room or remain in your vehicle in the parking lot.

• If in teletherapy sessions, please remain in the room with your child in order to provide support or technical assistance on your end.

Telepractice

Better Learning Therapies has the capability to provide services via telepractice. If you choose to utilize this option, our system will email you the information needed to join a telepractice session two hours prior to your appointment time. In agreeing to teletherapy, you understand that you will require internet access with speed fast enough to handle the video feed as well as access to a microphone and speakers. You also understand that a telehealth consultation has potential benefits including easier access to care and the convenience of meeting from a location of my choosing, but that it is partially your responsibility to choose a location that is distraction free, secure and safe for the duration of the appointment. You also understand there are potential risks to this technology, including interruptions, unauthorized access, and technical difficulties. You understand that your health care provider or yourself can discontinue the telehealth consult/visit if it is felt that the videoconferencing connections are not adequate for the situation. You understand that you can hold a conversation (via phone or through email) with your provider, during which you will have opportunity to ask questions in regard to this procedure. Your questions will be answered and the risks, benefits and any practical alternatives will be discussed with you in a language in which you understand.

Feedback

We welcome your feedback about our clinic and operating procedures. If we are doing something well, please share it with us. If we can improve our services in any way, please share your thoughts first with your treating therapist who will pass the information along to administration. This process ensures that solutions are implemented in the most efficient way possible.