Mental Health Billing Company for Private Practice: How to Choose
A mental health billing company for private practice takes over the insurance side of your therapy or psychiatry practice. It checks coverage, sends claims, follows up on denials and tracks payments, so you can stay with patients. Here is how to choose one, and what MCM South does.
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What is a mental health billing company?
A mental health billing company is a business that bills insurance on behalf of a psychotherapy or psychiatry practice. You keep the clinical work. The company handles the claim work after each visit.
MCM South Medical Billing Service, LLC is one. We bill only for mental and behavioral health, for psychotherapists and psychiatrists, in solo and medium-size practices. We do not bill for hospital systems. We started in 2010.
In-house, software only, or a billing company?
You have three ways to get claims paid. The right one depends on how much billing work you want to do yourself.
| In-house | Billing software only | Billing company | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who works the claims | You or your staff | You or your staff | The company |
| Who chases denials | You | You | The company |
| What you pay for | Staff time | A software subscription | A fee set by the company |
| Best for | Practices with billing staff | Practices that want to keep the work | Practices that want claims off their desk |
For a closer look, read mental health billing software vs. a billing service.
7 essential questions to ask a mental health billing company
- Do you bill only mental and behavioral health? Behavioral health has its own rules: carve-outs, time-based psychotherapy codes, employee assistance programs (EAP) and psychiatric evaluation and management (E/M) codes with add-ons. A generalist can miss them.
- Do you serve both psychotherapists and psychiatrists? A psychotherapist bills by session length. A psychiatrist bills an E/M visit and may add a psychotherapy code. Ask how each is handled. See our psychiatry billing services.
- Which states and payers do you work in? Payer rules vary by state. Ask for the states in writing. MCM South currently serves ten states: Georgia, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Texas, Florida, New York, Colorado, Tennessee, North Carolina and Illinois.
- How do you charge? See the fee models below. Ask for the full fee structure in writing, including anything beyond the main fee.
- Will you sign a business associate agreement? A billing company handles protected health information, so HIPAA generally requires a written contract with the practice. Read the HHS page on business associate contracts.
- What reports do I get? You should see where every claim stands. We provide an aging report (outstanding claims by wait time) and a paysheet report (payments per payer, session by session).
- Can you also handle credentialing? You cannot bill a payer you are not enrolled with. Ask whether enrollment is part of the service. It is part of ours; see credentialing.
Be careful with any company that promises a result, a collection rate or a timeline before it has seen your payers and your claims. We do not.
Mental health billing fee models explained
Companies price in a few common ways. Each is a different trade.
- Percentage of collections. The company takes a share of what it collects for you. The fee moves with your income.
- Flat monthly fee. A set amount per provider or per practice. It is predictable, whatever you bill.
- Per claim. A set amount for each claim submitted.
- Hourly or project-based. Usually for cleanup work.
Ask what counts as a collection, what happens to denied claims and whether there is a setup or cancellation fee. We do not publish prices on this page. Request a free quote for your practice.
What MCM South does for your practice
We run the full cycle with six services:
- Insurance verification and eligibility checks
- Electronic claims submission
- EAP billing
- Denied and rejected claims follow-up and appeals
- Secondary claims billing
- Insurance credentialing
We also bill out-of-network claims for clients. See in-network vs. out-of-network and the full list of mental health billing services.
Is a mental health billing company for private practice the right fit?
A mental health billing company for private practice often fits when claims sit unworked, denials pile up or you bill at night after seeing patients. It fits less well if you have a full billing team that already works every denial. Compare your own costs honestly: staff hours, missed follow-up and the software you already pay for. Terms in a company’s contract are defined in the billing terms glossary.
Mental health billing company for private practice: common questions
What does a mental health billing company do for a private practice?
It verifies coverage, submits claims, follows up on denials, bills secondary payers and tracks payments. Some, including MCM South, also handle credentialing.
How do mental health billing companies charge?
Most use a percentage of collections, a flat monthly fee or a per-claim fee. Get the full structure in writing before you sign.
Do you need a business associate agreement with a billing company?
Yes. The company handles protected health information, so HIPAA generally requires a written agreement. Ask for it before sharing any data.
Does MCM South bill out-of-network claims?
Yes. We bill out-of-network claims for clients.
Can a billing company help with credentialing?
Yes. Credentialing is one of our six services and is separate from claim billing.
How do I know the company is doing the job?
Ask for reports. Our aging and paysheet reports show outstanding claims and payments per payer.
Ready to compare billing companies?
Get a free quote for your practice, or schedule a consultation. Mental and behavioral health billing only.
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MCM South currently serves practices in Georgia, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Texas, Florida, New York, Colorado, Tennessee, North Carolina and Illinois. Michael Williams has worked in all 50 states at some point.
