SimplePractice Insurance Billing: What Therapists and Psychiatrists Should Check in 2026
SimplePractice insurance billing lets a therapist or psychiatrist file claims, receive payment reports and track balances inside one SimplePractice account. It works best when someone owns the details: payer enrollment, claim edits and denials. Here are five things to check before you rely on SimplePractice insurance billing, and where a billing service fits.
Offer through November 23, 2026: a 7-day free trial plus 50% off your first 4 months. SimplePractice sets final terms at sign-up.
Affiliate disclosure: MCM South Medical Billing Service, LLC has an affiliate relationship with SimplePractice. If you sign up through our SimplePractice link, we may receive compensation. Links to SimplePractice Help Center and pricing pages are plain source links. See our SimplePractice affiliate page.
Every plan
Insurance Essentials comes with every SimplePractice subscription plan.
$0.39
per electronically filed claim from October 1, 2026 on Starter, Essential and Plus.
3 jobs
Someone still owns payer enrollment, missing information and denials.
What is SimplePractice insurance billing?
SimplePractice insurance billing is the set of tools inside the SimplePractice electronic health record (EHR) that file insurance claims electronically and post the payments that come back. SimplePractice calls its default package Insurance Essentials and includes it on every subscription plan. Claims pass through a clearinghouse, a company that checks a claim for errors before it reaches the payer. SimplePractice says it uses several clearinghouses to reach as many payers as it can.
What does Insurance Essentials include?
According to the SimplePractice Help Center, Insurance Essentials includes:
- Primary and secondary electronic claims. File from a client’s profile or in batches. Secondary claims go out after the primary claim is processed.
- Payment reports (ERAs). Enrolling with a payer is recommended. Reports post payments and mark claims paid, denied or applied to a deductible. SimplePractice lists no extra fee for ERA enrollment and payment reports.
- A billing hub for balances, payments and claims in one place.
- Pre-submission checks. Each appointment shows “Ready to file” or “Missing info,” such as a missing diagnosis, CPT code, location or demographic detail.
- Claim rules that fill claims differently by clinician, payer, office location or CPT code. Psychiatrists who bill an evaluation and management (E/M) visit with a psychotherapy add-on can use rules to keep code pairs consistent. See our CPT code guides.
- Insurance status checks and a corrected claim workflow that archives the original claim and opens an editable copy.
What do SimplePractice claim fees look like in 2026?
Claims filed electronically cost extra. SimplePractice’s insurance pricing update lists these changes beginning October 1, 2026:
| Plan | Claim fee from 10/1/26 | Insurance status check |
|---|---|---|
| Starter | $0.39 per claim | $0.15 per check |
| Essential | $0.39 per claim (free claims end) | $0.15 per check |
| Plus | $0.39 per claim (free claims end) | Included through 3/31/27, then $0.15 |
Volume-based claim pricing remains available, and practices that do not file claims or run checks in SimplePractice see no change to their subscription price. Source: SimplePractice, opened November 3, 2026. Plans and fees change, so confirm them in your account.
Estimate your monthly fees
Uses the published fees above: $0.39 per claim and $0.15 per status check. Your plan, volume pricing and included checks may differ, so confirm in your account.
$0.00
Five things to check before you rely on SimplePractice insurance billing
Enroll with each payer you bill
SimplePractice says you may need to submit an enrollment before you can file claims or receive payment reports. The clearinghouse cannot see your account and does not answer direct questions; SimplePractice support contacts it for you. Keep payer phone numbers handy in our insurance companies contact directory.
Know your cost per claim
Multiply your monthly claims by the per-claim fee, then add any status checks. Free monthly claims ended for Essential and Plus on October 1, 2026, so a practice that relied on them will see a change.
Decide who clears “Missing info”
The pre-submission check tells you what is missing. Someone still has to find the diagnosis, fix the code or confirm the location before the claim goes out. Claim rules reduce repeat fixes but do not remove the step.
Decide who works denials
A corrected claim workflow lets you resubmit a corrected claim. Following up with the payer, appealing, and billing out-of-network claims take time and payer-specific knowledge. See how in-network and out-of-network credentialing changes what a claim pays.
Treat coverage checks as a starting point
SimplePractice notes that the details returned depend on the payer, and you may need to call the payer directly. A status check does not replace eligibility verification for a new client.
Quick check: who owns the three jobs?
Tick each job that already has a named owner in your practice.
0 of 3 jobs covered
Where does a billing service fit?
Software gives you tools. A billing service gives you people who use them every day. MCM South Medical Billing Service handles insurance verification, electronic claims, denied and rejected claim follow-up, appeals, secondary claims and credentialing for psychotherapists and psychiatrists in solo and group practices. MCM South also bills out-of-network claims for clients. Our founder, Michael Williams, spent seven years as a SimplePractice consultant working with its clearinghouse on billing issues.
The short version: SimplePractice insurance billing
SimplePractice insurance billing gives you electronic claims, payment reports and a billing hub on every plan, with a per-claim fee since October 1, 2026. It does not decide who enrolls with payers, clears missing information or works denials. Decide those three jobs first, then decide whether to keep them in-house or hand them to a billing service. More guides are in Resources.
Ready to compare SimplePractice with your current setup?
Offer through November 23, 2026: a 7-day free trial plus 50% off your first 4 months. SimplePractice sets final terms at sign-up.
Affiliate link. MCM South may receive compensation if you sign up. SimplePractice sets the plan and terms at sign-up.
How MCM South helps
Want claims, denials and credentialing handled while you see clients? Ask for a free quote and tell us which system you use.
Where MCM South works
MCM South works with psychotherapists and psychiatrists in ten currently served states: Georgia, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Texas, Florida, New York, Colorado, Tennessee, North Carolina and Illinois. See insurance company contacts by state. This post is operational guidance for billing, not legal advice.
Sources checked (November 3, 2026)
- SimplePractice Help Center: Insurance Essentials
- SimplePractice: insurance features and pricing changes
- SimplePractice Help Center: Clearinghouse FAQs
Keep going
Related reading
Frequently asked questions
Does SimplePractice do insurance billing?
Yes. SimplePractice includes Insurance Essentials on every plan, with electronic primary and secondary claims, payment reports, a billing hub and pre-submission checks. Electronic claims carry a separate fee.
How much does SimplePractice charge per claim?
SimplePractice's pricing page lists $0.39 per claim on the Starter, Essential and Plus plans beginning October 1, 2026, with volume-based pricing still available. Confirm the current fee in your account.
Do I need to enroll with payers in SimplePractice?
You may need to submit an enrollment before you can file claims or receive payment reports, according to SimplePractice's clearinghouse FAQ. Enrolling for payment reports is recommended.
What does a billing service do that billing software does not?
Software provides the tools. A billing service assigns people to verify coverage, submit claims, follow up on denials, appeal and handle credentialing. MCM South does this work for psychotherapists and psychiatrists.
