Payment and Insurance
It is very important to me to uphold the highest privacy standards to safeguard client information. For this reason, I operate intentionally independent of any corporate Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) and, instead, bill patients, clients, and couples directly. As such, you may choose whether, or not, to seek reimbursement from your insurance provider, a structure that provides an additional layer of privacy.
Insurance
My services may be covered in part by your health insurance or employee benefit plan, provided that your plan allows you to see out-of-network therapists. As with EAPs (mentioned above), I no longer choose to be directly affiliated with any insurance panels. However, most people receive partial reimbursement for my standard fee within four to six weeks after your claim is filed. (I gladly will provide you with detailed, insurance-ready invoices to aid in the insurance claim process on a quarterly, bi-monthly, or monthly basis, at your request and prompt.) If insurance reimbursement is necessary in order to keep costs down, please check your coverage carefully before beginning treatment by asking the customer service representative for your plan the following recommended questions:
- What is my annual, calendar-year deductible before I am eligible for partial reimbursement of this out-of-network therapist's fee?
- How many years will my mental health records be maintained by this insurance company, even after I stop treatment?
- What is the coverage amount (in terms of dollars, not percentage reimbursed) per therapy session for this out-of-network therapist's fee?
Please note: I do not have a sliding-scale fee structure, except in cases of sudden disability or temporary job loss involving a patient/client/couple with whom I am already working. If you require reduced-fee therapy, please see my Resources page: Washington DC Anxiety Therapy - Dupont Circle Depression Therapy | Karen Osterle, MSSA, LICSW for some very high-quality options in the metro DC area.
Payment
Cash, check, Zelle, and Visa/MasterCard/AmEx accepted.
Cancellation Policy
If you don't show up for your scheduled therapy appointment, and you have not provided a full 24 hours' advance notice (barring a situation that we both agree is an emergency, of course), I will respectfully ask you to pay for the missed session. If you are sick, please let me know this by 8:30 a.m. on the day that we are to meet, if not the night before, in order to avoid the late-cancellation charge.
Contact
Questions? Please contact me by email ([email protected]) or phone (202) 744-2922 for further information, or to request a therapy appointment.