Fees and Policies
Appointments and Cancellations
Dr Smaller and Kim Richardson’s practices are organized around scheduled appointments, usually 45 minutes in length. Clients are billed for the time that has been reserved, and charged for missed appointments that are not cancelled at least 24 hours in advance.
When first meeting with a patient or client, we usually see him or her once or twice in order to form an impression about whether or not we can be helpful. The client is also asked to consider whether they feel that working with us is a good fit for them.
Payment
Payment is due at the time of service. We accept payment by cash, check, credit card or paypal. If a patient is unable to pay their bill at the end of each session, we ask that they please let us know so that we can work out a mutually agreeable payment schedule.
As is common in our profession, we may modify fees to fit individual circumstances. Fees are adjusted at the beginning of January each year in line with the various costs of running our practices.
Insurance
We practice outside the provider’s networks and as such do not accept “assignment” of payment from insurance companies. We will supply a monthly account reflecting your payments which our clients are free to submit to their medical insurance, where applicable, for reimbursement. We are willing to complete the “provider” portion of standard HCFA 1500 claim forms (or other insurance forms provided by my patients) but do not submit these forms ourselves. Once completed, we will review the form with the client – who can then decide whether or not they wish to submit it to their health insurance company.
HIPAAA Compliance for Psychotherapy, Counseling and Psychoanalysis
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) is a federal law that is designed to protect the privacy of patient information, provide for the electronic and physical security of health and patient medical information, and simplify billing and other electronic transactions by standardizing codes and procedures. A piece of this law recently took effect and is known as the HIPAA Privacy Rule. The HIPAA Privacy Rule creates a minimum federal standard for the use and disclosure of Protected Health Information (PHI) by health care organizations. One of the requirements of the Privacy Rule is that we give to you a Notice of Privacy Practices (NPP) which describes your rights and protections regarding your health care records (PHI).
Paper copies of our Notice of Privacy Practices (NPP) are available in our office at 50 E Center St, Douglas, MI 49406.
The Notice explains your rights regarding your private healthcare information, including your right to:
inspect and copy your medical records;
request an amendment or addendum to your medical records;
an accounting of disclosures of your private health information;
request restrictions to release of your medical information; and
request restrictions of confidential communications with you.
If you have questions about the NPP or HIPAA regulations please contact our HIPAA compliance officer, Kim Richardson at (312) 882-5067.