Benefits managed somewhere else
Many plans route behavioral health benefits to a separate company from the medical plan. Claims sent to the wrong one are denied. We confirm where behavioral health claims go during the benefits check.
Psychology and mental health
Mental health and psychology billing services
Therapy billing looks simple until a client’s authorization lapses mid-treatment or a payer changes its telehealth rules. Bela Claim tracks the details behind recurring sessions so your clinicians can stay focused on clients.
In short: we verify behavioral health benefits, track authorizations and visit limits, submit session claims, post payments, work denials and follow up on unpaid claims for psychologists, therapists, counselors and group practices. You get regular reporting and early warning before a limit or authorization runs out.
The billing problems specific to mental health practices
Authorizations and visit limits
We record authorization numbers, approved session counts and end dates, and flag clients nearing a limit so a new request can go in before the next session.
Session-length codes
Psychotherapy codes such as 90832, 90834 and 90837 depend on documented time. We check that the claim matches the session note’s time before submission and follow up when a payer questions longer sessions.
Telehealth rules by payer
Place-of-service codes and telehealth modifiers vary by payer and change over time. We keep each payer’s current requirement on file for your practice and apply it consistently.
Denials that repeat weekly
A weekly client with one setup problem can generate a denial every week. We group denials by client, payer and reason, fix the cause once and correct all affected claims.
Client balances handled with care
Copays, deductibles and out-of-network balances need clear, respectful statements. We send statements on the schedule and tone you set and keep the balance history accurate.
An example: one problem, eight denials
Illustrative example
A client has attended weekly sessions for two months. Every claim since the first visit has been denied because the plan requires authorization through its behavioral health administrator. Resubmitting each claim would fail eight times.
Instead, the denials are grouped, the practice is asked to request authorization (including a retroactive request where the plan allows it), and once approved, all eight claims are corrected and resubmitted together. The client’s record now shows the authorization end date, so the next renewal is flagged in advance.
The full set of billing steps is on our end-to-end RCM page, and the three ways to work with us are compared on our services page.
Codes on this page are examples for U.S. practices. Clinicians remain responsible for documentation and code selection, and payer policies decide coverage. Canadian psychology and counselling clinics: see billing support for Canadian clinics. Integrated practices may also want to read about primary care billing.
Mental health billing questions
What does a mental health billing service handle?
A mental health billing service verifies behavioral health benefits, tracks authorizations and visit limits, submits claims for recurring sessions, posts payments, works denials and follows up on unpaid claims. Bela Claim does this for psychologists, therapists, counselors and group practices, and reports back on what was paid, denied and still open.
Why are therapy claims denied so often?
Common causes are an expired or missing authorization, a session limit reached, behavioral health benefits managed by a different company than the medical plan, telehealth place-of-service or modifier rules that differ by payer, and session-length codes that do not match the documented time. Because sessions repeat weekly, one cause can affect many claims at once.
Can you track authorizations and session limits for us?
Yes. As part of eligibility and benefits verification we record authorization numbers, approved visits and end dates, and flag clients who are approaching a limit so your clinicians or admin staff can request more sessions before care is interrupted.
Do you work with solo therapists or only group practices?
Both. A solo psychologist often needs a dedicated biller for a few hours of steady work each week, while a group practice may want full revenue cycle management. We recommend the model in the consultation based on your caseload and payers.
Talk to us about your practice’s billing
Tell us your caseload, payer mix, telehealth share and where claims are getting stuck. In a free 30-minute consultation we will recommend a dedicated biller, team support or full RCM, with no obligation.