Mental & behavioral health billing
Mental and behavioral health billing services
Billing for group practices, therapists, psychologists and psychiatric providers, by a team that works behavioral health claims every day. Time-based codes, telehealth, authorizations and carve-outs handled properly, so clinicians can stay focused on clients.
Prefer to talk? Call (817) 396-6663
- Therapy, psychology & psychiatry
- SimplePractice, TherapyNotes, Valant
- Credentialing included
Why behavioral health is different
Mental health billing breaks the rules general billers learn
Most medical billing is built around procedures and visits. Behavioral health is built around time, relationships and ongoing care. A 53-minute session and a 52-minute session are different codes. A psychiatrist’s medication visit with therapy is billed as two codes on one claim. Many health plans hand mental health to a separate company with its own rules and its own network.
Add session limits, authorizations, telehealth rules that change from payer to payer, and clinicians with several license types, and it’s easy to see why general billing companies struggle with mental health claims.
Mental health has been at the center of Cure MB’s work from the start. We set your billing up around how your practice actually works: who sees clients, which payers you’re in network with, how sessions are documented and which EHR you use.
Where revenue gets stuck
The problems we fix in mental health practices
Time-based coding
Psychotherapy codes depend on documented minutes. We check session times against the code before every claim.
Carve-outs
Claims sent to the medical plan when a behavioral health administrator manages the benefit. We map who pays what.
Session limits & authorizations
Visit caps and authorization rules tracked per client so care isn’t interrupted and claims don’t deny.
Telehealth rules
Place-of-service codes and modifiers kept current for each payer.
Credentialing gaps
New clinicians seeing clients before they’re in network. We credential them and time their schedules around effective dates.
Client balances
Copays, deductibles and out-of-network balances explained clearly, with Good Faith Estimates for self-pay clients.
Codes we work with every day
The core behavioral health code set
These are the codes behind most mental health claims, and the mistakes we see most often with each.
907919079290832908349083790833908369083890846908479085390839908409078599202–99215
| Code(s) | What it covers | Where it goes wrong |
|---|---|---|
| 90791 / 90792 | Diagnostic evaluation, without or with medical services | 90792 billed by clinicians who can’t use it; frequency limits ignored |
| 90832 / 90834 / 90837 | Individual psychotherapy, 16–37, 38–52 and 53+ minutes | Code doesn’t match documented time; 90837 used routinely without support |
| 90833 / 90836 / 90838 | Psychotherapy add-on with an E/M visit | Time counted twice; add-on billed without a separate E/M |
| 90846 / 90847 | Family psychotherapy without / with the client present | Billed under the wrong client or without the client’s diagnosis |
| 90853 | Group psychotherapy | Billed per group instead of per client |
| 90839 / 90840 | Crisis psychotherapy, first 60 minutes and each extra 30 | Time thresholds or crisis documentation missing |
| 90785 | Interactive complexity add-on | Added routinely without documenting the complicating factor |
Authorizations & session limits
Never find out about a session limit from a denial
Many plans limit sessions per year or require authorization after an initial number of visits. We track both for every client.
Benefits mapped at intake
Visit limits, authorization rules and carve-out administrators recorded before the first session.
Counts tracked per client
Sessions used against the limit and the authorization, updated as claims go out.
Renewals flagged early
Your team hears about an expiring authorization before the last approved session, not after.
Concurrent reviews
Requests for updated treatment information routed to the clinician with what the payer needs.
Telehealth
Telehealth claims that match each payer’s rules
Telehealth is now routine in behavioral health, but the billing rules aren’t uniform. The same session can need a different place-of-service code or modifier depending on who pays for it.
Place of service
Medicare and many commercial plans use POS 10 when the client is at home and POS 02 when they’re somewhere else. Others still want the office place of service with a modifier. We keep a rule for each payer.
Modifiers
Modifier 95 for synchronous video visits, and audio-only modifiers such as 93 or FQ where a payer covers phone sessions. Using the wrong one is a common reason telehealth claims deny or pay at the wrong rate.
Licensure across state lines
Clients who travel or move create claims in states where a clinician may not be licensed or credentialed. We flag those before the claim goes out.
Documentation
Notes should show the session was delivered by telehealth, the modality used, and where the client and clinician were. We’ll tell you if a payer wants something specific.
Practices we work with
Built for every kind of behavioral health practice
Group practices
Multiple clinicians and license types, several payers and locations, one set of reports.
Group practice billing
Your EHR, not ours
We bill from the system you already use
Behavioral health EHRs each have their own billing quirks. We work inside yours so clinicians don’t change how they document.
- SimplePractice, TherapyNotes, Valant, Jane and Tebra
- Claims submitted every business day
- Client balances and statements handled
- Monthly report by clinician, payer and location
The Cure MB difference
What changes for your mental health practice
Cleaner claims
Codes, modifiers and payer rules for mental health checked before every submission.
Denials worked, not written off
Each denial is read, corrected or appealed, and the cause tracked.
Stronger collections
Aging claims followed by phone and portal until they’re paid or closed with a reason.
Reports you can read
A monthly view of collections, denials and A/R for your mental health practice.
Client stories
What practices say about working with us
Behavioral health
I used to dread the end of the month. Now I open one report and I know what was billed, what was paid and which claims are still being worked. When a denial comes in, someone has usually already called the payer before I hear about it.
Dr. Rachel MorenoPsychiatrist, solo practice · Austin, TX
Physical therapy
I’m a clinician, not a biller. They understand timed codes and plan-of-care rules, they answer email the same day, and for the first time I actually understand my A/R report.
Megan Carlisle, PT, DPTClinic owner · Denver, CO
Pediatrics
Switching billers mid-year felt risky. The handover was organized, the old A/R got cleaned up, and nothing slipped through the cracks while we kept seeing patients.
Dr. Alicia BrooksPediatrician · Atlanta, GA
Editing note (hidden on the live site): these six testimonials are SAMPLES that show the finished design. To publish a real one, edit the quote, name, role and city, then delete the classes cmb-placeholder and cmb-sample (Block → Advanced → Additional CSS class). Delete any sample you do not replace. The whole section stays hidden on the live site until at least one real testimonial is in.
Free consultation, no obligation
Running a mental health practice? Let’s talk numbers.
Tell us how billing works today. We’ll show you what we’d fix first and what it would cost.
Services for mental health
Everything your practice needs
Therapist credentialingEligibility & authorizationsMedical billing & codingDenial managementA/R follow-upRevenue cycle managementVirtual assistants for intake
FAQ
Mental health billing questions
Short answers to what practices ask us most.
How much do mental health billing services cost?
With Cure MB, practices collecting up to $20,000 a month pay a flat $250 to $700 per month depending on volume. Above that, pricing starts at 2.99% of collections. There’s no setup fee.
Do you work with SimplePractice and TherapyNotes?
Yes. We also work in Valant, Jane, Tebra and other EHRs. You keep documenting the way you do now.
Can you help us get credentialed with insurance?
Yes. We credential therapists, psychologists and psychiatric providers with commercial plans, Medicaid and Medicare, and keep CAQH current.
How do you handle session limits and authorizations?
We record limits and authorization rules at intake, track sessions used for each client, and flag renewals before the last approved session.
Do you bill out-of-network or create superbills?
We can prepare superbills for out-of-network clients and, where you choose to, submit out-of-network claims on their behalf.
What’s a Good Faith Estimate and do we need one?
Under the No Surprises Act, uninsured and self-pay clients must get a Good Faith Estimate of expected charges. We can help you set up a template and workflow.
Other specialties
Billing for other specialties
PsychiatryTherapy & CounselingPsychologyPhysical TherapyChiropracticAcupunctureUrgent CareWound CareInternal Medicine & Primary CareAll specialties
Talk to a billing specialist
Talk to a specialist about mental health billing
Tell us about your practice: how many clinicians, which EHR and which payers. A behavioral health billing specialist will reply within one business day.
- Call(817) 396-6663
- Emailsupport@curemb.com
- WhatsAppMessage us on WhatsApp
Book Your Free Consultation
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We reply within one business day. No patient information, please.