Barbara’s Newsletter Articles 

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listed in each category by most recently published article

Most Recent Articles

• Should You Write Vague or Detailed Session Notes? (January 2026)
• “I’m Licensed in Another State (or Have a Second In-State Virtual Address) — So Why Don’t I Get Clients There?” (January 2026)
• The Counseling Compact is Now ACTIVE!  (Plus: Updates on Other Interstate Compacts) (January, 2026)
• 10 New Year Tips: This Year, Get Paid Every Dollar (December 13, 2025)
• When a Client (or Health Plan) Owes You Money (December 1, 2025)
• Reviewing Your Fee Policies: Setting Fees, Sliding Scales, Missed Session Charges, and Fee Splitting (December 1, 2025)
• Blue Cross Denying Adjustment Disorder Claims After 6 Months (November 22, 2025)
• The Government Reopening:  What it Means For You (November 13, 2025)
• Medicare Claims Returned (Nov. 13, 2025)
• Can You Bill if Your Client Has No Diagnosis?  (Oct 28, 2025)
• Update: Couples and Family Reimbursement Advocacy (October 29, 2025)
• Year-End Reminders of “Grave” Importance (October 22, 2025)
• Claim Denials — And 10 Ways to Prevent Them (October 1, 2025)
• What Are YOU Doing with Your Closed Client Charts? (And How to Securely Get Rid of Them) (September 10, 2025)
• Will Insurance Only Pay for CBT?  Documenting Psychodynamic Therapy (August 31, 2025)
• Will Medicare REALLY Require an In-Person Session before October 1st? (August 28, 2025, updated Nov 13, 2025))
• Wanna Save Money on Consulting? 10 Online Search Tips (August 28, 2025)
• The Effect of Lower Reimbursement for Couples and Family Therapy: My Survey Results (August 20, 2025)
• Tired of Billing Hassles?  Should You Hire a Billing Service? (August 2, 2025)
• The M Word: Take This Quiz About Money and Insurance (June 15, 2025)
• The Medicare Dilemma: Should You Enroll?  Opt In? or Do Nothing?  (June 15, 2025)
• Take 5 Minutes to Help All Therapists Get More Money for Couples and Family Sessions (Even If You Only Work With Individuals) (June 3, 2025)
• NEWS UPDATE:  Trump’s “Big, Beautiful” Budget Bill and How it Could Affect You and Your Clients (May 22, 2025)
• PART 2: Platforms Such as Alma, Talkspace, Grow Therapy, Headway, Rula, Sondermind and Zencare:  Questions to Ask (May 22, 2025)
• My Concerns About Platforms Such as Alma, Talkspace, Grow Therapy, Headway, and Rula– PART 1 (May 14, 2025)
• My Client Wants to See Her Notes (May 13, 2025)
• 6 Mistakes When Documenting Interventions (And Loads of Examples!) (April 29, 2025)
• 10 Tips for Collecting Every Dollar Clients Owe (April 26, 2025)
• “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”: The Perils of Private-Pay (updated April 1, 2025)
• Medicare News Worth Celebrating: In-Person Therapy Requirement Postponed (March 14, 2025)
• Have You Thought About Retirement? Part 2: Clinical and Emotional Considerations (Feb. 24, 2025)
• Have You Thought About Retirement?  Part 1: Practical Considerations (Feb. 24, 2025)
• Is Medicare Ending Telehealth? (February 24, 2025)
• Are Your Notes Confidential in the Trump Era? (February 9, 2025)
• One Tip For a Quick Session Note (January 30, 2025)
• Medicare UPDATE: Will Medicare Require In-Person Visits in 2025? (January 6, 2025)
• Is it Time to Give Up Your Office? (January 10, 2025)
• The Biggest Mistake Therapists Make (Oct 14, 2024)
• A Personal Announcement to my Readers (October 8, 2024)
• Out-of-Network Audits:  FAQs and Protective Actions You Can Take NOW (August 31, 2024)
• Out-of-Network Record Requests:  No One is Immune (August 19, 2024)
• Single Case Agreements:  Caution! (August 19, 2024)
• Important News For Medicare Providers! Modifier Rule Change (August 5,2024)
• Denied by a Health Plan? Get Help From Your State (July 24, 2024)
• Risk Adjustment Audits: 10 Tips for Responding to a Record Request (updated Jul. 2024)
• Insurance-Pleasing Couples Therapy Goals (July 13, 2024)
• Have You Thought About Quitting? (July 9, 2024)
• Supervisory Billing (June 3, 2024)
• Can Artificial Intelligence Help You Write Progress Notes? (May, 2024)
• Crisis Codes 90839 and 90840 (May 21, 2024)
• You Opted Out of Medicare.  Will Your Health Plans Drop You? (May 11, 2024)

Articles By Topic

BILLING

Coding (see also Medicare, below)

• • Crisis Codes 90839 and 90840 (May 21, 2024)
  • Interactive Complexity: More Money for Kids Sessions? (May 6, 2024)
  • Can You Charge More for Evening and After Hour Sessions? (April 22, 2024)
  • Update: A New Way to Bill for Longer Sessions (Updated October, 2023)
  • Do You Do Longer Sessions?  Prolonged Services Codes Discontinued (October 17, 2022)
  • UPDATE: Do you Use 90837? New Insurance Plan Reviews (June 5, 2021)
  • Did You Get a Letter About Your Use of CPT 90837? (August 4, 2020)

Medicare 

• • Will Medicare REALLY Require an In-Person Session before October 1st? (Sept 18, 2025)
  • The Medicare Dilemma: Should You Enroll?  Opt In? or Do Nothing? (June 15, 2025)
  • Important News For Medicare Providers! Modifier Rule Change (August 5,2024)
  • You Opted Out of Medicare.  Will Your Health Plans Drop You? (May 11, 2024)
  • IMPORTANT UPDATE for Medicare Providers re: 2024 Telehealth Claims Underpayment (Feb. 25, 2024)
  • Medicare Botches 2024 Telehealth Claim Payments (Jan 2024)
  • The Latest Wave of Medicare / OPTUM Overpayment Requests (Clawbacks) (Jan 2024)
  • Medicare Update 2024 (Jan 2024)
  • Medicare Update:The Latest for MFTs and Counselors (and Everyone) (December 4, 2023)
  • Counselors and MFTs: Are You Ready for Medicare? (October 2023)
  • When Your Client Has Medicare AND Another Policy(Updated Aug 16, 2022)

Billing for Couples

• • The Effect of Lower Reimbursement for Couples and Family Therapy: My Survey Results (August 20, 2025)
  • Take 5 Minutes to Help All Therapists Get More Money for Couples and Family Sessions (Even If You Only Work With Individuals) (June 3, 2025)
  • Billing for Couples and Family Therapy: Setting the Record Straight (Updated August 12, 2025)
  • Insurance-Pleasing Couples Therapy Goals (July 13, 2024)
  • Couples Therapy and Insurance: A Difficult Dance (October, 2023)
  • Can I Accept Insurance For Individuals But Not For Couples? (May 30, 2023)

Supervisory Billing

• • Supervisory Billing (June 3, 2024)

General Billing Issues

• • This Year, Get Paid Every Dollar: 10 New Year Tips (December 13, 2025)
  • The Top 10 (Mostly Preventable) Reasons For Claim Denials (Updated Sept. 6, 2025)
  • Getting Paid for Late Claims  (updated Sept 6, 2025)
  • The M Word: Take This Quiz About Money and Insurance (June 15, 2025)
  • 10 Tips for Collecting Every Dollar Clients Owe (April 26, 2025)
  • Denied by a Health Plan? Get Help From Your State (July 24, 2024)
  • The Change Healthcare Cyber Attack — And Why You Should Care (March 2024)
  • This Year, Get Paid Every Dollar: 10 New Year Tips (Jan 2024)
  • Warning for Out of Network Providers: Sudden Payment Drops, and How to Prevent Them — the Data iSight Multiplan Story (Aug. 2, 2023)
  • 10 Telehealth Billing Myths (May 7, 2020)
  • Blue Shield of California and Magellan: A Deceptive Arrangement  (Jun 8, 2015)
  • 10 Tips for Fighting Denials (Apr 17, 2010)

NOTES AND TREATMENT PLANS (see also record requests and audits, below)

Session Notes

• • Should You Write Vague or Detailed Session Notes? (January 2026)
  • Progress Notes vs. Psychotherapy Notes: Do You Know the Difference? (updated Sept 6, 2025)
  • One Tip For a Quick Session Note (January 30, 2025)
  • Out-of-Network Record Requests:  No One is Immune (August 19, 2024)
  • Can Artificial Intelligence Help You Write Progress Notes? (May, 2024)
  • Crummy or Missed Notes: What to Do? The Three Paths (March 26, 2024)
  • What’s Wrong With Your Note Template (September 4, 2023)
  • Whose Notes Are They, Really? (November 2, 2020)
  • How to Catch Up With Notes (September 8, 2020)
  • How Confident Are You in Your Notes? Survey Results, Part 6 (November 18, 2019)
  • HOW Do We Keep Notes, and What’s In Them? Survey Results Part 3 (Sept 9, 2019)
  • How Long Does it Take to Write Your Notes?  Survey Results Part 2 (August 22, 2019)
  • When Do you  Write Your Progress Notes? Survey Results Part 1 (August 2019)
  • What Should Your Notes Cover When Insurance ISN’T Being Billed?(July 5, 2019)
  • The Importance of Documenting Impairment (April 22, 2019)
  • When Insurance Asks for Money Back — And How to Prevent It (Aug 25, 2018)
  • Speaking the Language of Insurance Plans (Jun 8, 2015)

Treatment Plans

• • Insurance-Pleasing Couples Therapy Goals (July 13, 2024)
  • Treatment Plans: The Biggest Mistakes Therapists Make (Feb 25, 2024)
  • Do YOU Hate Treatment Plans? You Aren’t Alone.  Progress Notes Survey Results, Part 5( October 9, 2019)
  • Why Treatment Plans Matter — And 8 Tips (March 29, 2019)

RECORDS REQUESTS, AUDITS, OVERPAYMENT REQUESTS, AND CLINICAL REVIEWS

• The Secret to Successful Treatment Reviews: Speaking the Language of Medical Necessity (updated Sept 6, 2025)
• Out-of-Network Audits:  FAQs and Protective Actions You Can Take NOW (August 31, 2024)
• Out-of-Network Record Requests:  No One is Immune (August 19, 2024)
• Speaking the Language of Insurance Plans (Aug. 13, 2024)
• Risk Adjustment Audits: 10 Tips for Responding to a Record Request (updated Jul. 2024)
• Clawbacks: When a Plan Wants Their Money Back (January 3, 2023)
• Choosing, Changing, and Adding Diagnoses: Audit Triggers? (July 12, 2022)
• Blue Cross Reviewing Adjustment Disorders (May 16, 2022)
• UPDATE: Do you Use 90837? New Insurance Plan Reviews (June 5, 2021)
• Scary Trend: Health Plans Requesting Notes Before Paying — And After (February 9, 2021)
• Did You Get a Letter About Your Use of CPT 90837? (August 4, 2020)
• Have You Ever Had Your Treatment Reviewed or Notes Requested?  Progress Notes Survey Results Part 4 (Sept. 23, 2019)
• Getting More Sessions: Successful Treatment Requests (Apr 15, 2012)

GENERAL PRACTICE

Retirement

• • You Thought About Retirement? Part 2: Clinical and Emotional Considerations (Feb. 24, 2025)
  • Have You Thought About Retirement?  Part 1: Practical Considerations (Feb. 24, 2025)

Burnout and Therapist Mental Health

• • Have You Thought About Quitting? (July 9, 2024)
  • You’re Not Burned Out.  Or Are You?  15 Easy-to-Miss Signs of Therapist Burnout — And How to Prevent It (February 24, 2020)
  • Avoiding Frustration When Working With Insurance  (Sept 24, 2010)

Clinical

• • Missed Sessions: Being Nice Can Cost You Thousands (updated August, 2022)
  • The Art of the First Client Call:  10 Tasks (updated Aug 1 2021)

For In-Network Therapists (or Those Who Want to Join)

• • 10 Tips for Collecting Every Dollar Clients Owe (April 26, 2025)
  • This Year, Get Paid Every Dollar: 10 New Year Tips (Jan 2024)
  • Can You Ethically Tap Dance Around Your Insurance Contract? (November 22, 2022)
  • The #1 Reason Your Network Application Will Be Rejected (November 19, 2019)
  • The Top 10 (Mostly Preventable) Reasons For Claim Denials (Updated May 27, 2019)
  • Becoming a Network Provider: Selling Yourself to Insurance Plans (May 9, 2019)
  • Can I Convert Insurance Clients to Private-Pay? (Jul. 11, 2017)
  • Getting Paid for Late Claims (Mar. 25, 2017)
  • Are Raises Possible? (Updated Feb 13, 2017)
  • “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”: The Perils of Private-Pay (Jun 9, 2012)

For Out-of-Network Therapists

• • 10 Tips for Collecting Every Dollar Clients Owe (April 26, 2025)
  • “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”: The Perils of Private-Pay (updated April 1, 2025)
  • Out-of-Network Record Requests:  No One is Immune (August 19, 2024)
  • Warning for Out of Network Providers: Sudden Payment Drops, and How to Prevent Them — the Data iSight Multiplan Story (Feb. 19, 2023)
  • Out of Network Providers: Help Your Clients Get Reimbursed — With No Effort on Your Part! (Sept. 10, 2019)
  • What Should Your Notes Cover When Insurance ISN’T Being Billed? (July 5, 2019)

For Telehealth Therapists

• • “I’m Licensed in Another State (or Have a Second In-State Virtual Address) — So Why Don’t I Get Clients There?” (January 2026)
  • The Counseling Compact is Now ACTIVE!  (Plus: Updates on Other Interstate Compacts) (January, 2026)
  • Test Yourself: Laws When Your Client is Out of State (Plus: Update on Interstate Compacts) (April 7, 2024)
  • 10 Questions About Giving Up Your Office: Update (updated December 1, 2024)
  • Using ZOOM? You May Not Be HIPAA Compliant (June 5, 2021)
  • Thinking of Giving Up Your Office? (Part 2) (August 21, 2020
  • Thinking of Giving Up Your Office? Read This First (Part 1)(August 4, 2020)

 INTERSTATE THERAPY

• “I’m Licensed in Another State (or Have a Second In-State Virtual Address) — So Why Don’t I Get Clients There?” (January 2026)
• The Counseling Compact is Now ACTIVE!  (Plus: Updates on Other Interstate Compacts) (January, 2026)
• Using ZOOM? You May Not Be HIPAA Compliant (June 5, 2021)

LEGAL, INCLUDING HIPAA AND THE NO SUPRISES ACT

• Coaching vs. Therapy: What’s the Difference? (And Why It Matters) (March 23, 2023)
• The No Surprises Act and Good Faith Estimates: What ALL Therapists Need to Know (January 3, 2022)
• Using ZOOM? You May Not Be HIPAA Compliant (June 5, 2021)
• How is HIPAA Like Cleaning the Bathroom? (May 27, 2019)

OTHER GENERAL PRACTICE

• Funny Things That Have Happened in Telehealth Sessions: Your Stories  (December 4, 2023)
• Coaching vs. Therapy: What’s the Difference? (And Why It Matters) (March 23, 2023)
• What?  A New DSM?  The New DSM-5 TR is Published (August 15, 2022)
• Choosing, Changing, and Adding Diagnoses: Audit Triggers? (July 12, 2022)
• Quick and Easy Referrals for Blue Cross Clients (August 21, 2020)
• Ghost Networks: Why Your Clients Can’t Find Network Providers (Sept. 23, 2019)
• Tired of Billing Hassles? Consider a Billing Service (Updated Jan 3, 2015)

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Barbara Griswold, LMFT, is the author of Navigating the Insurance Maze: The Therapist’s Complete Guide to Working with Insurance – And Whether You Should. To purchase the book or other resources for therapists, click here. 

Copyright Barbara Griswold, LMFT. No part of these articles or this website may be reproduced without written permission of the author. The material in this site is provided for educational and informational purposes only, and is not intended to be a substitute for legal or financial advice. Policies may vary by insurance plan and even within accounts, and laws vary by state. Please consult your attorney or appropriate advisor about the applicability of any suggestions or recommendations.