Break the frustrating cycle: Now is the time to stop accepting insurance
Woo-hoo you started your solo private practice, or joined a group practice and hopped onto insurance panels. You were told that the quickest way to build your case load, is by accepting insurance. Now fast forward, you’re caught up in this cycle of depending on insurance for your income. But you’re feeling frustrated because of the constant headache of dealing with denied claims, not getting paid for no-shows or late cancelations, waiting for an hour just to speak to a provider representative and the horrible claw backs! You want to walk away, but you’re dependent on this income. You don’t believe that you can “make it” on your own, without staying on insurance panels. You’re convinced that clients won’t pay your full fee, so you stay and your resentment towards insurance grows.
We got into this field, because we want to help people and to make a difference! We believed the rumors, that with doing this hard work, we’d sacrifice making a lot of money. But we quickly realize that we do need to make a living and to pay off our student loans! With the cost of living expenses rising every year, we take on too many clients, which is harmful for our mental and physical health. And what you’re paid by the insurance, is still NOT enough. After all, they hold the control over our rates and will always pay us way less, than our private pay rate! This contributes to our burnout, along with getting caught up in our scarcity mindset, making it hard to let insurance go.
I totally understand! I used to be on 14 insurance panels and slowly over the years, I got off every single one of them! To do this, I improved my mindset from scarcity to abundance, in believing that I could work smarter and not harder. I haven’t looked back or wished that I stayed! I’m making a better income today and seeing less clients, without the hassle dealing with insurance! This is why I love working with Clinicians! I will help you to create a new path to prevent burnout, by making decisions that support your wellbeing!
Here’s 3 tips on Breaking the Endless Cycle with Insurance:
Figure out your finances. How much do you need to make monthly, to pay your business and personal expenses? And make sure to include money towards your self care, including vacations. Then look at how many clients do I need to see?
Ask yourself, is it time to raise your therapy fee? If you haven’t raised your fee in the last year, what is keeping you from doing it? Just like any other business, we need raises too and maybe a bonus!
This is a good time to stop getting onto more insurance panels. Do an assessment and see which ones you can start to terminate with. Hint: Get off the lowest paying panels first and the panels where you have the least amount of clients with. Start networking with your fellow Clinicians, to build up your private practice!
Let’s break this endless broken cycle with insurance! You don’t want to continue down this dead end path, where you’re constantly frustrated and financially dependent! If you’re stuck in this cycle, reach out to me for 1-1 coaching support, to build a realistic plan that supports your w and the financial health of your business.