Thank you for selecting New Hope Counseling Services to assist you with your counseling needs. We have established a financial policy which provides payment policies and options to all clients. The purpose of this financial policy is to clarify the payment policies with regard to the counseling services we are prepared to provide you.

We ask that you review our financial policies and invite your questions regarding them. We feel that it is important for the client to understand the financial responsibility involved in receiving our services. This is essential for maintaining a healthy relationship between us and our clients. One treatment goal is to make relationships and the duties and obligations they involve clear. You are responsible for seeing that our services are paid for. Meeting this responsibility shows your commitment and maturity. You, not your insurance company or any other person or company, is responsible for paying the fees we agree upon.

The person responsible for payment of your account is required to sign a Payment Contract for Services Agreement, which explains our fees and collection policies. Your insurance policy, if any, is a contract between you and the insurance company; we are not a part of the contract with you and your insurance company.

Clients are responsible for payments at the time of services. Please pay for each session at its end. We have found that this arrangement helps us stay focused on our goals, and so it works best. It also allows us to keep our fees as low as possible, because it cuts down on our bookkeeping costs. We suggest you make out your check before each session begins, so that our time will be used best. Other payment or fee arrangements must be worked out before the end of our first meeting. We accept cash and checks only. We do not accept debit or credit cards at this time.

We will assume that our agreed-upon fee-paying relationship will continue as long as we provide services to you. We will assume this until you tell us in person, by telephone, or by certified mail that you wish to end it. You have a responsibility to pay for any services you receive before you end the relationship.

Because we expect the payment at the time of our meetings, we usually do not send bills. However, if we have agreed that we will bill you, we ask that the bill be paid within 5 days of when you get it.

At the end of each month, we will provide you with a statement of your account. It will show all of our meetings, the charges for each, how much has been paid, and how much (if any) is still owed. At the end of treatment, and when you have paid for all sessions including any insurance reimbursement, we will send you a final statement for your tax records.

If you think you may have trouble paying your bills on time, please discuss this with us. We will also raise the matter with you so we can arrive at a solution. If your unpaid balance (co-pay if using insurance) reaches $200.00, we will notify you by mail. If it then remains unpaid, we must stop therapy with you. Fees that continue unpaid after this will be turned over to small claims court or a collection service.

If there is any problem with our charges, our billing, your insurance, or any other money-related point, please bring it to our attention. We will do the same with you. Such problems can interfere greatly with our work. They must be worked out openly and quickly.

Currently our regular fees are as follows and in the event they change, you will be given advance notice of those changes.

Regular Counseling/therapy Services for a 45 - 50 minute session are as follows:

Many clients prefer to keep their therapy records private thus avoiding having this placed on their medical records maintained by an insurance company. Also some clients do not have insurance benefits for the type of therapy they are seeking, and lastly some clients have insurance programs (HMO) that limit their benefits providing they work with a counselor that is part of their insurance company’s provider network.

In these instances, we offer a “Sliding Fee Schedule” which is based on two items; (1) the gross annual income of the family, and (2) the family structure (i.e., single/living alone, couple/ 2 cohabitating adults, or family/2 cohabitating adults with at least one child). If you do not have insurance or choose not to use your insurance, please ask us to determine the fee based on these parameters.

Extended Sessions:

Occasionally it may be better to go on with a session, rather than stop or postpone work on a particular issue. When this extension is more than 10 minutes, we will tell you, because sessions that are extended beyond 10 minutes will be charged on a prorated basis and using the same formula as defined in the previous paragraph.

Telephone Consultations:

We believe that telephone consultations may be suitable or even needed at times in your therapy. If so, we will charge you a prorated fee based on the time needed and also based on one of the following: (1) our regular fee, or (2) an adjusted fee based on the Sliding Fee Schedule in effect at the time of the session, or (3) your insurance company’s specified “allowable” amount for an in-office session, subject to your co-pay/co-insurance. If we need to have long telephone conferences with other professionals as part of your treatment, you will be billed for these at a rate that will be computed in the same manner. If your insurance company does not reimburse for telephone consultations, we will expect you to pay for these services.  If you are concerned about all this, please be sure to discuss it with us in advance so we can set a policy that is comfortable for both of us. Of course, there is no charge for calls about appointments or similar business.

Testing Services: 

We are certified to administer the Myers Briggs Preference Inventories, Strong Interest Inventories and a variety of other inventories. The testing fees vary depending on the inventory to be taken, as well as the counseling time spent with you, scoring and interpreting the results, and compiling a report.

Pre-Marital Counseling and Relationship Assessment

We are certified to administer the Prepare/Enrich Marital Assessment Inventories. The Inventory fee, workbook, and four (4) feedback sessions is currently $300.00 per couple.

Reports:

We will not charge you for my time spent making routine reports to your insurance company. However, we will have to bill you for any extra-long or complex reports the company might require. Your insurance company will not cover this fee.

Other Services:

Charges for other services, such as consultations with other therapists, or any court-related services (such as consultations with lawyers, depositions, or attendance at courtroom proceedings) will be based on the time involved in providing the service at our regular fee schedule. Some services may require payment in advance.