Comments on: What You Need to Know About Contracting With Managed Care

By: Tamara

Tamara — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 02:22:37 +0000

Hi, Allen! I'm so glad you asked! Not stupid at all! I just wasn't very clear! Click on this link. It will take you to a post in which I talk about celebrating our one year on line and ask all readers to sign up for our First Annual Roll Call! At the bottom of the post, you will see the little "Comment" button. Click on it and introduce yourself! Tell us who you are, where you are, what you do and how to find you! It's a really good way to meet each other and get the word out about who is here at Private Practice from the Inside Out.

By: Allen

Allen — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 20:17:08 +0000

At the risk of appearing stupid: How do I sign up for roll call?

By: Tamara

Tamara — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 01:02:07 +0000

Welcome to my world, Allen, and enjoy the ride! Hey, I noticed that you didn’t sign in for roll call so . . . where are you and what are you going to be doing in private practice?

And, finally, let me know if you get “stuck” along the way! There’s plenty of clients out there for ALL of us!

By: Allen

Allen — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 21:52:04 +0000

As usual, your response is clear, thorough, and very helpful. I intend to go the “no insurance” route because so many professionals like yourself have been successful with it. I was talking to a buddy of mine today who was telling me about getting $55/hour to take down someone’s mantle piece. That reminded me that we have this notion that all “medical” treatment must be paid for by insurance but we willingly pay more than $50 at a pop for movie night with the family or to have non-emergency work done on the house or car and we do not expect to have insurance pay for it. As you have said before, people pay for what they value and I guess it is up to me to explain why my services are worth the money. Thanks, again.

By: Tamara

Tamara — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 18:12:07 +0000

Hi, Allen! Thanks for dropping in here to ask the question! Many clinicians believe that working with managed care equals a full and vibrant practice. And, that's just not necessarily the case. The truth is that when you work with managed care, it's possible that you may get regular referrals from them (or not). But, what you can definitely count on is that you will receive a fee that is often 50% less than the Usual and Customary Rate for your geographic area and will likely put in twice the time on jumping through their hoops with paperwork, billing, and telephone authorizations. What makes you marketable has to do with what you bring to your practice. It's about who you are . . . what makes you memorable . . . and what makes you the best choice to work in a particular setting with a particular client - and not how you choose to obtain your fee. I wonder if your colleagues in group practices are a bit intimidated by the thought of you actually collecting your full fee . . . . It is true that if you are interested in working with managed care, they do tend to prefer to work with group practices. It allows the managed care company to do less work. A group practice allows them to "learn" about multiple resources for their clients in one location and it also results in increased standardization of billing practices. So, certainly, it is in managed care's best interests to work with group practices. Allen, there are other options out there for individual practitioners who are interested in private practice and need to secure office space. You might want to consider subleasing by the hour or the day from another professional. I have subleased an office for as little as !0% of what I take in during any given hour. I have also paid a flat $10-15 / hour. You might also consider bartering a service (non-clinical) with another professional to offset your expense. There are also businesses like Office Evolution that actually lease space by the hour or by the day to professionals. And, with the recent downsizing of the last few years, you may be able to find space elsewhere at reasonable rates. What I can tell you is that I stay as busy as I want to stay and am 100% cash-only. I have not filed on insurance or joined a managed care panel in at least 15 years. And, I believe you can do it, too! If you aren't sure just how to do that, keep checking in back here at Private Practice from the Inside Out. Or, better yet, sign up for my Annual Series and we'll take additional time to personalize a plan just for you! Allen, I hope you'll take a moment to add your name to our first annual roll call and drop in often to chat!

By: Allen

Allen — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 19:44:31 +0000

Tamara,
I do understand the rationale for going “cash only” in private practice but what about overall marketability? I would like to work part time (my wife wants to go full time with her university)and it has occured to me that paying for office space as a part-timer may be very difficult. The option is to work in a group practice, where the overhead is covered. Problem is, most that I have seen here in Georgia are very adamant about being on managed care companies. It seems like being on the panels could make one more marketable in terms of practice groups. What do you think?

By: Suicide for Managed Care | Private Practice from the Inside Out

Suicide for Managed Care | Private Practice from the Inside Out — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 06:10:03 +0000

[...] told you what you might need to know about working with managed care and I told you why I choose not to work with managed care. Today I ran across another post [...]

By: Tamara

Tamara — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 21:30:41 +0000

Hey, Robyn, you don’t have the market on fear so when you decide what you are going to do with it, I hope you’ll drop back in and let us know. Hopefully, you can help someone else from stepping in that same hole!

By: Tamara

Tamara — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 21:27:09 +0000

Carla, I only know that because I’ve been there before . . . and it feels REALLY GOOD to have made a different choice! Have a good day!

By: Robyn

Robyn — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 17:50:50 +0000

Well, that’s really interesting to hear! You are right- it probably is mostly fear based!!