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Insurance & Fees
Mental health counseling is typically eligible for a flexible spending account (FSA) and health savings account (HSA). Access to mental health care is critical to achieving a healthy overall wellness. We are here to support you along the way.

Accepted Insurance Plans:
- Blue Cross Blue Shield
- Aetna
- United Health Care
- Optum
- UMR
- MedCost
Please know that the above insurance panels are those that some of the counselors in the practice of Santos Counseling PLLC are in-network for. CLICK HERE to read about the insurance each counselor at the practice is in-network.
Common Questions About Insurance And Coverage
Service We Accept Insurance For:
- Individual Counseling.
- Family Counseling.
Services We Do Not Accept Insurance For:
- Couples Counseling.
- Immigration Evaluations
- Emotional Support Animal Letters
- Non-Clinical Services such as completing FMLA paperwork.
Why Are Certain Services Not Covered By Insurance:
Our goal is to provide you with effective and evidence-based treatment. Each of the services provided included a comprehensive approach that extends beyond the parameters of insurance. The services of couples counseling, assessments, and evaluations are extensive and include external research and clinical work by the counselor.
Why Couples Counseling Is Not Covered By Insurance:
The key reasons that our office does not accept insurance for couples counseling is due to the following core reasons:
- Insurance bills the typical individual counseling session at 45 to 50 minutes. Our office works with couples for 90 minutes. This is not an amount of time that is covered by insurance.
- Our office provides extensive treatment for couples that includes in-the-office and out-of-office support. This is not a service that is covered by insurance.
- When seeking couples counseling, the focus is on the relationship, not the individual’s psychiatric condition.
- When using insurance there must be a psychiatric diagnosis. Psychiatric diagnoses are defined as mental health diagnoses such as obsessive-compulsive disorder or bipolar disorder. When seeking couples counseling, it’s vital to understand that couples seek counseling due to areas of concern focused on conflict, communication difficulties, infidelity, marriage preparation, and other areas focused on healing the relationship.
If you are seeking couples counseling, you will be responsible for an out-of-pocket fee of $260.00 at the time of your session.
Our office can provide you with a Superbill. This is an itemized statement showing the receipt of services received. You can use the itemized statement to submit to your insurance company for reimbursement-related reasons. This would be a conversation that you would need to address with your insurance company.
Your Insurance Coverage Limitations And Responsibility
Please know that to utilize insurance you must agree to have a diagnosis on your file. In addition, it is vital to comprehend not all individuals will have a diagnosis. The basis of the DSM-V is to aid healthcare professionals in diagnosing mental disorders and further supporting individuals in seeking mental health services.
How Our Office Files Insurance:
For those seeking individual or family counseling sessions, please know that a fee of $160.00 will be collected during your initial session. If you are using insurance, the office will adjust your payment once your claim is received. For example, if your copayment is $20.00. You will be refunded $140.00 from your initial payment of $160.00.
How Our Office Supports For Services That Are Not Covered By Insurance:
Our office can provide you with a Superbill. This is an itemized statement showing the receipt of services received. You can use the itemized statement to submit to your insurance company for reimbursement-related reasons. This would be a conversation that you would need to address with your insurance company.
We truly want you to have the very experience in every way. Understanding payment and insurance can be confusing. Our practice helps with insurance and payment as much as possible. Our counselors are in-network for several insurance panels. If your insurance plan considers us “out of network” they may still reimburse most of our fee. In that event, we provide you with the right paperwork to submit to your insurance company for reimbursement. We can help you with any questions that you may have to make the payment and insurance process easy and straightforward.
What You Can Do Insurance Related To Prepare For Your First Session:
Please call your insurance company and let them know that you are planning to receive (specific service) with (specific counselor/provider). Your insurance company can provide you with details on your coverage based on the service you are requesting and the counselor/provider you are working with.
We strongly encourage you to communicate with your insurance company to understand your coverage details as you are responsible for any charges not covered by your insurance.
Fees For Immigration Evaluations and ESA Letters:
The fee for evaluations such as the ESA (Emotional Support Animal letter) is $400.00 and $800.00 for immigration evaluations. The fee may vary depending on the specifications of the service such as if the service needs to be completed in an expedited time.
FMLA/Disability Fee:
$40.00 fee for the completion of FMLA and disability-related forms and documents.
Cancellation Policy:
Late Cancellations and No Shows sessions will be subject to a $100.00 fee if not received at least 24 hours in advance. If you need to cancel please contact your counselor directly or the office at 336-663-6570 (feel free to leave a message).
Forms of Payment:
We accept all major credit cards, HSA/FSA cards, and cash payments.
Insurance Benefits In Counseling
Please know that the fees above may vary depending on the specification of the service being provided. Services such as those that are extended, require additional testing, need to be expedited, etc. may require a different fee from what is seen on this page. Your counselor will discuss with you the service and fees. Please take time to ask any questions that you may have regarding services and fees by contacting your counselor or the counseling practice intake coordinator at [email protected].
Our counselors are in-network with different insurance companies. Please communicate with your counselor and our office to discuss your insurance and expected fees. We will do our best to support you in navigating the insurance process. Please know that not all services are covered by insurance, this is a question that we can support with and in addition, you can contact your insurance provider for further support.
Below are questions that we recommend you ask your insurance provider to help with the process.
- Does my health insurance policy include mental health benefits?
- Am I required to have approval or permission from my primary care physician prior to beginning counseling?
- Do I have a deductible to meet? If so, what is the amount?
- Is there a limit to the number of counseling sessions per calendar year? If so, what is it?