Policies
Whether you’re a new or existing patient of Balanced Living Psychiatry in Seattle, Washington, find out about the types of sessions Dr. Michelle Zipperman offers, insurance, fees, payment options, and more.
Dr. Zipperman offers both medication management and psychotherapy appointments.
New patient appointments: Initial appointments last for 60 minutes. Please complete required forms prior to appointment. If forms are not completed, a second 60 minute session may be required.
Follow-up appointments:
- Medication management only, simple medications: 15 minutes- to be scheduled with Dr. Zipperman's approval.
- Medication management typical: 25 minutes
- Medication management + therapy: 50 minutes
Video conferencing or telephone appointments are available for established patients but may not be reimbursable by your insurance company similarly to in-person appointments. Ask your insurer how they handle video conferencing appointments and/or telephone appointments for out-of-network providers to be sure.
Dr. Zipperman is an out-of-network provider. Fees are due at the time of service. Insurance carriers may reimburse the patient directly with a percentage of patient's out of pocket costs- depending on their policy. The doctor recommends that patients contact their insurance provider and ask about out-of-network coverage for psychiatric services.
Some questions to ask include:
- What are my out-of-network benefits and what percentage of my cost is covered after I meet my deductible?
- What is the allowed rate for diagnostic evaluation (code 90792) and follow-up 25 min medication management appointments (code 99214 + 90833) or 50 minute therapy/medication appointments (code 99214 + 90836)
- How do I submit a statement to insurance from my doctor's visit?
- How will my deductible affect my cost for out-of-network providers?
- Are telephone or video appointments reimbursed differently for out-of-network providers?
Dr. Zipperman will provide the patient with a statement for fees and payments collected. This paid statement can be submitted by the patient directly to their insurance carrier if the patient has out-of-network benefits.
No sliding scale services are available at this time. Dr. Zipperman is not a Medicare provider, as such fees are not reimbursable by Medicare.
Patient fees are considered Health Savings Account-eligible and Health Savings Account debit cards are accepted.
Request a new patient appointment online. A deposit of $200 is required for new patients in order to hold the appointment time. The deposit will be allocated to the total fee at time of service. A period of 48 hours notice is required to cancel a new patient appointment or to reschedule; otherwise, the deposit is forfeited. A new patient appointment will be cancelled if deposit is not paid within 3 business days of scheduling appointment.
Established patients can cancel or reschedule appointments without penalty if the doctor is given three business days notice.
Fees updated 11-1-2022
New patient appointments (with review of past records/coordination of care), $450
Established patients have the choice of:
- 15 minute brief medication management appointment (for simple stable meds), $200
- 25 minute typical medication management +/- brief therapy, $250
- 50 minute therapy +/- medications, $335
- Telephone and video appointments: same as above, at Dr. Zipperman's discretion as to availability and appropriateness. Please note, insurance companies may reimburse differently such appointments for out-of-network providers.
- Assessment or treatment related to ongoing legal cases or disability evaluations is limited but may be possible at Dr. Zipperman's discretion. Because of the time consuming nature of these services, the doctor has a separate fee schedule for legal cases which is available on request.
Missed patient appointments or late cancellations without 3 business days notice will be incur a fee of $100 for the first two instances in 12 months, after that, full fee is charged for missed appointments. This resets every 12 months.
Missed new patient appointments or late cancellations within 48 hours of scheduled time will forfeit the $200 deposit.
Fees are due at time of service. Outstanding balances will incur a $75 fee at 7 days mark after appointment time; an additional $100 fee at 30 days late, and if not paid by 60 days, account will be charged an additional $125 along with bill sent to collections. Appointment fees, and any late fees, must be paid in-full to avoid further late fees.
NW Clinical Billing Service in retained by Balanced Living Psychiatry PLLC to handle billing matters. Amanda Kelso of NW Clinical Billing will follow-up with patients regarding any outstanding balances and collecting payment.
Patients are responsible to update their payment information and/or billing address with Dr. Zipperman when there are changes.
Miscellaneous fees: Third party document preparation fees requiring more than 10 minutes of the doctor's time are provided at variable costs. Extended telephone conversations with patients or outside providers/other parties taking longer than 10 minutes may also incur a fee. Urgent prescription refills or special script handling requests with less than a 3 business day turn-around time are charged a $60 fee. Complex prior authorizations requiring greater than 15 min of the doctor's time will incur a $40 fee. Medical records handling fee for sending of records is charged at $50 for the first 50 pages and then 10 cents for additional pages.
Please view Good Faith Estimate for Out of Network Care using this link: https://acrobat.adobe.com/link/track?uri=urn:aaid:scds:US:49dbce9a-1514-43d6-940f-4b96d555dc7e
Payments are due at the time of service or payable through online bill pay before your appointment. At the time of service, the doctor will accept cash, check, Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express and Health Savings Account cards.
Sliding scale services and/or payment plans are not available.
