- HIPAA-compliant billing • BAA with every client
- Serving practices in all 50 states
MENTAL HEALTH BILLING • THERAPY • PSYCHIATRY • TELEHEALTH
We help mental health practices get paid for every session bill 90791–90837 correctly clean up telehealth claims recover denied therapy claims credential new clinicians
Less Insurance Stress. Fewer Billing Distractions. More Control Over Your Revenue.
You spend your days listening, supporting and helping people move forward. Your evenings shouldn’t disappear into rejected claims, unpaid therapy sessions and insurance follow-up calls.
LET'S TALK
Get a Free Mental Health Billing Review
Let’s discuss what’s slowing down your collections and how we can help.
Please do not include patient names, diagnoses or protected health information.
TELEHEALTH READY
POS 02 • POS 10 • Mod 95 • 93
Checked against the rules for the date of service.
MENTAL HEALTH BILLING, EXPLAINED
Mental health billing services manage the insurance and payment work behind therapy and psychiatric care: eligibility and behavioral health benefit checks, psychotherapy and psychiatric coding, telehealth claims, claim submission, denial management, payment posting, A/R follow-up and credentialing.
Mental health billing is different because psychotherapy codes are time-based (90832, 90834, 90837), benefits are often managed by a separate behavioral health administrator, psychiatric visits combine E/M with psychotherapy add-on codes, and telehealth rules vary by payer and date of service. Claims must match the documented session, the provider’s credential and the plan’s rules — or they deny.
Reviewed by the SkyLine MB billing & coding team · Last updated October 2026
Built for behavioral health
Workflows designed around sessions, time-based codes, telehealth and credentials.
SKYLINE MB / MENTAL HEALTH BILLING
A completed therapy session doesn’t always mean a completed payment. Sometimes the insurance company needs more information. Sometimes a psychotherapy code doesn’t match the documented session. Sometimes a patient’s benefits change without warning. And sometimes a claim simply remains unpaid while your team moves on to the next appointment.
At SkyLine MB, we provide mental health billing services that take the administrative pressure off your practice. Whether you’re an independent therapist, psychiatrist, psychologist or growing behavioral health group, we help manage the billing work that keeps your revenue moving.
With 10 years of medical billing experience, our team supports psychotherapy claims, psychiatric billing, insurance verification, denial management, payment posting and accounts receivable follow-up.
SkyLine MB helps close the gap between delivering care and receiving payment. We verify coverage, review claims, resolve rejections, monitor outstanding balances and follow up with payers — so you gain a billing workflow that’s easier to manage and clearer financial information.
You bring your expertise to patient care. We bring billing experience to the business behind it.
WHAT WE HANDLE
Every appointment represents time, preparation, documentation and professional care. We make sure the billing work receives the attention it requires.
01
Mental health benefits aren’t always handled like general medical benefits — a plan may use a separate behavioral health administrator, network rules or different cost-sharing.
We review active coverage, behavioral health benefits, patient responsibility, referrals and authorizations before sessions take place.
02
Your session documentation and billing details should tell the same story. We review time-based psychotherapy codes such as 90832, 90834, 90837 and 90853 — see the mental health CPT code table.
We check session duration, provider information and payer requirements to reduce avoidable errors.
03
Psychiatry practices provide diagnostic evaluations, medication management, E/M visits and psychotherapy.
We support billing for 90791 and 90792, E/M visits with psychotherapy add-on codes, and other services billed by qualified providers — reviewing code combinations, documentation and payer policies.
04
Virtual sessions should fit into your revenue cycle without confusion. We bill covered telehealth psychotherapy and psychiatric visits.
We review place-of-service codes, telehealth modifiers and payer-specific coverage rules, assessed against the policies in force on the service date.
05
We review patient information, provider details, procedure and diagnosis codes before preparing claims for submission.
After submission we monitor claim status, investigate rejections and resubmit eligible claims within payer deadlines.
06
Denied psychotherapy and psychiatric claims may involve medical necessity, service limits, coding mismatches, eligibility or missing information.
We investigate denial reasons, determine the right correction or appeal, and monitor recurring denial trends.
07
Your unpaid claims shouldn’t become forgotten claims. We track outstanding insurance balances and take timely follow-up action.
We review aging claims, payer responses and unresolved balances so you keep visibility into pending reimbursements.
08
Know what you’ve collected, not just what you’ve billed. We post payments from ERAs and EOBs, review contractual adjustments and reconcile claim balances.
Possible underpayments are identified for follow-up, supporting dependable financial reporting.
09
Adding clinicians shouldn’t leave your billing process behind. We assist with credentialing administration, CAQH profiles, payer application follow-up and provider information updates.
Network participation and effective dates remain subject to payer approval.
10
Clear financial records make difficult billing conversations easier. We support patient balance tracking, statements and billing inquiries within the agreed scope.
Reports cover claim activity, outstanding balances, payments and denials.
11
Testing involves separate codes for evaluation services (96130/96131) and test administration (96136/96137), each with time and documentation rules.
We review time, components and payer authorization requirements before testing claims go out.
12
Primary care and behavioral health teams can bill collaborative care (99492–99494) and general behavioral health integration (99484) when requirements are met.
We help track monthly time, care-team roles and documentation so these services are billed correctly.
MENTAL HEALTH CPT CODES
Common psychotherapy, psychiatric and testing codes — and the billing detail that most often causes denials.
| CPT code | Service | Time / rule | Billing watch-point |
|---|---|---|---|
| 90791 | Psychiatric diagnostic evaluation (no medical services) | Per session | Usually once per episode; frequency limits vary |
| 90792 | Psychiatric diagnostic evaluation with medical services | Per session | Billed by prescribers (MD, DO, NP, PA) |
| 90832 | Psychotherapy, 30 minutes | 16–37 min | Time must be documented |
| 90834 | Psychotherapy, 45 minutes | 38–52 min | Most common code — match to documented time |
| 90837 | Psychotherapy, 60 minutes | 53+ min | Some payers review or require authorization |
| 90833 / 90836 / 90838 | Psychotherapy add-on with an E/M visit | 16–37 / 38–52 / 53+ min | Psychotherapy time must be separate from E/M work |
| 90839 / +90840 | Psychotherapy for crisis | 30–74 min / each add’l 30 | Crisis documentation required |
| 90846 / 90847 | Family psychotherapy without / with the patient | 50 min | Patient presence decides the code |
| 90853 | Group psychotherapy | Per session | Billed per group member |
| +90785 | Interactive complexity add-on | Add-on | Only with specific primary codes |
| 96130–96131 / 96136–96137 | Psychological testing evaluation / test administration | First hour / each add’l 30 min | Authorization often required |
| 99492–99494 / 99484 | Collaborative care / general behavioral health integration | Monthly time | Care-team and time requirements |
Simplified descriptors for reference. CPT® is a registered trademark of the American Medical Association. Payer policies on session limits, telehealth and authorization vary — we verify current policy before claims are submitted.
TELEHEALTH BILLING RULES
Virtual therapy made care more accessible — but place of service, modifiers and audio-only rules decide whether telehealth claims get paid.
POS 10 is used when the patient is at home. POS 02 is used when the patient is somewhere other than home, such as a clinic.
Some payers still ask for the office POS (11) plus a modifier — we follow each payer’s instruction.
Modifier 95 identifies a real-time audio-video visit. Modifier 93 identifies an audio-only service where the payer covers it.
Audio-only coverage for mental health differs by payer and program.
Medicare, Medicaid and commercial telehealth policies have changed several times since 2020, including in-person visit requirements.
We check the rules that apply on the date of service before each claim goes out.
Based on CMS telehealth guidance and payer policies in effect at the time of service. Telehealth rules change frequently and differ by payer.
MENTAL HEALTH MODIFIERS
Mental health denials often come from telehealth, credential and same-day billing details. We check every claim against the payer’s own rules before it is submitted.
| Modifier / POS | When it applies | Common billing risk |
|---|---|---|
| 95 | Synchronous audio-video telehealth service | Missing on payers that require it for virtual sessions |
| 93 | Audio-only telehealth service where covered | Billed to payers that don’t cover audio-only |
| POS 02 / POS 10 | Telehealth outside the home / in the patient’s home | Wrong POS reduces or denies payment |
| GT | Interactive telehealth for some Medicaid and legacy payers | Used where 95 is required, or vice versa |
| HO / HN / HP and other credential modifiers | Medicaid programs identifying the provider’s education level | Credential doesn’t match the enrolled provider |
| 25 | Separate E/M on the same day as another service | E/M denied without separate documentation |
| 59 / XE / XS / XP / XU | Distinct service to bypass an edit | Overuse is a frequent audit target |
WHO WE SERVE
Your specialty matters — the way you deliver care affects how services should be billed. SkyLine MB supports:
Whether you manage your own caseload or lead a growing mental health team, your billing support should fit the way you work.
COMMON CHALLENGES
If any of these challenges sound familiar, it’s time to take a closer look at your billing process.
Your calendar is full, but deposits don’t always reflect the appointments you’ve completed.
Coding, eligibility, documentation or payer rules — repeated denials create extra work.
Virtual therapy billing requirements vary by insurance plan and service type.
Your receptionist shouldn’t choose between a patient’s call and another hour on hold with an insurer.
With claims spread across statuses, it’s hard to know what’s paid, denied, delayed or overlooked.
Many plans route mental health claims to a separate administrator with its own payer ID and rules.
AFTER THE APPOINTMENT
A claim may have been submitted but never paid, a secondary balance may be unresolved, or a denial may sit in a queue long after the session. For every claim we ask:
Don’t assume every submitted claim is a paid claim. Consistent attention to these questions surfaces unresolved work before it ages out.
Claim tracker
ILLUSTRATIVE
OUR PROCESS
You shouldn’t need a complicated onboarding process to get billing support.
01
We discuss your practice, existing billing setup, insurance mix, appointment volume and challenges.
02
We review unpaid claims, submission workflows and denials, and agree where support is needed.
03
We coordinate responsibilities, software access, communication and reporting.
04
We support claim processing, insurance follow-up, payment posting or other agreed activities.
05
Ongoing updates flag unresolved issues and show how your accounts are performing.
WHY SKYLINE MB
A decade of experience helping practices establish consistent claim processing, follow-up and reporting workflows.
From psychotherapy to psychiatric evaluations and virtual care, we know behavioral health claims need service-specific attention.
Payment tracking, denial review, insurance communication and A/R management continue after the claim goes out.
We review your current software, resources and workflow before establishing responsibilities.
Organized billing records and reporting show which claims are pending, denied or paid.
Mental health records deserve careful handling — appropriate safeguards, secure workflows and HIPAA requirements.
FITS YOUR STAGE OF GROWTH
Solo therapy practice? You may not need a full-time billing employee, but you still need claims submitted, payments posted and denials addressed.
Expanding into a group? More providers mean more claims, payer contracts and reconciliation work — we help organize it as you grow.
Frustrated with your current billing company? If communication is inconsistent or aging claims aren’t receiving attention, we can review your concerns and discuss a more structured process.
Keep your clinical workflow. Want help with denials but prefer to manage patient payments yourself? We can build a focused scope around your needs.
| What matters for mental health | In-house biller | Generic billing company | SkyLine MB mental health billing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Time-based psychotherapy codes | Depends on one person | Codes taken as entered | Session time checked against the note |
| Telehealth POS & modifiers | Easy to miss changes | Inconsistent | Checked by payer and date of service |
| Carved-out behavioral health plans | Trial and error | Often misrouted | Payer and administrator confirmed up front |
| Credentialing support | Separate task | Often extra vendor | Included option (CAQH, enrollment follow-up) |
| Coverage during absences | Billing stops | Pooled staff | Dedicated contact plus backup team |
| Reporting | Manual | Generic reports | Sessions, denials and A/R by payer and clinician |
PAYERS, COMPLIANCE & SOFTWARE
Behavioral health benefits are often managed separately from medical benefits — we confirm the right payer, network status and limits for each patient.
Mental health records and billing details deserve careful handling. SkyLine MB follows applicable HIPAA requirements, signs a Business Associate Agreement, uses role-based access and secure communication procedures, and never needs psychotherapy notes to bill a claim.
Works inside your EHR & PM system
Not sure where your mental health revenue is slipping?
Request a free mental health billing review. We’ll look at unpaid sessions, denials and telehealth claims, and show you what’s holding up your payments.
TRANSPARENT REPORTING
No black box. Your billing contact reviews these numbers with you every month.
Every completed session accounted for.
First-pass acceptance by payer.
Grouped by reason, payer and clinician.
Outstanding balances by bucket and payer.
Average reimbursement by code and payer.
Sessions and collections by provider.
MENTAL HEALTH BILLING FAQS
Mental health billing services commonly include insurance eligibility checks, psychotherapy claim submission, psychiatric billing, payment posting, denial management, A/R follow-up, patient statements and revenue cycle reporting. SkyLine MB can discuss full-service or selected billing responsibilities based on your practice’s needs.
Yes. We offer billing support for eligible therapists and counseling practices, including psychotherapy claims, insurance verification, payment tracking and denial follow-up.
We support billing for psychiatric evaluations, evaluation and management visits and other documented psychiatric services, including medication management encounters with psychotherapy add-on codes. Coding depends on the service performed, provider qualifications and payer requirements.
Yes. We assist with eligible telehealth mental health claims, including place-of-service codes (02 or 10), modifiers such as 95 or 93, and payer rules in effect on the date of service.
Common mental health billing codes include 90791, 90792, 90832, 90834, 90837 and 90853, along with psychotherapy add-on codes, crisis and family psychotherapy codes, and psychological testing codes. Code selection must match the documented service and current billing requirements.
Psychotherapy codes are selected by documented face-to-face time: 16–37 minutes supports 90832, 38–52 minutes supports 90834, and 53 minutes or more supports 90837. Start and stop times or total time should be recorded in the note.
We can review your current EHR or practice management system during consultation and determine suitable workflow and access arrangements. Compatibility and setup depend on the software and agreed services.
The cost depends on your monthly claim volume, number of providers, payer mix and required services. SkyLine MB provides a quote after reviewing your practice — there is no cost for the initial consultation.
We can assist with provider enrollment and credentialing administration alongside billing support. The exact scope and payer requirements are discussed before onboarding.
We can review outstanding accounts and discuss A/R follow-up, denial resolution and appeal options. Recovery depends on claim eligibility, filing limits, documentation and payer decisions.
No. Billing relies on the information required for the claim — such as dates, codes, time, diagnosis and provider details. Psychotherapy notes kept separately from the medical record are not needed.
Request a consultation and tell us about your practice, current billing process and the issues you’re facing. We’ll discuss the services that may fit your needs and an appropriate onboarding plan.
RELATED SERVICES
CAQH, enrollment & revalidation.
Behavioral health benefits checked.
Psychotherapy & E/M code review.
Root-cause fixes & appeals.
Unpaid & aging claims worked.
End-to-end RCM support.
Related specialties:
GET STARTED
You built your practice to help people work through challenges, improve their well-being and receive the care they deserve. You shouldn’t have to end every workday sorting through insurance denials and unanswered payment questions.
SkyLine MB helps mental health providers manage claims, follow up on insurance payments and bring greater structure to their revenue cycle — whether you work independently or manage a team of clinicians.
Your time belongs with your patients. Your billing deserves experienced attention.
