The January 2022 Surprise of Good Faith Estimates Requirements Curt and Katie chat about the No Surprises Act, specifically how to navigate the requirement for clinicians to provide Good Faith Estimates to clients. We talk about the impact of Good Faith Estimates on the intake process, potential complications when providing these estimates to your patients, and suggestions for how to simplify and systemize this requirement.      In this episode of the Modern Therapist’s Survival Guide we talk about the No Surprises Act and the Good Faith Estimate Requirement When we heard about the planned implementation of these new requirements, we decided to dive into the legislation and articles from professional associations to understand what we actually need to do starting January 1, 2022. What is the No Surprises Act and the Good Faith Estimate (GFE) Requirement? “Some folks don't have a clear sense when they come into therapy, how long they're going to be there for.” – Katie Vernoy The goal of the No Surprises legislation is to avoid surprising patients with large medical bills There are benefits and challenges with the requirement to provide good faith estimates to our clients The Good Faith Estimate requirement is to provide the estimated cost of services (fee times number of sessions) at the beginning of treatment (if asked) and at least annually, if needed How will the Good Faith Estimate Requirement impact the Intake Process for Therapy? “These are not contracts; this is not guaranteeing the therapy is going to end after that many sessions.” – Curt Widhalm We are required to determine whether someone is hoping to get insurance reimbursement We must communicate the ability to obtain a written good faith estimate from providers We are required to estimate the number of sessions and total cost of treatment We talk about when you may need to provide a new good faith estimate (and explain changes) We provided a suggestion to start with a GFE for the intake session and then provide a second GFE after that initial session Potential Complications Curt and Katie see for Therapists Providing Good Faith Estimates The requirement for diagnosis very early in treatment The requirement for a diagnosis written on paper – both for folks who don’t know or have not asked before, as well as for folks who do not want a written diagnosis Concerns related to putting forward the total cost of therapy for the year The elements of bureaucracy that could negatively impact the therapeutic relationship The No Surprises Act legislation isn’t finalized and may have additional components or changes Our Suggestions to Systematize the Good Faith Estimate (GFE) Requirement for Therapists “There are certain aspects of this that I think - while onerous as far as communication with our clients - have the potential to make us actually talk with our clients about their treatment more frequently.” – Curt Widhalm Consider coordinating the timeline for updating GFEs, treatment plans, frequency of sessions, progress in treatment, and a reassessment of the sliding scale Think through how you talk about diagnosis and treatment planning ahead of time The idea to create some sort of mechanism for folks to either decline a GFE or to request an oral versus paper GFE Use recommended language to create your notice for your office as well as on your website Create your own template to simplify the process, including a boiler plate GFE for your intake Create a template for GFEs for on-going treatment Our Generous Sponsor for this episode of the Modern Therapist’s Survival Guide: Simplified SEO Consulting Simplified SEO Consulting is an SEO business specifically for therapists and other mental health providers. Their team of SEO Specialists know how to get your website to the top of search engines so you get more calls from your ideal clients. They offer full SEO services and DIY trainings. These days, word of mouth referrals just isn’t enough to fill your caseload. Ins