Starting a Practice With Friends? Ask These Questions First

How Technology Changed Patient-Provider Communication in Mental Health Care

Parker and Tom discuss how patient-provider communication in mental health care has changed over the past 30 years, from pagers all the way to AI. Provider-patient communication outside of session can affect multiple sectors including the clinical relationship, patient experience, boundaries, and operations, so we found it extremely relevant to dive into how much the dynamic has changed as a result of technology.

How to Offer Employee Benefits in a Mental Health Practice

When should a growing mental health practice start offering employee benefits? In this episode, Parker and Tom discuss how practice owners can think about PTO, health insurance, retirement plans, disability insurance, and other benefits without overextending the business. They also cover how benefits affect recruiting, retention, budgeting, and the shift from 1099 contractors to W2 employees. 0:00 Introduction 4:00 At what point should a practice owner consider providing employee benefits? 9:28 What are the best employee benefits to provide, and what are required? 16:55 What can you tell us about health insurance employee benefits? 24:30 What are some unconventional employee benefits that are worth mentioning? 30:57 How do mental health practice owners procure and provide employee benefits? 32:32 What common mistakes do practice owners make when providing benefits? 39:11 Is there anything else you want to mention about employee benefits? 41:09 A word from Rai 42:05 The Mental Health Business Moment 45:23 Conclusion

Why Mental Health Parity Still Isn’t Fixing Access to Care

Nearly two decades after federal mental health parity law passed, why is access to care still so difficult? In this episode, we break down how insurance rules, low reimbursement rates, ghost networks, and weak enforcement continue to limit mental health care access. We also discuss Illinois’ new behavioral health legislation, including a minimum commercial insurance reimbursement floor tied to Medicare rates. 0:00 Introduction 3:00 What is mental health parity law? 7:56 Why do many barriers to care still exist when there are parity laws? 13:46 What are some real-life examples regarding parity laws? 30:36 What else is important to understand about parity laws? 34:24 A word from Rai 35:10 Mental Health Business Moment 44:22 Conclusion

Why Mental Health Providers Should Care About Legislation

This week, we discuss why mental health clinicians should pay attention to legislation, insurance policy, and mental health parity laws. Tom explains how federal and state laws can directly affect access to care, reimbursement, authorization requirements, and a provider’s ability to deliver clinically appropriate treatment. We also cover the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act, state-level protections, Medicare’s influence on commercial insurance, and why providers may need to get more involved in advocacy when policies threaten patient care. 0:00 Introduction 2:31 Why should clinicians care about legislation regarding mental health? 7:00 What past example do you have of legislation affecting your care for patients? 16:55 How much does access to care depend on the policies surrounding mental health? 22:44 What should clinicians be paying attention to when a new law or policy is proposed? 27:45 A word from Rai 28:27 Mental Health Business Moment 30:11 Conclusion

Insurance Companies Are Making Mental Health Care Harder on Purpose

We return for part two of our conversation on how insurance barriers affect mental health care. We discuss the fight for single case agreements, ghost networks, delayed approvals, and why these systems can leave patients without the care they need even when the rules are supposedly on their side. This episode also explores how insurers create friction for providers, why continuity of care becomes so hard to protect, and what it looks like when a clinician keeps pushing anyway. 0:00 Introduction 5:29 Frustrating insurance incident 10:17 Single case agreement battle 38:44 A word from Rai 39:28 Mental Health Business Moment 40:31 Conclusion