Good Faith Estimates at SBCS & No Surprises Act

On January 1, 2022, congress enacted a "No Surprises Act", which is a: “new federal protections against surprise medical bills that take effect in 2022. Surprise medical bills arise when insured consumers inadvertently receive care from out-of-network hospitals, doctors, or other providers they did not choose." Under the law, health care providers, including mental health providers, must give clients who are not using insurance an estimate of the bill for services.

Good Faith Violation: Not at SBCS

If you are an existing client at Space Between Counseling Services, it is highly unlikely this would affect our work together. There will be no situation in which you would "inadvertently" receive care from a member of the SBCS team. Also, the final rules about how to implement this in a practice such as SBCS have not even been written yet by the federal government. We are an "out of network" practice for all insurance companies.

As stated above, our licenses, training, and education qualify for out-of-network reimbursement. This means that we do not bill insurance companies directly. Your counseling services may be eligible for reimbursement through out-of-network benefits, medical spending (FSA's), or health care savings accounts (HSA's). There will be NO good faith violation here!

Therapy Appointments

If you are currently working with a clinician at Space Between Counseling Services, you are already aware of the costs of your therapy appointment. We believe in transparency, which is why fees are listed at numerous places on our website, discussed explicitly during initial phone consultations, and during your initial session.

If you are considering a therapy appointment with a clinician at Space Between Counseling Services for individual or couple therapy, your chosen clinician(s) will need to provide you with a diagnosis prior to meeting for your initial therapy appointment, which as a team we feel is both unethical and impossible without a meaningful evaluation of your circumstances. At this time, many professional organizations are attempting to understand the details of this law, to whom it applies, and how to apply it. Unfortunately, guidance so far is uncertain and in many cases conflicting.

Honesty, Integrity, and Transparency

Please know: Space Between Counseling Services will remain honest and transparent with you about the costs of the services agreed upon. You will have "no surprises" at our practice in regard to fees. In the meantime, you may certainly ask your clinician or our client care coordinator, Niina “Ninny” Bacha, about any costs about which you may be unsure, and you will be provided clear information. Please feel free to contact your clinician if you have any related questions.