A 14% denial rate is not normal. Not even for mental health.
EAP sessions subsidizing commercial slots, credentialing limbo eating six-figure chunks, and 90837 billed on sessions that ran 46 minutes. The free 15-minute assessment pinpoints which of these is hitting you hardest.
15 minutes. Custom financial scorecard for your practice.
At a glance
Is This Right for You?
This is for mental health practice owners who:
Want ongoing financial oversight? Our Fractional CFO service for mental health practices may be a better fit.
What We Analyze
Where Mental Health Practices Lose Revenue
We trace every dollar from claim submission to bank deposit in your mental health practice.
Coding Accuracy & Compliance
- •Time-based code selection audit (90834 vs 90837)
- •Add-on code utilization (90785 interactive complexity, 90839 crisis)
- •E/M with psychotherapy billing review
- •Modifier usage accuracy (telehealth, place of service)
Credentialing Impact Analysis
- •Revenue loss during credentialing gaps
- •Payer-specific credentialing timeline tracking
- •Retroactive billing opportunity identification
Denial Management
- •Denial root cause analysis by payer and reason code
- •Medical necessity documentation sufficiency review
- •Authorization requirement compliance audit
- •Appeal process effectiveness tracking
Patient Collections
- •High-deductible plan patient balance tracking
- •Time-of-service collection rate analysis
- •Sliding scale and reduced fee financial impact
- •Superbill accuracy for self-pay patients filing own claims
Results
What Mental Health Practices Recover
| Finding | Typical Outcome |
|---|---|
| Revenue correction | $118,000 recovered through no-show reduction and scheduling optimization |
| Coding compliance | Audit risk eliminated, actual revenue impact neutral (correct coding offset by proper time documentation) |
| EAP strategy | Dropped two lowest-paying EAP contracts, redirected 180 annual session slots to commercial payers worth $79K in additional EAP underpayment recoveries |
Case Study
Real results from a practice like yours
14-provider group practice, mix of psychiatrists, psychologists, and LCSWs, two locations plus telehealth. Revenue hit $2.8M but the owner was taking home less than when the practice had 8 providers. Growth felt like it was making things worse, not better.
What we found:
- •Three LCSWs were billing 85% of sessions as 90837 (53+ minute) when session logs showed average duration of 46 minutes. This created audit exposure and inflated revenue expectations
- •No-show rates averaged 19% across the practice but ranged from 8% to 31% by provider — the three highest no-show providers were costing roughly $118K per year in empty session slots
- •Four providers had been in credentialing limbo for an average of 4.5 months, during which the practice absorbed $93K in unbillable sessions
- •EAP sessions represented 22% of total sessions but only 9% of revenue, effectively subsidizing low-paying contracts with higher-paying time slots
The results
$118,000 recovered through no-show reduction and scheduling optimization
Revenue correction
Audit risk eliminated, actual revenue impact neutral (correct coding offset by proper time documentation)
Coding compliance
Dropped two lowest-paying EAP contracts, redirected 180 annual session slots to commercial payers worth $79K in additional EAP underpayment recoveries
EAP strategy
“We thought more therapists meant more profit. Sorso showed us that half our growth was going to EAP sessions and empty chairs.”
— Practice Owner, Northeast
Common Questions About Revenue Cycle Analysis for Mental Health Practices
Find out where your mental health practice revenue goes.
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