Danielle Kepler, LCPC
Not too long ago, I was in your shoes, wanting to open my own practice and not knowing much about the business side of private practice, let alone the insurance credentialing and billing side! After leaving a group practice I worked at for three years, I knew NOTHING and I mean NOTHING about insurance billing and credentialing. I did know that I was determined and fairly organized (which helped a lot!). I set off on a mission to switch all of my credentialing over to my new solo practice in May 2015 and in a little over 3 months had successfully switched over more than 10 insurance panels to my solo practice and applied to about 10 more insurance panels and Employe Assistance Programs! In those three months, I also signed up for an Electronic Health Record (EHR) and taught myself how to verify benefits and how to bill the insurance companies. I made a LOT of mistakes and have since fixed most of them!
Flash forward to present day and I have streamlined my whole process from initial client contact and insurance verification to getting reimbursed by the insurance companies!
I use my experience in the world of private practice to help other clinicians learn from my mistakes and my triumphs.
Based out of Chicago, IL, I offer professional business consultation services for mental health clinicians planning to open or looking to build upon insurance based private practices. Different than other private practice business consultants, I specialize in insurance credentialing and paneling. I offer in-person trainings and virtual trainings.
I started my solo private practice in May 2015 after leaving a group practice where I had worked for 3 years. When I was deciding to take insurance at my new solo practice,
- I thought about my ideal clients from my old group practice. All of them use their insurance and most likely chose the group practice due to the clinicians there accepting their insurance. I knew I wanted to see a similar population as what I saw at my old group.
- I also thought of the type of therapists I would want to see myself. Since I’m self-employed, I have to pay for my own insurance 100%, and I would 100% want to go to someone who takes my insurance because I’m paying a lot for it. I like to have clients that are of the same mindset.
I am on over 30 insurance panels and EAPs, have NOT outsourced to a billing company and have streamlined my insurance billing/payment process!!
- By being on multiple panels, my practice was full in 3 months of opening and I had a wait list! The referrals do NOT stop and I have had no ‘slow season!’
- Billing takes me up to 5 minutes a day (I average around 6 clients a day and always bill the same date of service)!
- I keep track of all my payments and pending claims!
- I verify all of my client’s insurance benefits and tell them their fees prior to their first session!
- I handle all incoming referrals and my own scheduling myself!
- I have to talk to insurance companies at most 1 hour tops a month!
- My practice is 99% paper free!
- Due to not using a billing company I keep 100% of my profits!
- AND I still have a life and my sanity (for now!)
