FAQ

Billing & Insurance

What is your billing policy?
Renew wanted to serve as many people as possible, therefore we decided to contract with insurance companies for our services. This allows our clients to utilize their insurance, while many counseling agencies are moving to cash only services and charge you immediately at the time of your session between $150-$225 for an intake and regular session.

Renew is a small organization and does not have the ability to send out monthly billing statements. Therefore, we have elected to utilize the billing features associated with our medical records service (TherapyNotes).  Renew, through the portal of TherapyNotes, requires a credit card (can be a health savings account card), that our current billing service (Unislink) will process for the balance owed once your Explanation of Benefits (EOB) has been received and applied to your account. You will also receive a copy of the EOB from your provider at the same time as Renew.

When Renew or our billing service charges your credit card on file, a receipt will automatically be posted in your portal for 90 days.

If you would like to receive a statement regarding the activity on your account, please contact the front desk at frontdesk@renewcm.com or 234-867-5001. At your request, the front desk can provide you with a current statement of account activity at the time of your appointment.

If you would like to better understand what will be charged to your account after a session and once your EOB clears, then we recommend you contact your insurance provider and ask the following:

What is your health insurance responsibility for the following mental health codes?

Intake billing code is 90791

Regular Clinical Session billing code is 90837 (53 minutes)

Important Renew Billing Policies:

Co-pays are charged at the time of check in, while deductibles and/or coinsurance are charged once the EOB has been received by Unislink on behalf of Renew

Much like other services (Amazon, TV streaming, Doordash, Starbucks, etc.) your card is kept on TherapyNotes, a national encrypted platform for mental health medical records.

When thinking about your mental health budget, it is your responsibility to understand what you can afford (i.e., if your insurance’s contracted amount is $100/session and your insurance plan has a $10,000 deductible and you can afford a maximum of $200/month for counseling, you should consider only scheduling 2 sessions per month).

We encourage you to discuss this with your clinician during intake or subsequent sessions, as needed.

We don’t want you caught off guard or find yourself with an unexpected medical bill.

We adhere to timely billing as required by insurance providers. If clients are negligent in providing Renew with updated insurance information, and the insurance provider rejects claims because they are over 90 days, clients will be responsible for the full cost of services provided by Renew that was not covered by insurance.

If you have secondary insurance, you are responsible for providing Renew’s Registration Department with this insurance policy prior to your initial appointment. If you do not comply with this, and we charge your card on file for the balance, Renew will not be able to refund this cost. However, after receiving the secondary insurance it will be added to your account and billed for any portion not covered by your primary insurance provider for any session costs incurred after this information was provided.

A client’s credit card on file will be charged for services rendered until their insurance informs Renew the maximum out of pocket patient responsibility has been satisfied.

When applicable please contact the front desk via frontdesk@renewcm.com or 234-867-5001 to update insurance, expired credit card information or for general questions about your insurance.

For billing questions or concerns please contact Renew’s current billing provider, Unislink at 330-667-0095.

Accounts with balances over 90 days with no payment / activity will be sent to collections

We look forward to serving you but understand that our policy may not be best for everyone. If that is the case for you, we completely understand and would be happy to refer you to another counseling agency that may utilize a different billing platform.
Do you accept my insurance?
Please see our list of approved insurance providers that Renew is credentialed with. It is always the responsibility of the client to confirm that they are within a network for Renew, as some plans are unique despite being under an approved network for Renew.

For example, Medical Mutual has many different HMO and PPO plans with different approved in-network providers.

Below is a list of in-network medical insurance providers for Renew Counseling Ministries. This list does not consider some of the major medical providers’ smaller networks and HMO’s. To assure Renew is on your medical insurance plan, please call the customer service number on the back of your card for confirmation.

Aetna

First Health

AmeriHealth Caritas

Anthem Blue Cross/Blue Sheild of Ohio

Buckeye Health

BWC

CareSource Medicaid/Open Market HMO

Cigna

ComPsych

HealthSmart

Humana

Ohio Medicaid

Medical Mutual

Molina

Ohio Health Choice

Paramount

SummaCare

The Health Plan/Hometown

TRICARE East

United Healthcare (Optum) – Medicaid & PPO

If your assigned clinician is not showing up in your medical insurance network, please check the following names for confirmation:

DGS Ministries LLC dba Renew Counseling Ministries: NPI 1154904332 or EIN 86-361-5725

Victoria Gutbrod LPCC-S

Christie Lavy LPCC-S

Jessica Smith LPCC-S

Stephen Dunleavey LPCC-S

If you would like to better understand your patient financial responsibility once your superbill clears your provider, please ask the following question when confirming Renew is in network:

What is your health insurance financial responsibility for the following mental health codes?

Intake billing code is 90791

Regular Clinical Session billing code is 90837 (53 minutes)

Do I have a co-pay or deductible insurance plan?
See FAQ for further clarification.
What does it mean for Renew to be credentialed with my insurance provider?
Why is the clinician I am assigned to not listed as a provider with my insurance?
Not all our clinicians are individually credentialed under Renew. However, those not individually credentialed will be assigned to a credentialed therapist for billing purposes. If your assigned therapist is not showing up in your Network, please check the following names for confirmation:

DGS Ministries LLC dba Renew Counseling Ministries: NPI 1154904332 or EIN 86-361-5725

Victoria Gutbrod LPCC-S

Christie Lavy LPCC-S

Jessica Smith LPCC-S

Stephen Dunleavey LPCC-S
Can I schedule without insurance?
Do you have financial consideration and how would I apply for this?

Financial consideration can only be applied for if you don’t have medical insurance. You will be asked to complete a form and document income with W2’s and paycheck stubs, or confirm you are unemployed at time of application.

Please let our registration specialist know you would like to apply for this if you don’t have insurance when seeking counseling. If you are a current client and have lost your insurance, please let the front desk and your therapist know you would like to apply.

Financial Consideration rates are as follows:

Master’s Level Clinical Intern: $50/$40

LPC: $70

LPCC: $80
Why do I have to keep a credit card on file with Renew?

Renew is a small organization and does not have the ability to send out monthly billing statements through the postal service. Therefore, we have elected to utilize the billing features associated with our medical records service (TherapyNotes).  Renew, through the portal of TherapyNotes, requires a credit card (can be a health savings account card), that our current billing service (Unislink) will process for the balance owed once your Explanation of Benefits (EOB) has been received and applied to your account. You will also receive a copy of the EOB from your provider at the same time as Renew. When Renew or our billing service charges your credit card on file, a receipt will automatically be posted in your portal for 90 days.
How will I know how much I owe for therapy and what will be charged on my credit card on file?
If you would like to better understand what will be charged to your account after a session and once your EOB clears, then we recommend you contact your insurance provider and ask the following:

What is your health insurance responsibility for the following mental health codes?

Intake billing code is 90791

Regular Clinical Session billing code is 90837 (53 minutes)

When thinking about your mental health budget, it is your responsibility to understand what you can afford (i.e., if your insurance’s contracted amount is $100/session and your insurance plan has a $10,000 deductible and you can afford a maximum of $200/month for counseling, you should consider only scheduling 2 sessions per month).

We encourage you to discuss this with your clinician during intake or subsequent sessions, as needed. We don’t want you caught off guard or find yourself with an unexpected medical bill.

Co-pays are charged at the time of check in, while deductibles and/or coinsurance are charged once the EOB has been received by Unislink on behalf of Renew
What is your missed appointment or late cancellation policy?
Renew’s late cancellation and no-show policy requires that we be notified within 24 hours of a cancellation. We understand that there are unexpected things that come up and our therapists can easily switch to a Telehealth appointment if you are able. We charge $65 for a late cancellation and no-show fee, as this time is not billable to insurance and was held for you in the therapist calendar.

An appeal process is in place if you believe circumstances for the late cancellation or missed appointment were beyond your control or the charge was made in error. Please email us the following and a member of the leadership team will be in touch by email with a decision on your requested appeal:

Client Name:

Client DOB:

Name of Person Completing this Form (if not client):

Relationship to Client (if not client):

Date of Missed Appointment:

Clinician’s Name:

Reason for Missed Appointment:

For questions, please contact us: steved@renewcm.com
What does Coordination of Benefits (COB) mean and how do I update this with my insurance provider?

Often when a person changes insurance providers, the new provider will ask that the individual receiving benefits fill out paperwork or confirm verbally with a customer service representative that they have no other benefits. A client with secondary benefits will often be asked to complete this with both providers each calendar year as well. Until this is complete, the client’s superbills will not clear their insurance, and they will be responsible for the session’s out-of-pocket cost if the paperwork is not completed in a timely manner for billing.

Please call the customer service number on your insurance card and let them know you need to verbally complete coordination of benefits so your pending claims can be processed. Please inform the Renew billing team or front desk this has been completed.

Scheduling & Cancellations

What to do if my therapy portal link is expired?

If your link to your therapy portal account expires, please either contact our office at (234) 867-5001 or email abbyg@renewcm.com to request a new link to be sent to your email. A new link will then be sent via email for you to access and set up your therapy portal account.

PLEASE NOTE: The new link will expire after 24 hours, so please make sure that you access and get your account set up within that time period.
How do I schedule an appointment?

Once you have a therapy portal account with Renew, when you log into your account, there will be a tab in the upper right-hand corner of your screen labeled, “Appointments”. Once you click on “Appointments” you will then select whether you are a new client and this is your first appointment or whether you are an existing client as well as your assigned clinician and the location that you would like your appointment to be.

PLEASE NOTE: any in-person appointment can be made a telehealth appointment simply by noting in the “Message to Practice:” that you would like for your appointment to be a telehealth appointment.) Once you submit the request, it will then be reviewed, approved, and you will receive an appointment confirmation via email. If you need further assistance, you can also call our office at (234) 867-5001 to schedule your appointments at Renew.
How do I cancel my appointment?

To cancel or to reschedule your appointment at Renew, you can click on “Appointments” in the upper right-hand corner of your therapy portal account. Your upcoming appointments will show up along with a button to either cancel the appointment or to reschedule the appointment. Your request will then be processed and approved by our administrative team. You will receive an email once your request has been approved. For further assistance, you can also call our office at (234) 867-5001 to cancel or reschedule your appointments at Renew.
How do I know if your services are right for me?

The short answer is; if you would like to improve your relationships, change an aspect of your life, or reduce unhealthy thoughts, feelings, or behaviors then our services are right for you.

Counseling is a beneficial tool that can increase your level of functioning and provide clarity and insight to the struggles that may be keeping you from reaching your full potential. Some people seek counseling as a last resort while others seek professional help as a preventative or proactive step in maintaining a stable, fulfilling, and healthy lifestyle. It is never too early or too late to turn to professionals. Whether your goals are to manage symptoms, prevent potential future issues, or get assistance coming back from rock bottom, our clinicians are prepared to meet you right where you are.

If you are unsure if it is time to begin, here are some questions to ask yourself:

“Am I struggling with daily life?”
“Does it feel like everything is a chore?”
“Are every day issues overwhelming?”
“Am I struggling to find anything positive in my life?”
“Do I feel hopeless?”
“Have I lost sight of who I am?”
“Do I feel lost?”
“Have I tried everything to get better and nothing is working?”
“Am I experiencing chronic unexplained physical symptoms?”
“Are my relationships struggling?”
“Do I find myself isolating from people?”
“Have I lost interest in things I used to enjoy?”
“Is there a behavior or substance that I struggle to give up despite negative consequences?”
“Does worry preoccupy my thoughts?”

If you answered yes to any of these questions, or resonated with the description above, then our services are right for you. We have a team of talented and compassionate clinicians that are equipped and ready to help you reach your full potential. Contact us to get started

Privacy & Confidentiality

Is my information confidential?
The short answer is, yes, your information will be kept confidential, but with some exceptions listed below.

Confidentiality is one of the most important aspects of a therapeutic relationship and Renew Counseling Ministries makes every effort to keep your information confidential. For the most part all of the information you share in sessions will be kept confidential unless you sign a “release of information form” and request that your clinician disclose your information to a third party, however, there are some exceptions to what can be kept confidential, and we want you to understand what those exceptions are before you enter treatment.

Here is a list of the most common reasons clinicians are legally required to break confidentiality:

If you are a threat to yourself. Clinicians are obligated to break confidentiality and let someone know if you pose an immediate risk to your own life.

If you are a threat to others (i.e., duty to protect). Clinicians must break confidentiality if you plan on harming someone else. In this situation the clinician is not only obligated to inform the authorities, but possibly the individual that is at risk, as well.

Counselors are mandated to report child abuse, elder abuse, animal abuse/cruelty, and abuse of individuals with developmental disabilities. In situations in which a clinician becomes aware of the information listed above as a part of the therapeutic process, they must report this information to the proper authorities.

Clinicians have to break confidentiality if ordered to do so by a judge via a court order and possibly in response to a subpoena.

If a clinician must summon emergency services. If a client is unconscious in a clinician’s office, clinicians can tell the appropriate authorities enough information to get that person the medical care they need.

For minor clients. Minors have confidentiality rights similar to adults with some differences. Technically minors don’t “own” their clinical record, their parents or legal guardians own it until the minor turns 18. Parents have a right to view their children’s chart upon request. We recommend to parents that they not execute this right as it could make it more difficult for the minor client to be open about their struggles. However, clinicians are not obligated to break confidentiality about things discussed in detail during sessions that were not included in a therapeutic progress note because the information may not have been clinically relevant.

For Insurance Billing. Clinicians are allowed to disclose certain information to your insurance company for the purpose of payment.

Hopefully this gives you a better idea of how confidentiality is navigated in the therapeutic process. If you have concerns about confidentiality, we would encourage you to discuss these with your clinician in your first session.

Contact us to schedule your appointment

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