Experience with Headway

[calvinhobbes]

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So I jumped on the headway bandwagon recently and talked to a friend who has been using them for more than a year. Here is my experience with them recently since I’m getting credentialed in more than one state: states in the north pay more than states in the south, states in the west coast may more, generally. But depends on the insurance really.

The benefit of headway is they send you patients but you have no obligation to see them if you don’t want to. You can also bring your own patients onto their platform. They are essentially a billing platform, that’s all. You see exactly how much you will get paid before you see the patient depending on the codes you submit, and also will see your payment date when you submit the visit (the rates don’t change). You don’t have to submit a note with them, but they make it easy for you if you do and you can use their template.

It’s an easy gig if you wanna see a few patients a week and make an extra 1k or 2k a month. Remember it’s 1099 so no taxes are taken out. Also remember you must have malpractice insurance (sucks I know lol aka $$$) so you have to be willing to prepay about 1k for the year to get malpractice. Rates are usually cheaper though if you do telehealth only.

Also, they recently got strict and no longer allows residents or fellows to sign up, even with a State license, as now you have to have graduated residency and/or be board certified (sucks for those who want to moonlight; residents used to use headway often to moonlight). You also have to get a DEA for each state you want to be credentialed in even if you don’t want to or plan to RX controlled substances (sucks also).

Otherwise, it’s an easy gig and you get paid twice a month depending on when you submit the visit. Probably not best for those who truly want independent private practice, but for those just starting out and wanting some extra cash flow every month, I would say it’s worth it if you have the time; obviously not worth it if you will see only 2 patients a month lol. Hope that helps!!

 

[DareGreatly]

So I jumped on the headway bandwagon recently and talked to a friend who has been using them for more than a year. Here is my experience with them recently since I’m getting credentialed in more than one state: states in the north pay more than states in the south, states in the west coast may more, generally. But depends on the insurance really.

The benefit of headway is they send you patients but you have no obligation to see them if you don’t want to. You can also bring your own patients onto their platform. They are essentially a billing platform, that’s all. You see exactly how much you will get paid before you see the patient depending on the codes you submit, and also will see your payment date when you submit the visit (the rates don’t change). You don’t have to submit a note with them, but they make it easy for you if you do and you can use their template.

It’s an easy gig if you wanna see a few patients a week and make an extra 1k or 2k a month. Remember it’s 1099 so no taxes are taken out. Also remember you must have malpractice insurance (sucks I know lol aka $$$) so you have to be willing to prepay about 1k for the year to get malpractice. Rates are usually cheaper though if you do telehealth only.

Also, they recently got strict and no longer allows residents or fellows to sign up, even with a State license, as now you have to have graduated residency and/or be board certified (sucks for those who want to moonlight; residents used to use headway often to moonlight). You also have to get a DEA for each state you want to be credentialed in even if you don’t want to or plan to RX controlled substances (sucks also).

Otherwise, it’s an easy gig and you get paid twice a month depending on when you submit the visit. Probably not best for those who truly want independent private practice, but for those just starting out and wanting some extra cash flow every month, I would say it’s worth it if you have the time; obviously not worth it if you will see only 2 patients a month lol. Hope that helps!!

Thanks for this information. Do you (or anyone else who uses Headway/some similar service) have a sense whether it would be possible to use their platform to see patients in another state far from where you practice, while you build a local OON private practice? Or do they only credential with large insurance carriers that would also be local to you?

 

[Ironspy]

Thanks for this information. Do you (or anyone else who uses Headway/some similar service) have a sense whether it would be possible to use their platform to see patients in another state far from where you practice, while you build a local OON private practice? Or do they only credential with large insurance carriers that would also be local to you?

You can choose which insurers you credential with.

 

[calvinhobbes]

Thanks for this information. Do you (or anyone else who uses Headway/some similar service) have a sense whether it would be possible to use their platform to see patients in another state far from where you practice, while you build a local OON private practice? Or do they only credential with large insurance carriers that would also be local to you?

Yeah you can see patients from any state as long as you’re licensed in that state. And you can choose which insurances you want to accept and also which ones you do not want to be credentialed with. You are not forced to see any patients you don’t want to. And the idea is you can bring your own patients to the platform , and use the platform just for billing. And/or patients find you and book with you by using their service.

 

[TexasPhysician]

Thanks for this information. Do you (or anyone else who uses Headway/some similar service) have a sense whether it would be possible to use their platform to see patients in another state far from where you practice, while you build a local OON private practice? Or do they only credential with large insurance carriers that would also be local to you?

Kind of. BCBS has residency requirements in most of their states. Some states, BCBS is the primary insurer of >50% of the population. This limits telepsych abilities.

United has many problems since the hacking. Headway has had significant issues credentialing with the United portfolio since.

 

[calvinhobbes]

Yeah you can see patients from any state as long as you’re licensed in that state. And you can choose which insurances you want to accept and also which ones you do not want to be credentialed with. You are not forced to see any patients you don’t want to. And the idea is you can bring your own patients to the platform , and use the platform just for billing. And/or patients find you and book with you by using their service.

Kind of. BCBS has residency requirements in most of their states. Some states, BCBS is the primary insurer of >50% of the population. This limits telepsych abilities.

United has many problems since the hacking. Headway has had significant issues credentialing with the United portfolio since.

Ah yes I forgot about the bcbs residency requirement for some states. Dumb lol

 

[ObsequiousAplomb]

Ah yes I forgot about the bcbs residency requirement for some states. Dumb lol

Huh. Do you know which states require this?

Edit: wait are we talking about being a resident of a state or requiring something about residency training? I re-read the thread and realized I may have been thinking of the wrong homonym.

Edit 2: TIL

Per Google:
"183-Day Residency:
Some BCBS entities may require providers to reside in their state for a minimum of 183 days to be considered a resident, says Headway."

Per Headway:
"Anthem/BCBS requirements
Anthem BCBS plans in Virginia, Missouri, and California require providers to live in the same state.

A provider must live in their state of residence for a minimum of 183 days in order to be considered a resident. Holding an office in the state does not qualify providers for credentialing."

 

[TexasPhysician]

Huh. Do you know which states require this?

Edit: wait are we talking about being a resident of a state or requiring something about residency training? I re-read the thread and realized I may have been thinking of the wrong homonym.

Edit 2: TIL

Per Google:
"183-Day Residency:
Some BCBS entities may require providers to reside in their state for a minimum of 183 days to be considered a resident, says Headway."

Per Headway:
"Anthem/BCBS requirements
Anthem BCBS plans in Virginia, Missouri, and California require providers to live in the same state.

A provider must live in their state of residence for a minimum of 183 days in order to be considered a resident. Holding an office in the state does not qualify providers for credentialing."

At least 35 states require residency (living in the state over 1/2 of the year) to credential there. Headway lists a select few on their website that you mention, but that isn’t the complete list.

Headway is not clear and upfront about their requirements or pay. It is all hidden until you get deep in the process.

 

[Gizmo2020]

Headway and Alma (the other company like this) take a huge cut. It really depends on what state/geographic location you are. For some, they pay more than you can get alone. For others, they pay way less. Commercial insurers vary in how much they pay (sometimes substantially less than medicare) but its not typical for commercial insurers to pay solo practitioners 20% more than medicare, though if you negotiate hard you can get 30% more than medicare. Some insurances in some locales pay even better. For big hospital systems, they often get 300% of medicare rates.

I would suggest seeing what the insurances local to you offer you when you negotiate. You may find you get a much better deal. If you are in Oregon, WA, CA etc then it won't be worth signing on with them. If youre in FL or TX it might be etc

Splik, forgot to ask but why would rates with Headway not be as good vs trying to get rates solo in Cali or other western states but maybe better in FL or TX? Thanks for all your insight.

 

[psych50]

thanks, this is really helpful, I was quoted 200 for 99214/90833 which would be 30 minutes, curious how some are getting 325 dollars for 30 minutes, do they credential with medicare? or just private insurers?

 

[psych50]

I had a conversation recently with a residency peer. We were comparing compensation from my contract with the one insurance I take and for one of her patients through Headway with the same insurance.

For a 99214+90838 I get paid ~$275. The peer who works through Headway claims to receive ~$325 for the same codes.

I've gotta say, an extra $50/hour sounds nicer than all the admin work I have to do to ultimately get paid less.

If headway is taking 20%, that means headway is collecting more like $405. That's $130 more than I am for the same codes. 33% higher.

In what area are you getting these rates? i was quoted 205 99214 plus 90833, OK, I see now you have 90838-I thought insurance denies that code unless you have medical necessity which isnt easy to prove for that time

 

[TexasPhysician]

In what area are you getting these rates? i was quoted 205 99214 plus 90833, OK, I see now you have 90838-I thought insurance denies that code unless you have medical necessity which isnt easy to prove for that time

It can be done, but that is 1 patient per hour.

 

[Stagg737]

In what area are you getting these rates? i was quoted 205 99214 plus 90833, OK, I see now you have 90838-I thought insurance denies that code unless you have medical necessity which isnt easy to prove for that time

You can, but you have to report doing 53 minutes of therapy. I occasionally bill for this in my consultation clinic where I’m seeing people for a long follow up before returning them to their PCP. From the billing reports I get CMS, BCBS and Aetna have never denied them from me.

 

[ObsequiousAplomb]

In what area are you getting these rates? i was quoted 205 99214 plus 90833, OK, I see now you have 90838-I thought insurance denies that code unless you have medical necessity which isnt easy to prove for that time

DC/Maryland/Virginia.

I'm getting $223 from BCBS for 99214+90833.

Also, I've never been denied for a 90838 or asked to justify it. I would much rather make $446 per hour than the $276 I get with the 90838.

 

[psych50]

HW quoted me an average of 205 for VA, didn't specify BCBS but it seems it is less, I wonder if they adjust rates based on need?

 

[ObsequiousAplomb]

HW quoted me an average of 205 for VA, didn't specify BCBS but it seems it is less, I wonder if they adjust rates based on need?

I don't know. DC, MD, and VA all pay the same from BCBS. I was getting paid $202.10 for a 99214+90833 up until December of 2024 when they increased the 99214 pay but not the 90833 pay.

 

[MedMan80]

Just to add, Aetna and Cigna credentialed me in 3 weeks. However BCBS which is the largest insurance here is taking 5 months. Probably because there is a surplus of providers here.

 

[psych50]

what area are you on MedMan?

 

[MedMan80]

what area are you on MedMan?

Tx. BCBS actually credentialed me, the 5 month thing must've been an error?

 

[DareGreatly]

Tx. BCBS actually credentialed me, the 5 month thing must've been an error?

Sorry, did you credential directly or with headway?

 

[MedMan80]

Sorry, did you credential directly or with headway?

Headway

 

[calvinhobbes]

Headway

That’s the whole point of headway. They credential you with insurance and bill for you and can get you patients. You don’t really “work” for them but you kinda do I guess lol.