November 23, 2024 • 5 mins
Wondering whether companies like Alma are friend or foe? Allison shares her insights in today's Ask Allison! Prefer video? This episode is available to stream on our YouTube channel!
To check out our FREE weekly worksheets & Tasky Checklist, visit https://www.abundancepracticebuilding.com/links. Learn how to fill your practice with the Abundance Party! Join today & get 75% off your first month with promo code PODCAST: https://www.abundancepracticebuilding.com/abundanceparty
Sponsored by TherapyNotes®: Use promo code Abundant for 2 months free
✨✨Help those in Western North Carolina impacted by Hurricane Helene and donate to BeLoved Asheville, a nonprofit in town that is dedicating every resource to those most affected by this disaster. Here's the link to support: https://www.belovedasheville.com/donate/
We are re-sharing our most popular Ask Allisons from 2024 all month long. Today's episode originally aired in April.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:07):
(Transcribed by TurboScribe.ai. Go Unlimited to remove this message.) Welcome to Ask Allison.
Y'all ask the questions about having a
fun and thriving practice and I answer them.
We have a worksheet for you today so
you can bring this answer into your life.
You can access that at abundancepracticebuilding.com slash
links where you'll also be able to ask
any questions you have for Ask Allison.
If you want more support, we've got some
free trainings in there too.
(00:28):
If you can't get enough Ask Allison, check
out our YouTube channel for our entire Ask
Allison library.
Welcome back to Ask Allison.
Here's today's question.
I'm planning to transition out of my group
practice.
I'm considering using one of the companies where
you're paneled with insurance through them like Alma,
since the payout seemed to be very good
for this area.
Are there pitfalls I should be aware of?
(00:49):
Thank you so much for all that you
do.
So first I want to thank TherapyNotes for
sponsoring Ask Allison.
They are the number one rated electronic health
record system available today with live telephone support
seven days a week.
It's clear why TherapyNotes is rated 4.9
out of 5 stars on Trustpilot and has
a 5 star rating on Google.
TherapyNotes makes billing, scheduling, note taking and telehealth
(01:09):
incredibly easy.
And for all you prescribers out there, they
also offer e-prescribe.
If you're coming from another EHR, TherapyNotes is
making this transition super easy for people.
They import your demographic data free of charge
so that you can get going right away.
Find out what more than 100,000 mental
health professionals already know.
Use promo code ABUNDANT at TherapyNotes.com for
(01:30):
two free months.
You really wish grad school had covered how
to fill a private practice.
In grad school, you had a professor you
could ask questions, someone who could tell you
what you were doing wrong and how to
fix it.
You had classmates working towards the same goal.
Think of Party Plus like that grad school
class you wish you had.
You get individual consultation about your specific practice
(01:51):
with clear feedback and guidance.
You get group calls with other people building
their practices who have your back.
We cover everything from marketing to mindset and
you have access to everything in the Abundance
Party.
All the courses and trainings that have filled
thousands of therapists' practices.
Thanks to the feedback, the support and the
clear step-by-step, people in Party Plus
get full faster.
(02:13):
The majority of Party Plus members fill their
practice in three months.
Check out Party Plus in the link in
the show notes and join the interest list
if you're ready to build what you've been
dreaming of.
All right, so let's get into it.
These companies can be a really good option
for people that want to take insurance in
their practices.
They can also be a good option for
(02:35):
people who eventually want to be private pay,
but circumstances require that they leave an agency
job quickly.
I haven't ever worked with these companies personally,
but I will see the pitfall that I
see over and over again with the people
that I'm working with is that they get
in with these companies, they end up full
at some point.
Sounds good, right?
But then they realize they didn't build the
(02:55):
private practice that they meant to build.
This is especially if they wanted to be
private pay.
They become complacent.
They don't learn or implement marketing because they've
got that covered with referrals.
And this isn't everywhere in the United States.
They don't get full everywhere with these companies,
but the people that do end up coming
(03:15):
to me later because they realize they don't
want to be reliant on these companies for
their income.
They then, while maintaining this full practice, have
to learn and implement marketing to build their
private pay practice and extract themselves from the
company.
Another pitfall I've seen, and I can't remember
whether it was Alma or another one, is
that they say that they protect against clawbacks,
(03:38):
but they haven't.
Now, clawbacks are when an insurance company audits
your notes and decides that you didn't establish
medical necessity enough or otherwise document a session
that they should pay for, so you end
up having to pay them back, sometimes thousands
of dollars.
And this can happen to you if you
take insurance in your own practice, but there
(03:59):
you didn't have this guise of safety where
a company said we'll take care of clawbacks
for you.
If you want a private pay practice and
you get in with this company, I strongly
suggest you concurrently learn how to build the
private pay practice that you want and set
a marker by which you'll go fully private
pay and off these companies.
So maybe you limit the number of referrals
(04:19):
from the company, and when you have 10
weekly private pay clients, you stop working with
the company, that kind of thing.
And I made up the number 10.
You need to do the math for your
life and your practice just to see what
cutoff makes sense.
Marketing is a really good idea for your
practice, whether you take insurance, you take insurance
through a company like this, or you're fully
(04:40):
private pay.
Marketing brings in the clients you do your
best work with.
Today's free worksheet is common marketing strategies for
therapists.
We go deeper and teach you how to
do each of these step-by-step in
the Abundance Party, if that's something you would
like some help with.
If you have any questions for Ask Allison,
send them our way.
I would love to answer them.
(05:00):
If you're ready for a much easier practice,
TherapyNotes is the way to go.
Go to therapynotes.com and use the promo
code ABUNDANT for two months free.
I hope that helped.
If you have questions for Ask Allison, or
you want to get your hands on the
worksheet for this episode, go to abundancepracticebuilding.com
slash links.
(05:25):
If you're listening, you probably need some support
building your practice.
If you're a super newbie, grab our free
checklist using the link in the show notes.
I'd love for you to follow, rate, and
review, but I really want you to share
this episode with a therapist friend.
Let's help all our colleagues build what they
want.
(Transcribed by TurboScribe.ai. Go Unlimited to remove this message.) Welcome to Ask Allison.
Y'all ask the questions about having a
fun and thriving practice and I answer them.
We have a worksheet for you today so
you can bring this answer into your life.
You can access that at abundancepracticebuilding.com slash
links where you'll also be able to ask
any questions you have for Ask Allison.
If you want more support, we've got some
free trainings in there too.
(00:28):
If you can't get enough Ask Allison, check
out our YouTube channel for our entire Ask
Allison library.
Welcome back to Ask Allison.
Here's today's question.
I'm planning to transition out of my group
practice.
I'm considering using one of the companies where
you're paneled with insurance through them like Alma,
since the payout seemed to be very good
for this area.
Are there pitfalls I should be aware of?
(00:49):
Thank you so much for all that you
do.
So first I want to thank TherapyNotes for
sponsoring Ask Allison.
They are the number one rated electronic health
record system available today with live telephone support
seven days a week.
It's clear why TherapyNotes is rated 4.9
out of 5 stars on Trustpilot and has
a 5 star rating on Google.
TherapyNotes makes billing, scheduling, note taking and telehealth
(01:09):
incredibly easy.
And for all you prescribers out there, they
also offer e-prescribe.
If you're coming from another EHR, TherapyNotes is
making this transition super easy for people.
They import your demographic data free of charge
so that you can get going right away.
Find out what more than 100,000 mental
health professionals already know.
Use promo code ABUNDANT at TherapyNotes.com for
(01:30):
two free months.
You really wish grad school had covered how
to fill a private practice.
In grad school, you had a professor you
could ask questions, someone who could tell you
what you were doing wrong and how to
fix it.
You had classmates working towards the same goal.
Think of Party Plus like that grad school
class you wish you had.
You get individual consultation about your specific practice
(01:51):
with clear feedback and guidance.
You get group calls with other people building
their practices who have your back.
We cover everything from marketing to mindset and
you have access to everything in the Abundance
Party.
All the courses and trainings that have filled
thousands of therapists' practices.
Thanks to the feedback, the support and the
clear step-by-step, people in Party Plus
get full faster.
(02:13):
The majority of Party Plus members fill their
practice in three months.
Check out Party Plus in the link in
the show notes and join the interest list
if you're ready to build what you've been
dreaming of.
All right, so let's get into it.
These companies can be a really good option
for people that want to take insurance in
their practices.
They can also be a good option for
(02:35):
people who eventually want to be private pay,
but circumstances require that they leave an agency
job quickly.
I haven't ever worked with these companies personally,
but I will see the pitfall that I
see over and over again with the people
that I'm working with is that they get
in with these companies, they end up full
at some point.
Sounds good, right?
But then they realize they didn't build the
(02:55):
private practice that they meant to build.
This is especially if they wanted to be
private pay.
They become complacent.
They don't learn or implement marketing because they've
got that covered with referrals.
And this isn't everywhere in the United States.
They don't get full everywhere with these companies,
but the people that do end up coming
(03:15):
to me later because they realize they don't
want to be reliant on these companies for
their income.
They then, while maintaining this full practice, have
to learn and implement marketing to build their
private pay practice and extract themselves from the
company.
Another pitfall I've seen, and I can't remember
whether it was Alma or another one, is
that they say that they protect against clawbacks,
(03:38):
but they haven't.
Now, clawbacks are when an insurance company audits
your notes and decides that you didn't establish
medical necessity enough or otherwise document a session
that they should pay for, so you end
up having to pay them back, sometimes thousands
of dollars.
And this can happen to you if you
take insurance in your own practice, but there
(03:59):
you didn't have this guise of safety where
a company said we'll take care of clawbacks
for you.
If you want a private pay practice and
you get in with this company, I strongly
suggest you concurrently learn how to build the
private pay practice that you want and set
a marker by which you'll go fully private
pay and off these companies.
So maybe you limit the number of referrals
(04:19):
from the company, and when you have 10
weekly private pay clients, you stop working with
the company, that kind of thing.
And I made up the number 10.
You need to do the math for your
life and your practice just to see what
cutoff makes sense.
Marketing is a really good idea for your
practice, whether you take insurance, you take insurance
through a company like this, or you're fully
(04:40):
private pay.
Marketing brings in the clients you do your
best work with.
Today's free worksheet is common marketing strategies for
therapists.
We go deeper and teach you how to
do each of these step-by-step in
the Abundance Party, if that's something you would
like some help with.
If you have any questions for Ask Allison,
send them our way.
I would love to answer them.
(05:00):
If you're ready for a much easier practice,
TherapyNotes is the way to go.
Go to therapynotes.com and use the promo
code ABUNDANT for two months free.
I hope that helped.
If you have questions for Ask Allison, or
you want to get your hands on the
worksheet for this episode, go to abundancepracticebuilding.com
slash links.
(05:25):
If you're listening, you probably need some support
building your practice.
If you're a super newbie, grab our free
checklist using the link in the show notes.
I'd love for you to follow, rate, and
review, but I really want you to share
this episode with a therapist friend.
Let's help all our colleagues build what they
want.
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