Sweetwater

Cancellation and attendance policy

Cancellations made prior to one business day prior to the appointment are not charged. If a cancellation occurs less than one business day before the appointment, you will incur a charge equal to half of the visit cost (see below). If the appointment is missed completely, you will be charged the full cost of the visit.

Late cancellation or a missed intake appointment may not be rescheduled or may incur a fee in order to reschedule, based on multiple factors.

Repeated cancellation or no shows may necessitate discharge from the practice.

We do understand that emergencies arise, and will waive the fee for an irregular appointment (missed or late cancelled) once per year.

Insurance and Payment

We accept UPMC, Highmark, Cigna, United, and Aetna insurance. Please note that not all providers are in network with all insurances. Refer to the provider bios to see if your provider accepts your insurance.

There may or may not be a copay you are responsible for at the time of your appointment. 

Also, many insurances have deductibles that must be met before they will cover the cost of the appointment. This may mean that you are paying out of pocket for some appointments. Our billing team processes your insurance after the visit so we usually do not have this information at the time of the appointment. 

We recommend reaching out to your insurance carrier for benefits determination and to verify that we are an in-network provider.

If your provider is not in-network with your insurance, you can pay out of pocket for your appointment and then submit it to the insurance company for reimbursement if you have out of network coverage. We are happy to provide documentation for this at the time of your appointment.

Individual clinicians are not able to waive insurance fees.

Out of pocket costs:

Initial 60-minute psychiatric visits are $325, follow up 30-minute visits are $175.  

Therapy costs vary by provider. Initial 60-minute psychotherapy visits start at $125, follow up 60-minute sessions start at $100, follow up 45 minute sessions start at $75. Half-hour check-in visits start at $50.

Initial 60-minute nutrition therapy visits are $165, follow up visits are $70 for 30-minute sessions and $105 for 45-minute sessions.  Weight checks are $35.

This can be paid in cash or credit card.  If you would like to submit to insurance for reimbursement you will be given a Superbill at the end of your appointment to send to your insurance company.  We can not guarantee what portion of the bill your out of network insurance company will pay, and we do not contact the out of network insurance on your behalf.

crisis planning

If this is a crisis and you are not able to immediately get in touch with Sweetwater Behavioral Health and Wellness, please do NOT wait for us to return your message. Instead, act to keep yourself or your loved one safe. Call 988 or go to the nearest emergency room. You may also try the following crisis services:

• Re:Solve

• Crisis Text Line

• National Warmline

Other POlicies and information

Spruce

All telehealth visits are conducted by Spruce, a HIPAA-compliant app and website. You will receive an email and/or text inviting you to download the Spruce app and create an account.  You can message your clinicians through Spruce as well as uploading any documents that pertain to your treatment.

We will not conduct telehealth appointments while the patient is driving or undressed. In addition, we STRONGLY recommend that you be connected to a wireless network and in one place (i.e., not walking or in a moving car) as this greatly improves the chance that your appointment will be able to progress without interruption. 

Consents for Treatment and HIPAA Agreement

Prior to your first appointment, please sign both forms (they will have been emailed to you for digital signature)

Patient Information Form and Credit Card on File

When you make your appointment, you will receive an email from Hushmail with links to complete the billing form, as well as any releases of information.  This is required before your first appointment so we can have accurate information to submit to the insurance company. 

Office Hours

The office is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday.  We are not open on national holidays.  Any messages received during business hours will be returned within one business day. Messages left on Friday will be returned the following Monday.

Refills

Because of issues with accuracy and privacy, we do not honor pharmacy refill requests. Please contact the office or your prescribing clinician five (5) business days prior to when you will need the medication filled.  We cannot guarantee that medications will be filled on a same-day basis. 

Controlled Substances

Patients who are prescribed controlled substances by Sweetwater are expected to sign and adhere to the Controlled Substances Agreement, which outlines our policies on risks of treatment with these medications, early refills of controlled substances, communication with other providers, and expectations around laboratory testing.  We do not prescribe medical marijuana or high-dose benzodiazepines. We use stimulants in those for whom it is clinically indicated.  We may require neuropsychological testing before starting a stimulant.

Emergencies

We are unable to provide emergency or after-hours services.  If you are having a behavioral health emergency, please call your county crisis line, 911, or present to the nearest emergency department. 

Email

E-mail is not a secure medium and such we limit its use to scheduling and other logistical matters. We do not provide treatment through email.  Please discuss communication preferences with your provider. 

Code of Conduct

We expect that all staff, patients, and visitors will adhere to basic decency and etiquette throughout their time at Sweetwater.  We strive to be an inclusive and welcoming environment and behavior that threatens this is unacceptable. Vulgarity, profanity, disrespect, or abusive behavior will not be tolerated and may be grounds for discharge from the clinic.  

Behavioral health services are a limited resource, and the pandemic has strained the supply even further.  As such we are committed to providing services to those who need them and will utilize them.  Breaches of the code of conduct, the controlled substance policy, or repeated no-shows and late cancellations suggest that our services are not right for you and may result in discharge from the clinic. 

Other fees

There is a $25 fee for preparation of medical records.

Phone calls, forms, reports, and other paperwork that require more than 5 minutes to complete outside of scheduled appointments will be billed at the provider's prorated hourly rate. These fees are not covered by insurance.

Forms

We do NOT do disability, custody, or forensic evaluations.

We do not fill out paperwork for Emotional Support Animals.