Frequently Asked Questions

The Center for Assessment And Treatment s a fee for service business. We do not accept third party reimbursement from insurance carriers.  Clients are responsible for full payment and for submitting claims themselves.  From an insurance perspective, we are considered non-participating, non-network providers. 

We do provide documentation of our services, including diagnostic and billing codes which can be submitted to your insurance company to request reimbursement for out-of-network services. For more information on questions you may want to ask your insurance provider.

1. Does my policy include a mental health benefit?
2. Does my policy cover psychologists or social workers?
3. Does my policy provide reimbursement for out-of-network providers?
4. What percentage rate do you reimburse?
5. Is there a deductible I must pay before you cover such services?
6. Is there a limit to the number of treatment session or hours for assessment?
7. Do you require preapproval or preauthorization?
8. What information do you need me to submit?
9. How frequently and to where should I submit receipts?
10. How long does it take for me to be reimbursed after submitting receipts?

Maryland Law / How to Advocate for Specialty Treatment

In Maryland, if a consumer is seeking specialized therapy and/or assessment and there is no provider in-network who offers it, they are entitled to receive the service out of network with the in-network copay/deductible. The relevant statute of the Maryland Law is cited below.

Many patients have been able to get a “Single Case Exception” in order to go out of network and still only pay their normal in-network copay. The insurance company covers the remainder of the clinicians normal full fee. This makes out of network assessment and treatment the same cost as in-network therapy or assessment costs for the subscriber.

Your insurance company may tell you that they have a specialist on their panel/in-network who can meet your needs. However, in the DC metro area it is very unlikely that they will actually be able to find you specialist with the proper training and expertise of our providers, who is in-network.  When they do have a specialist, the wait time for appointment is often too long and far exceeds our wait time. As sited below in item 2, they cannot keep from receiving services if someone out of network can provide the service in a more timely manner. This is especially true, though not exclusively, when the individual is on or suspected to have a neurodevelopmental condition such as autism spectrum.

If you find that the clinicians whose names you have been given by your insurance company do not have the specialized training needed, you can go back to your insurance company and ask for them to authorize out-of-network treatment under the single case exception law (it’s important to use this specific language).

Our clients tell us that they are successful when they appeal and act assertively. There are some exceptions to this law – please consider calling the Maryland Insurance Commissioner for additional information:

Maryland Insurance Commissioner

(410) 468-2000; 1-800-492-6116 (toll free)

insurance.mia@maryland.gov

Article Insurance §15–830.

(d) (1) Each carrier shall establish and implement a procedure by which a member may request a referral to a specialist or nonphysician specialist who is not part of the carrier’s provider panel in accordance with this subsection.

(2) The procedure shall provide for a referral to a specialist or nonphysician specialist who is not part of the carrier’s provider panel if:

     (i) the member is diagnosed with a condition or disease that requires specialized health care services or medical care; and

     (ii) 1. the carrier does not have in its provider panel a specialist or nonphysician specialist with the professional training and expertise to treat or provide health care services for the condition or disease; or 

2. The carrier cannot provide reasonable access to a specialist or nonphysician specialist with the professional training and expertise to treat or provide health care services for the condition or disease without unreasonable delay or travel.

(e) For purposes of calculating any deductible, copayment amount, or co-insurance payable by the member, a carrier shall treat services received in accordance with subsection (d) of this section as if the service was provided by a provider on the carrier’s provider panel.

(f) A decision by a carrier not to provide access to or coverage of treatment or health care services by a specialist or nonphysician specialist in accordance with this section constitutes an adverse decision as defined under Subtitle 10A of this title if the decision is based on a finding that the proposed service is not medically necessary, appropriate, or efficient.

(g) Each carrier shall file with the

Assessments – We are aware that situations can arise where you might have to cancel your appointment. We kindly request that you provide adequate notice, to allow us to fill the appointment slots. Please note your deposit is not returned in the event of a cancellation.  Your deposit can be applied to future services. 

Treatment – Unless a session is canceled 48 hours in advance, you will be charged for the missed appointment. Your appointment time is reserved for you. It is important to note that most insurance carriers do not reimburse for missed sessions. Should you cancel three or more consecutive sessions, we will no longer be able to guarantee your regular appointment time. Our group costs are for the program vs individual group sessions. If you miss a group, our program coordinator will provide you with a information and material for the group missed and is happy to meet with you if needed to further explain the information.

Do you have a waitlist for assessments?

No, we do not have a waitlist for assessments. Our assessments are typically scheduled into the future to ensure proper preparation. We recommend that you contact us in advance, if possible, to secure your preferred assessment dates. 

Do you have a therapy or groups waitlist?

We are accepting new clients. If we do not have any availability with a provider we feel is a good fit on our therapy schedule, we can put you on our waitlist and notify you as soon as a spot becomes available. 

We are always accepting applications for all of our groups and programs. Our skills groups (PEERS, USOT and Superheroes) have two sessions per year in the Fall (September/October) and Spring (February). Our support groups have ongoing enrollment.

We offer individual, family/couples therapy, and group programs. Please click HERE for more information on our group offerings.

We DO NOT follow Public School or Federal Government Closing policies. In the event of severe weather, your clinician will be in touch with you prior to the appointment to discuss viability of meeting and/or rescheduling your appointment. Ones personal safety and comfort are always the priority.

Evaluation fees depend on the breadth and depth of the services needed to address our clients’ needs. When you first call, our office managers will schedule you for an confidential and complementary 30 intake call with our client liaison specialist. During the intake, the the client liaison will gather specific information from you to determine what type of assessment is needed, who is the best provider for your assessment, and will can provide a range of fees for the evaluation and explain what is included.

The first step is calling our office to set up a free and confidential intake, where you talk with a client services liaison. At this time, you will be asked a series of questions, and you will have the opportunity to ask questions as well. During this process, the client services liaison strives to gain a clear understanding of the reason for testing, while simultaneously understanding the client’s personality style in order to determine which psychologist(s) are best suited to evaluate the client. Our psychologists have different personality styles and specialities. A fee for the assessment will be provided as well as what is included in the assessment. The evaluation schedule can also be created at this time.

After the intake, the office will send you HIPAA-protected emails confirming the evaluation schedule.  A month before the evaluation starts we will send consent forms and  links to complete various rating scales. The office will also send you instructions on how to send us documents in an HIPAA-encrypted manner.

The evaluation schedule is typically as follows: 

Background and developmental history interview: We will schedule an in-depth interview, which could take anywhere between 1-2 hours, depending on the complexity of the challenges.  This can be done in-person or virtually.

Testing: We offer a variety of assessments from developmental evaluations, educational testing, neuropsychological evaluations, and diagnostic evaluations. The testing schedule is tailored to the type of assessment and the individual client’s needs. When you schedule the assessment they will layout the testing schedule and appoinments.

Feedback – sharing the assessment findings: Finally, we will schedule one session to review the results, which again can be done in-person or virtually.  At this appointment, we discuss the assessment results in detail, including describing how these findings impact the individual and play out in their daily life. They will answer any remaining questions you may have. They will be able to not only give you a handful of recommendations and resources but also be able to prioritize them based on your immediate needs, location, and situation.

Client Feedback: One thing that makes having an assessment at CAAT unique, is that we also offer client feedback sessions for those ages 12 and up when appropriate. In this session, the clinician will share the results with the young person, highlighting the strengths and discuss their needs and the plan of action to meet those needs. This can be especially helpful and empowering to the individual.

All appointments usually take place within a 2 to 4 week period.   We try to accommodate our clients’ schedules whenever possible.   If the appointments have to be postponed due to sickness or emergencies, we will not make you wait long for the new appointments.

Report: Once you have completed the above steps, you will receive a comprehensive report including all findings, diagnosis’s and recommendations.

Our reports are not written until after the feedback session(s). We approach the feedback session as an opportunity for further collaboration between the psychologist and the client/parents. During this session, we not only talk about the results of the evaluation and diagnostic formulations, but we also discuss how these results are playing out in the client’s daily experience. This discussion also provides the clinician with an opportunity to gather additional relevant information, as the assessment results may highlight areas of strengths and challenges which had been touched upon but not covered in detail. Finally, the psychologist and client/parents work together to develop a “roadmap” of recommendations for home, school/the workplace, and other relevant environments, and to prioritize those recommendations. Given the collaborative nature of this meeting, as well as the breadth of the discussion, we do not write our reports before the feedback session, and do not provide them to clients/parents until we have had an opportunity to incorporate points from this meeting.

 Test administration is typically divided between your licensed psychologist and a licensed psychology associate. Typical assessments involve two testing sessions. One of these is with the psychologist, who spends a morning with the client, conducting a clinical interview assessment, and administering tests. The second is either with the same psychologist or is scheduled with a psychology associate for a morning and early afternoon, and includes administration of the remainder of the assessment measures. Brief evaluations or assessments with very young children may follow a different schedule, but the psychologist will complete a large part of the testing and may include a school observation.

We do not have students involved in assessments. All of our psychology associates are licensed clinicians with master’s degrees in psychology-related fields and are licensed by the National Association of Psychometrists. Our psychology associates are expert psychometrists with specialized training in administering and scoring neuropsychological tests, ensuring assessments are standardized and reliable. Our psychology associates are well-trained, have many years of experience, and provided with ample support and supervision. They are skilled at observing subtle behaviors during testing, providing insights into cognitive functioning, and contributing to a comprehensive understanding of test results.

Additionally, involving a second clinician in the testing process often enhances the evaluation. You have two sets of eyes who may notice different subtle behaviors or responses, offering a different perspective, and contributing to a more comprehensive assessment. It also provides the individual being tested the opportunity to interact and react to distinct individuals which the gives the clinician valuable information.