psychiatricbilling.com

What It Is

Psychiatric Billing Associates (PBA) is a mental health medical billing service company founded in 1994 and based in Mount Sinai, New York. It is not a typical self-service SaaS product, but rather a managed service combining “software access + outsourced human billing support.” Its clients include psychiatrists, psychologists, therapists, NPs, and social workers, with the goal of improving insurance and patient collections while reducing the administrative billing burden on practices.

Core Capabilities

PBA covers the main workflows of mental health billing: electronic insurance claim submission, secondary claims and automatic crossover claims, mailing patient statements, EOB/ERA payment posting, posting patient deductibles, following up on unpaid claims, handling denials, and filing appeals. It also provides pre-visit insurance benefits and eligibility verification, including confirmation of copays, deductibles, annual visit limits, authorization requirements, and claim mailing addresses. Clients can view unpaid claim status, account balances, and more than 30 financial reports online 24/7, such as insurance aging, patient aging, monthly/daily summaries, and payer reimbursement analysis.

Pricing and Delivery

Pricing consists of a $300 initial enrollment fee plus an ongoing monthly percentage of revenue; hourly billing may be available in some scenarios. Specific rates are negotiated based on whether the client is an individual, group, or clinic, as well as billing volume and service scope. Fees include insurance billing, clearinghouse costs, and software upgrades, but postage, envelopes, patient reminder calls, and credentialing assistance are charged separately. The text does not mention a free plan or trial, but free quotes and consultations are available.

Pros and Cons

The advantages are its long-standing focus on mental health billing, an experienced team, full closed-loop coverage from claims to appeals, and a dedicated personal account manager for each client. There are also no long-term contracts, and service can be terminated with 30 days’ notice. PBA can also work within a client’s existing EHR/PM system, with examples in the text including TherapyNotes and TheraNest. The downsides are that pricing is not transparent, and there is limited disclosure around APIs, open integrations, and permission models; beyond HIPAA, no broader security certifications such as SOC 2 were found.

Best Fit and Access from China

It is better suited to U.S.-based solo mental health practitioners, group practices, or clinic-style organizations, especially teams lacking billing staff, dealing with frequent insurance denials, or struggling with collections follow-up. Because the service is highly dependent on the U.S. insurance system, HIPAA, and local phone communication, its applicability to organizations in mainland China is limited. The text does not provide information on website accessibility from mainland China, so this remains unknown.