Upcoming Trainings
Mastering Out of Network Billing
Want to be able to charging your full rate for sessions but also make it affordable for your clients? Out of network billing may be your answer.
In this live online eight-part cohort series of one-hour workshops you will learn all about out of network insurance billing and how to submit and accept assignment for out of network benefits, allowing prospective clients to just pay their cost-sharing amount each session, while you collect your full fee with a combination of client payments and insurance reimbursement.
Dates: Weekly on Mondays 9-10am starting October 6, 2025
Duration: 8 weeks
Cost: $240
Limited to 20 participants
What you’ll learn
Session 1: Introduction
The difference between in and out of network benefits. Understanding various out of network billing methods including superbills, courtesy claim submission, and accepting assignment of benefits. How collecting your full fee works with accepting assignment.
Session 2: Deductibles and Coinsurance
Understanding deductibles, coinsurance, allowed amounts, and out of pocket maximums, and how these work in out of network billing. Understanding how to calculate what to collect from the client when you are accepting assignment.
Session 3: EHR Setup
How to set up client charts and billing settings in SimplePractice for out of network billing, including when you are accepting assignment. How to collect client payments and adjust invoicing. How to set up and submit out of network electronic claims to insurance companies
Session 4: Claim tracking
How to track submitted electronic claims and understand claim status messages. How to read Explanation of Benefits (EOB) reports. How to run aging reports. How to check claim status in insurance portals.
Session 5: Electronic Claims
How to set up electronic claim submission in SimplePractice and how to submit paper claims when necessary. Registering for direct deposit of payments into your business bank account (EFT). Dealing with common payment problems such as paper credit cards and misleading third party payment processing companies.
Session 6: Fee negotiation
Strategies for negotiating fees and coinsurance payments with prospective clients. Options for flexible handling of deductible payments.
Session 7: Appealing denials
Understanding insurance denials. How to obtain and understand detailed information about denials. How to resolve claim submission errors that cause denials. How to file corrected claims. How to appeal incorrect denials. How to spend less time dealing with denials.
Session 8: Compliance and Fraud
Outlining recommended processes to ensure claim compliance and fraud prevention including good faith estimates, upcoding, unbundling, couples billing issues, billing for no-shows and late cancellations, coinsurance and deductible waiver issues, & kickbacks.
Testimonials
In my experience as a clinician, Ian has gone above and beyond to offer his assistance, expertise, guidance, training and wisdom to his fellow therapists, all delivered in a professional manner. I would highly recommend.
Lynn Saltiel LCSW
Ian has gone out of his way to be available and help other practitioners. He has been providing workshops, both clinically and administratively to clinicians, many of which I have attended. He is clear and effective in his presentations, and I highly recommend attending future workshops by him.
Marilyn Kaplan LCSW
As a licensed therapist in private practice, I had the distinct pleasure of participating in Ian Laidlaw's exceptional, eight-session, step-by-step billing cohort. Ian's clear, hands on visuals demystified the entire process. Ian shared his learning experience in an open manner, inviting and encouraging questions and answers. I highly recommend this course for any therapist who wants to offer out of network billing. Ian Laidlaw is a superb teacher. He will guide and support you in this venture.
Peggy Kraft, LCSW-R
Ian Laidlaw's course on out of network ("OON") billing is a "must have" for the psychotherapist who wants to take OON clients and bill directly to the insurance carrier. Ian has taken all of the guesswork out of billing OON clients in the Simple Practice protocol. He gives step by step instructions on set up and implementation, in clear and concise words and screen shot examples. Implementing this alone will take days, even for the computer savvy therapist. Why would you want to take this trip by yourself, without guidance? Ian is indeed the Rick Steves of OON billing!
Paul Kreisinger, LCSW, LLC
Meet your instructor
Ian Laidlaw MA MSc LCSW-R
Ian is originally from New Zealand and worked in Japan and the UK with refugees and immigrants before moving to New York. In New York he trained volunteer counselors for 15 years for a community non-profit and established and directed a community mental health clinic. He ran weekly clinical seminars for clinicians for 15 years, taught a postgraduate trauma course for social work graduate students, developed a CE program for a non-profit agency, and alongside establishing two psychotherapy group practices, currently runs several clinical supervision groups for regional social workers.
