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Policies

Payment Schedules
We are set up to accept cash, checks, debit cards, credit cards, or health savings account cards. Payment is expected at the time of the service.

Payment Failure
In the event that you make payment with a check that is returned by the bank without payment, you will have 7 days from the time you are notified to make alternate payment arrangements. You will be responsible for any bank fees or charges because of the returned check. If a second check is returned for non-payment, bank fees plus a $25 bookkeeping and processing fee will be charged.

Any balance past due by more than 30 days shall be subject to interest charges of 1.5% per month, plus a $25 bookkeeping and processing fee per month.

Reimbursement/Funding of Services
For some children, services may or may not be considered “educationally necessary” or “medically necessary”. Our assessment of needs and recommendations will be done in an independent manner and will not attempt to answer funding or reimbursement issues.

Insurance
While we do not bill insurance for you, we will assist you with the information you need to gain reimbursement (if out of network, outpatient occupational therapy is covered by your plan). Please let us know if your insurance company requests additional information in order to process a claim. While they may send you a letter that states that additional information has been requested, they do not always send us a request for that information.

School Districts
School Districts typically have their own occupational therapist(s) or an existing contract with a specific agency. Schools only provide occupational therapy as a related service to special education. Therefore, a child generally must first qualify for special education services before individual occupational therapy will be considered. A school district is not required to provide occupational therapy services for a child attending a private school.

Our reports reflect what we have learned about your child from your information and our work with the child. We cannot write a report telling a school district that they are not providing adequate services. We have not seen their services and have not observed your child in various school environments and programs. We will make recommendations on what would be beneficial for your child’s overall development, not a determination of therapy needs for the child’s educational program.

No-shows
Appointments are a contract for the exclusive use of the therapist’s time. Parents will be charged the full session rate for no-shows. Please call to cancel if you are unable to make an appointment. Receipts for payments received due to a no-show or failed appointment will reflect no services given and are not eligible for reimbursement by your health insurance.

Cancellations
A limited number of advanced notice cancellations (more than 24 hours notice) for any reason, are provided without incurring a charge. The following are offered each season:

  • 2 sessions during the Winter/Spring (beginning of January to mid-June)
  • 2 sessions for the Summer schedule (mid-June to mid/late August)
  • 2 sessions during Fall (mid/late August to end of the year)

For a child attending therapy twice weekly, 3 cancellations are allowed for each season. Cancellations beyond these numbers (excess cancellations), with more than 24-hour notice, will be charged at 1/2 the regular therapy rate.

Holidays
The following days are considered holidays and are not counted in the allowed missed sessions. If you choose to schedule an appointment on the optional days, our usual cancellation policies apply.

  • New Year’s Day (office is closed)
  • President’s Day (office is closed)
  • Memorial Day (office is closed)
  • Fourth of July (office is closed)
  • Labor Day (office is closed)
  • Thanksgiving Day (office is closed)
  • Day after Thanksgiving (if the office is open, scheduling an appointment is optional)
  • Christmas Eve (if the office is open, scheduling an appointment is optional)
  • Christmas Day (office is closed)
  • New Year’s Eve (if the office is open, scheduling an appointment is optional)
  • The week between Christmas and New Year’s Eve (if your child’s therapist is available, scheduling an appointment is optional)

*If your child’s therapist is available on the optional days listed above, you may be offered the opportunity to schedule a session. If you choose to schedule an appointment, our usual cancellation policies apply.

*If you celebrate a religious holiday, please let us know within 2 weeks of the beginning of each season (as listed above) the specific date(s) and that (those) session(s) will not be counted.

*A cancellation, provided with a minimum of 24 hours notice, will not be counted if:

  • You are able to schedule and attend a make-up session or;
  • The therapist is able to schedule another appointment in your canceled slot. Therefore, please provide as much advance notice as possible.

We have an answering machine and voicemail that can take your message 24 hours a day. However:

  • For a same-day cancellation, please alert us with a phone call.
  • Cancellations with less than 24-hour notice will be charged at half of the therapy rate.

Cancellation Due to Illness
Cancellation due to illness with less than 24-hour notice, but prior to the scheduled therapy time will be charged at half the therapy rate. Please cancel if your child has had, within 24 hours of the therapy appointment, a fever, vomiting, diarrhea, pink eye, or any other contagious condition. We do not want to expose others to illness. If your child has some congestion (without discharge) and only slightly reduced energy, the therapist can generally work on less physically demanding tasks for that session.

Notice to Discontinue Treatment/Change Therapy Time
If you choose to discontinue therapy or decide to change the scheduled therapy time, you will need to provide 2 weeks’ notice prior to your last session. This means that your therapist will provide 2 more sessions following the date of notification unless you are seen more than one time per week, in which case the number of sessions will equal the 2 weeks multiplied by the number of times you regularly receive therapy per week.

Late Returns
While we realize there are times a parent or caregiver may need to leave the clinic during the therapy session, we cannot have staff available and be responsible for monitoring/supervising the child once the therapy session is over. Therapy sessions are 50 minutes in length. Additional time will be charged at the regular therapy rate for late pick-up of a child.

Email and Telephone Consultation
We would like to work cooperatively with you and other professionals (physicians, teachers, other therapists) to meet your child’s needs. There will be no charge for telephone conversations/emails that use 10 or fewer minutes, up to 4 times per year. However, consultation fees are charged for phone calls or emails that require longer than 10 minutes or are more frequent than 4 times per year.

Right to Refuse or Discontinue Services
Our interpretation, recommendations, and treatment plans are based, in part, on the history and information you provide us. If information about your child’s medical/educational history, interventions, and needs are withheld, misrepresented, altered, or omitted, we reserve the right to terminate the services. Services may be refused or discontinued due to non-payment of services, aggressive behavior, lack of progress, lack of cooperation, or a poor match between the needs of the family and the skills of the therapist.