Our Policies

1935 Dominion Way, Ste 101 Colorado Springs, Colorado 80918, United States

719-423-7428

Mindful Connections Mental Health

Policies

Please note: Policies may be subject to change

Establishment of Care

All providers listed under the Mindful Connections Mental Health, LLC employee protocol (i.e., Employee versus Independent Contractors) collect a $75 deposit at the time of scheduling a new client’s first appointment.
The deposit will be applied toward any first payment due for the session or refunded in the case the session is 100% covered by insurance. Remaining amounts will be the credited forward until the deposit has been used completely.
In the event the session is missed without prior 24-hour notice, the deposit is non-refundable.
Should the appointment be canceled at least 24 hours prior to the session, the fee will be refunded.
Should the deposit not be obtained at least 24 hours prior to the scheduled appointment, the appointment time will be vacated, and a new appointment will need to be scheduled.

Cancelation and No Call/No Show Appointments

Sessions must be cancelled at least 24 hours prior to the scheduled appointment time.
Cancelation notification must be provided to your therapist via telephone; text messages and emails will not be accepted as a form of cancelation unless previously agreed upon between the client and their therapist.
Clients who are signed up for the client portal will receive email and phone reminders that will allow them to confirm or cancel a scheduled appointment and have the option to cancel, schedule and reschedule their appointments directly from their portals. This is an acceptable form of cancelation but is subject to the late cancelation policy should the confirmation or cancelation be sent in less than 24 hours.
Clients are encouraged to contact their clinician via phone as well should they need to cancel their appointment.
Should an emergency arise that prevents that client from attending the session or from canceling the session within 24 hours of the scheduled appointment, the client should contact their clinician to discuss late cancelation/No call no show fees.
Sessions left unattended without prior notice of cancellation will be charged in the amount of one flat rate fee for the service that would have been provided (Clients being seen under an Open Path Collective contract will be charged the amount of their agreed upon fee rather than the flat rate fee for the service.)
Please note: insurance does not cover no-call/no-show appointments. Clients will be responsible for the full amount of this fee, out-of-pocket.

Fee Policy

Out of Pocket paying Clients: Good-Faith-Estimate:

Clients paying out of pocket will receive a separate Good-Faith-Estimate of fees which outline the fees per service one can expect to pay. If a client is receiving sliding scale benefits, the Sliding Scale Fee application will outline the fees the client is contracted to pay and for the number of sessions under which those fees apply. Sliding scale recipients will also receive a Good-Faith-Estimate of fees that may be due should the sliding scale fee application be denied, expired, or terminated.

Insurance:

It is essential that clients understand their health insurance, benefits, and requirements.
Although Mindful Connections Mental Health, LLC provides the courtesy of verifying your benefits at the outset of treatment, we do not guarantee accurate information and notification of copays, coinsurance, and deductibles are considered guidelines.
It is strongly recommended that each client intending to use insurance, contact their plan holder to verify coverage for mental health services.
Clients are responsible to inform MCMH of impending or actual loss of coverage. Loss of coverage under any insurance (including Medicaid) may result in fees accumulated for sessions that take place after the insurance termination date. These fees will be the responsibility of the client.
Acceptance of insurance by providers at Mindful Connections Mental Health, LLC varies.
Providers also accept clients who do not have insurance or waive their right to use it.
Mindful Connections Mental Health, LLC is contracted with some insurance carriers, and will submit claims as a courtesy on client's behalf.
It is the member’s responsibility to comply with any requests from the insurance carrier for information. This will avoid delays in the processing of claims.
If a client has mental health insurance that is not accepted by their provider and wishes to continue services, the client understands that they are agreeing to waive their right to use the insurance as a form of payment.
Clients may attempt to be reimbursed by any mental health insurance they have, with the understanding the provider and Mindful Connections Mental Health, LLC do not guarantee successful reimbursement.
Clients with HSA or FSA accounts may attempt to use these accounts in order to cover payment of services. However, some HSA and FSA accounts do not always authorize the use of the account for services rendered, therefore clients who are unable to use these accounts are required to have alternate form of payment ready in the case that the account charge is declined at the time it is run.
Should a client’s insurance be accepted by their provider at Mindful Connections Mental Health, LLC, clients understand that they are responsible for all copays, deductibles, and amounts owed above and beyond that which is allowed by the insurance plan and that amounts owed are due at the time of service or upon receipt of invoice.
Clients with Medicaid may not waive their right to use their benefits. Per Medicaid rules, they are required to seek treatment by a covered provider.

Fees (Does not apply to Medicaid Recipients):

Payment for each scheduled session will be invoiced at the start of each session and that payment is due at the time of service or invoice.
Clients are required to keep a credit card on file for the purpose of charging for each session and/or for charging in the event of a no call/no show or late cancelation due to a non-emergency reason as well as any fees deemed "patient/client responsibility" by insurance plans.
Clients may still use other forms of payment rather than to use the card on file.
It is the client’s responsibility to ensure the office and their provider are informed of the type of payment to be used at each session.
We accept Cash, Check, Money Order, Visa, MasterCard, and Discover.
We do not accept post-dated checks. Checks should be made out to Mindful Connections Mental Health, LLC regardless of provider status as independent contractor or employee.
Co-pays and out-of-pocket fees are due at the time of service.
In situations where multiple parties wish to alternate or split fees for treatment, a designated party must be established for the purpose of all payments, or another arrangement must be made in writing prior to the start of the session.
We are unable to mediate disagreements between parties if payment is outstanding.
Clients will be assessed a $40 fee for any checks returned for Non-Sufficient Funds
No call/No Show and Late cancelation appointments due to non-emergency reasons will be charged in the amount of one flat rate fee (Those attending sessions under contract with Open Path Collective will be charged the amount of their agreed upon fee).
Payments for no call/no show appointments or late cancelations will be collected no later than 24 hours and may post immediately following the realization of non-attendance.
We may reach out to clients ahead of time to attempt to make contact in the event of a no call/no show or late cancelation, however this is not a requirement of our office.
Insurance does not cover no-call/no-show appointments. Clients will be responsible for the full amount of this fee, out-of-pocket.
Leniency may be given to the first no call/no show or late cancelation due to non-emergency reason but is at the discretion of the provider and Mindful Connections Mental Health, LLC. This will be discussed upon such events occurring.

Late Fee Policy (Does not apply to Medicaid Recipients):

A $15.00 administrative fee will be administered on the 15th day past the service date for all accounts for payment unobtained and the account will be deemed delinquent.
A $10.00 late fee will be administered every 30 days, beginning the 31st day past the date of service for all delinquent accounts.
Mindful Connections Mental Health, LLC and all its affiliates reserve the right to submit accounts 90+ days delinquent to a collection agency in order to obtain outstanding balances.
Leniency may be given to the first late payment up to but not surpassing the 15th day past the service date but is at the discretion of the clinician and Mindful Connections Mental Health, LLC. This will be discussed upon such events occurring.
If legal proceedings are initiated to collect any fees due under this agreement, or if any other legal dispute arises in connection with, the provision of services to the client, the client agrees to pay all costs and attorney fees of the prevailing party in such action.

Termination Policy

Termination of therapeutic services may occur at any time and may be initiated by either the client or their provider.
Should the therapist initiate termination of services; clients will receive a list of referral sources in order to continue therapeutic care through another individual or agency:
The provider has the right to terminate therapeutic services to those clients who have violated any of the policies outlined and agreed to in the new client paperwork.
The provider has the right to terminate therapeutic services to those clients who have failed to attend 2 or more scheduled sessions without prior notification of cancelation.
The provider has the right to terminate therapeutic services to those clients who have consistently cancelled 3 or more scheduled sessions in a row.
Termination of therapeutic services may occur and be initiated by either the client or the provider should either party perceive the services being provided are not sufficient in meeting the client’s therapeutic needs.
It is strongly suggested that prior to either party terminating the therapeutic relationship, a discussion take place with regard to concerns or questions about the reason for termination in order to assist in providing the best care possible for the client whether that be reform of treatment, referral to another clinician or agency, or something similar.

Legal Proceedings

If clients become involved in legal proceedings they will be expected to pay for their provider’s professional time and the professional time of any supervisor the provider is currently contracted with, even if called to testify by another party. Because of the difficulty of legal involvement, clients can expect to have a higher hourly rate for legal work than usual consulting fees. Should a client or their legal counsel desire their clinician’s presence in court, the fee structure for court is as follows:

All preparatory time (e.g., reviewing the file, court preparation with attorney, communications related to preparation) is charged at $400/ hour/per provider (this includes supervisors).
Court time, for all time required out of the office (i.e., including drive time) and/or scheduled out that your clinician otherwise would not be able to see clients is charged at $400/hour/per provider (this includes supervisors). A minimum of two hours is automatically billed for each provider (this includes supervisors). Any time spent after the initial two hours will be rounded to the next 15-minute interval. In the event that court appearance is canceled or rescheduled, 30% of the retainer will be lost.
Due to the inability to schedule other activities during an anticipated court appearance, a $800 per provider retainer to be paid in advance is required.
As a general policy, clinicians cannot be available “on-call,” as being called to come to court at the last minute in that fashion is too disruptive to their practice, and not fair to clients that otherwise would be scheduled that day.
Generally speaking, insurance may not cover this service, therefore all fees may be due out of pocket.

Emotional Support Animals/Service Animals

We love our pets and we are sure you love yours too! We kindly ask that you leave your pets, Emotional Support Animals, Comfort Animals, Therapy Animals, and Companion animals at home.

Our office is small but often high traffic which increases the risk that the presence of an animal will be intrusive or harmful to others. According to the ADA , Emotional Support Animals, Comfort Animals, Therapy Animals and Companion animals are terms used to describe animals that provide comfort just by being with a person. Because they have not been trained to perform a specific job or task, they do not qualify as service animals under the ADA. In the state of Colorado, Emotional Support Animals and similar are allowed in "pet friendly" locations but are not afforded the same rights to public locations as Service Animals.

Service animals are defined as an animal that is individually trained to perform tasks or do work for the benefit of a person with a disability and are welcome at Mindful Connections Mental Health.