Your Questions Answered
01. What Insurances are you in-network with?
- Aspire & Aspire Medicare
- Blue Cross & Blue Shield Trio HMO
- Central California Alliance for Health
- Coastal TPA
- Medicare Part B Northern California
- Physmetrics (Blue Shield LOB- check the back of your insurance card)
- Cigna
- San Francisco Health Plan
02. Do you bill out of network insurance plans?
Yes! In most cases, we can bill an out-of-network plan.
03. How will I know how much I will have to pay using my insurance?
Our administrative staff will confirm your benefits for speech or occupational therapy and reach out to you to share the information including deductibles, coinsurances, copays, visit limitations, telemedicine coverage, and diagnosis coverage before the initial appointment to ensure clear communication and understanding of the process and any out of pocket costs associated with services.
04. My insurance requires a prior authorization. Now what?
Upon benefit verification, our office will confirm prior authorization requirements. We will work with you and your physician to ensure prior authorization is obtained in a timely manner.
05. What if I don't have insurance or my insurance has a visit limitation?
If you are uninsured, please call or email us for the most up to date pricing information. If your insurance plan has a visit limitation, our office will find out if it is a soft visit limit, meaning additional sessions can be pre-authorized, or if it is a hard limit, and once the limit has been met for the year, we can offer you private pay rates, and/or create a customized home program until the benefits reset.
01. What happens in a speech therapy session?
Our speech therapy sessions are tailored to each individual’s goals and preferences. Activities can range from playing with toys and games to reading stories to practicing lists of sounds, words, or vocal exercises. Sessions are dynamic and flexible, meaning that they can look similar or completely different week to week, depending on the patient’s needs.
02. What is occupational therapy
Occupational therapy is a service that helps people carry out activities of daily living. This may involve working on gross or fine motor skills, finding ways to address sensory needs, or identifying tools and equipment needed to enhance participation in everyday routines.
03. How will I know what my therapist is working on?
04. How long will it take to reach my therapy goals?
It depends! Patients can expect to achieve goals at different paces, depending on motivation, attendance, and external factors that may include temperament, sensory regulation, fatigue, etc. Our therapists aim to provide activities and exercises that can be practiced at home in order to achieve more steady progress toward goals. While we use effective, evidence based treatment strategies during our sessions, our time with each patient is limited and there is no substitute for regular practice in home and natural environments.
05. Can parents/caregivers be present during therapy sessions?
Yes! In fact, we prefer it! Parents, family members, and other caregivers are a huge part of a patient’s ability to progress and succeed in speech and occupational therapy. Actively participating in therapy sessions allows caregivers to ask questions, gain skills, and practice strategies that can be used outside of the therapy environment to promote faster and more generalized progress.
06. I’ve heard that speech therapy with toddlers is “just playing”. Is it worthwhile?
Although speech therapy is much more than “just play,” play is a huge part of therapy with toddlers and young children, and we can’t stress the importance of this enough! Children learn many valuable cognitive, communication, and adaptive skills through play.
During play, children learn cause and effect, problem-solving, conflict resolution, cooperation, social communication, and so much more. Incorporating play into speech therapy sessions allows children to expand upon their life and learning skills, and has the added benefit of making therapy fun!