Insurance Credentialing Question: Will my employer be able to do my medical credentialing, or is it up to me?
Question: I recently got my LSW and have worked at a drug and alcohol agency and have also worked for hospice for 6 years. I have been billed as a medical social worker. I am looking at outpatient therapy and am not paneled. I hope to get my LCSW and would like to get paneled; how hard will this be? I have an interview with an established agency and they asked if I was paneled. Do agencies typically help clinicians in getting paneled or am I on my own? Will this prevent me from getting a position with an established agency?
Answer: Good question! Once you get your LCSW you will be eligible to be paneled with insurance companies. Some agencies will do your credentialing for you. However, it has become more common for agencies to want counselors to be credentialed before they are hired. There are a couples reasons for this. First, the credentialing process can take 3-6 months now–and that’s a long time to have a staff member unable to see clients / patients with insurance. Second, the process of getting on insurance panels is an expense to the practice, and some practices have had clinicians change direction (that is, leave the agency) only a short time after getting credentialed. We hope this helps!
Sincerely,
Your Friends at Thriveworks
I am already credentialed with various insurance companies and work as an independent contractor for an outpatient physical therapy private practice. I am tied into their tax id #. I have my own NPI number and CAQH number. What steps do I need to take, as far as credentialing is concerned, if I chose to open my own practice and see patients at my own clinic?
Hi Faith,
We’d need to look into it further, but we might need to start from scratch (Maybe not!!). At least, you’ll have a foot in the door with those companies, at a minimum.