I keep getting double-charged for therapy sessions that are paid for by my HRA through insurance
My therapist was previously out-of-network on Talkspace, and then started her own practice and uses Headway to be in-network for my insurance provider, United Healthcare. My in-network deductible is $3,000 and my max out of pocket is $4,000. Once I hit my deductible, the co-pay for mental health counseling is 20%.
My employer funds a health reimbursement account (HRA) with $4,000/year to pay for any out-of-pocket expenses / expenses that are incurred prior to hitting the deductible. Similar to a health savings account, to my understanding, except we do not get a physical debit card to use to pay for things – it’s all automatically integrated into my health insurance plan, and either the provider is directly paid from the HRA if in-network, or I am reimbursed for other expenses I pay for myself.
So, what’s happened is… With Talkspace I randomly got charged on my credit card around $1,000 for therapy sessions last year (not all of them, just random ones) – just ended up being an issue on Talkspace’s end – I provided the documentation / explanation of benefits showing that all services had been paid for with the HRA. It took countless hours on the phone with my credit card, Talkspace, and United Healthcare to get this resolved – but after about two months they removed the charges from my card once UHC got involved with Talkspace.
I thought all would be well with my therapist using Headway, but today I checked the card I have on file for my account there – and saw that I’ve been charged for all of my therapy sessions with her – when my insurance also shows that the HRA has paid the provider, and I owe nothing. So, starting this process all over again…
Wondering if anyone has any ideas on how to resolve this or avoid this moving forward? My therapist offered to do a private-pay option, but it will cost more and not sure if it’ll go towards my deductible. Or if talking to United Healthcare would be helpful to see if they can reimburse me rather than paying the provider.
Thinking also it could have to do with processing times, as Headway charges my card right after my therapy session ends – and United Healthcare takes up to two weeks to process the claim / send the payment from my HRA.
