FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
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CAN I GET A REFILL OF MY CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE (ie benzodiazepines or stimulants) AT MY FIRST VISIT? No. Nor are you guaranteed ANY refills or prescriptions at your first visit. Please note that scheduling an appointment does not in any way guarantee that a particular medication or treatment modality will be prescribed. Treatment recommendations will be based on well researched, evidence based treatments.
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CAN I GET A LETTER FROM DR. MENDEL CERTIFYING MY PET AS AN EMOTIONAL SUPPORT ANIMAL TO LIVE OR FLY WITH ME? No. Dr. Mendel's extensive medical and psychiatric training does not include expertise in when and which animals are required or beneficial for this service. There are many ways to obtain this service on your own, such as the following website: USserviceanimals.org. Please note Dr. Mendel has no affiliation with this website, nor does she vouch for it's validity or liability.
WHO DOES DR. MENDEL TREAT?
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Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults 4yo-26yo.
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While not always possible, the best chance of improvement happens in (children of, or) those who are committed to, engaged, and motivated to follow through on regular treatment and treatment recommendations.
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Patients do best when engaged in regular (weekly or biweekly) therapy, in conjunction with treatment with Dr. Mendel. Oftentimes your therapist will recommend you seek further evaluation and medication management to allow you (or your child) to engage and utilize more of your therapy. If your symptoms, such as anxiety or depression, are significant enough, they may be getting in the way of allowing therapy to be helpful. In these cases, adjunct medication may bridge this divide and allow therapy to be more helpful and self management of symptoms to be more possible.
WHO IS NOT A GOOD FIT FOR DR. MENDEL?
FEE SCHEDULE
Services and Fees:
Initial Evaluation (75 minute visit, also includes Dr. Mendel reviewing all questionnaires and intake paperwork/history submitted prior to appointment, as well as completing visit summary and initial contact with therapist following visit): $650
Additional Initial Evaluation Visit (60 minutes): $500
Extra-Extended Follow-Up Appointment (60 minutes): $500
Extended Follow-Up Appointment (45 minutes): $425
Routine Follow-Up Appointment (25 minutes): $300
If Dr. Mendel is out-of-network for you or you do not plan to otherwise use insurance, you have the right to a
Good Faith Estimate. (click here).
For questions or more information about your right to a Good Faith Estimate or the dispute process, visit www.cms.gov/nosurprises
ADDITIONAL FEES - NOT COVERED BY INSURANCE (EVEN IF YOU HAVE BCBS):
Dr. Mendel does accept Blue Cross Blue Shield of MA HMO, PPO and Indemnity. The cost to you per visit if you have these plans will be dependent upon your specific plan and whether or not you have a deductible, co-pay or co-insurance. While Dr. Mendel does not see patients for regular, weekly therapy sessions, she does often incorporate therapeutic skills, and elements into sessions, as well as education about your symptoms and/or illness and medication options. As such, your insurance may be billed up to three billing codes for each visit. Check with your insurance plan prior to your visit so you know what to expect in terms of what percentage of the total fee will be your responsibility.
Dr. Mendel is not in-network with any other insurance carriers. If you are not using BCBS insurance, you will be charged directly. Our fee schedule is listed below. Check with your insurance carrier to determine whether or not you have any out-of-network benefits, and what they include. You may ask to be provided a bill to submit to your insurance for reimbursement (if eligible). All communication and coordination with insurance carriers (other than BCBS) will be done by the patient directly. Here is a useful website with information on out-of-network benefits and how to get reimbursed.
If Dr. Mendel is out-of-network for you or you do not plan to otherwise use insurance, you have the right to a
Good Faith Estimate. (click here).
For questions or more information about your right to a Good Faith Estimate or the dispute process, visit www.cms.gov/nosurprises
ARE ALL APPOINTMENTS VIRTUAL?
You will need to see Dr. Mendel IN PERSON at 199 Wells Ave, Newton Center, once, before she can prescribe, if deemed appropriate, any controlled substances/medications. However, beyond this one visit, the vast majority of visits will be virtual.
Virtual visits allow more flexibility in your day, with no travel time and the privacy and comfort of being seen from your own home.
You will need a quiet space with high speed Wi-fi. Appointments will be conducted through a HIPAA compliant video platform so you will need a device with a camera.
If you are under 18 years old, a parent or guardian will need to be available during all sessions for any treatment decisions that need to be discussed. If a parent or guardian can not attend the appointment, but has information they wish to relay to Dr. Mendel, they can send a message through our secure portal to Dr. Mendel ahead of the visit.
Despite available access, you must be in MASSACHUSSETTS
state at the TIME OF EVERY APPOINTMENT.
WILL MY INSURANCE COVER MY VISIT?
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Even though your appointment will be telehealth (virtual), you must be in the state of Massachusetts at the time of each appointment.
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Marisa Mendel MD, PLLC is only offering appointments a couple days per week and does NOT offer evening or weekend hours. Therefore, to be a patient of Dr. Mendel's, you must be able to attend appointments between 8am - 3pm Tuesdays, Wednesdays and/or Fridays.
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Additionally, Dr. Mendel does not respond to calls or messages on weekends or after business hours. If you are a patient of Dr. Mendel's, please expect up to 48 business hours for calls or messages to be returned, or prescription refills to be sent in. (Therefore, it is imperative that you plan ahead in scheduling an appointment or requesting a refill prior to running out.)
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Dr. Mendel will never terminate a relationship due to a patient "aging out," however, Dr. Mendel does not usually accept new patients over the age of 26 years old.
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Because Dr. Mendel is a telehealth based private practice, she is not accepting patients who self-harm, have disordered eating, or struggle with substance abuse. She believes these symptoms are best treated with in person visits and/or a team-based, more specialized and collaborative approach.
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You must be willing to have a credit card on file to be in treatment with Dr. Mendel
NOW THAT I'M INTERESTED, WHAT'S THE FIRST STEP?
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Late Cancelations (<48 business hours): Appointments cancelled less than 48 business hours, but more than 24 total hours before the start of the scheduled appointment, will be charged half of the full fee (50%) of that appointment. (This means a Monday at 9am appointment must be cancelled before the preceding Thursday at 9am to avoid a late cancellation penalty charge. Tuesday at 10am appointments must be cancelled before the preceding Friday at 10am. Thursday at 9am appointments must be cancelled before the preceding Tuesday at 9am to avoid a late cancellation penalty charge.)
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No Shows or Very Late Cancels (<24 hours): Appointments which are either cancelled less than 24 hours before the start of the scheduled appointment, or not kept at all, will incur the full fee (100%) of the scheduled appointment. If at the time of your telehealth visit, you are unable to log into the session and/or are having technological difficulties, you should call or text Dr. Mendel immediately. If you are more than 9 minutes late to your appointment, this will be considered an unkept appointment. (This means a Monday at 9am appointment must be cancelled before the preceding Sunday at 9am to avoid being charge the full No Show rate. A Thursday at 9am appointment must be cancelled before the preceding Wednesday at 9am to avoid the full No Show rate.)
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Phone calls, Forms and Letters:
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If you require a phone call between visits, and/or Dr. Mendel needs to speak with someone to coordinate care on your behalf (i.e. another physician, therapist, or school) for more than five (5) minutes, Dr. Mendel may charge for her time. Additionally, if you require a letter or form to be completed, Dr. Mendel will charge based on the amount of time spent on this outside of a session. For this reason it is advised to try to schedule a session during which your forms or letters can be completed.
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0-9 minutes: $85
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10.-19 minutes: $170
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20-29 minutes: $255
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30-39 minutes: $340
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40-49 minutes: $425
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50-59 minutes: $510
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Please schedule a complimentary 10-minute brief phone consultation through the calendar function on our CONTACT page. This will prompt a New Patient Intake Request questionnaire to pop-up. Please complete this truthfully and accurately to request your complimentary 10-minute phone call. This brief call is a time for both you and Dr. Mendel to ensure that the needs and goals of the patient match those of this practice. If after completion of your phone consultation, both you and Dr. Mendel agree it makes sense to move forward with an evaluation, you will be offered the opportunity to schedule a 75 minute new patient evaluation. You will be asked to sign up for her HIPAA compliant, secure, patient portal, through which you will be sent official evaluation paperwork to complete. This includes questions about your personal and family history, as well as any relevant testing you may have completed (such as a neuropsychologic examination). You will also be asked to sign a service agreement, financial policy agreement, telehealth consent form, review the practice's HIPAA policies, and sign a consent for Dr. Mendel to speak with your primary care physician (PCP or pediatrician), therapist (if you have one), parents (if you are 18 years or older and wish to give them the ability to speak with Dr. Mendel and/or be your financial guarantor), and anyone else you feel may be relevant for Dr. Mendel to be in touch with. Please be prepared to spend 45-60 minutes reviewing and completing this paperwork. In order to provide the best possible care, and most complete evaluation, Dr. Mendel requests that this paper work be completed at least 48 business hours before the start of your 75 minute evaluation, or else you risk your evaluation being cancelled. If you are unable to complete the paperwork online for whatever reason, you can request the documents be emailed to you and you may return them via fax.
