About Dr. Packard’s Fees

Fees and Insurance

In today’s evolving health care system, it is often difficult to know how much services cost, and what is covered by insurance. I do my best to be clear and straightforward about these issues.

My current regular fees are as follows. You will be given advance notice if my fees should change.

• Evaluation appointments. The initial consultation is $150 for approximately 50 minutes. The purpose of the first appointment is to begin the process of gathering information that helps me determine the best way to address your concerns.
• Testing for learning problems. Formal testing for learning problems is charged at $150 per hour. The total time necessary to conduct this type of testing varies according to the nature and severity of a child’s difficulties in school, but most often runs between 2 and 8 hours, not including a final session to go over results and recommendations. Time spent outside of the testing session preparing the interpretation of results is also charged at the same rate.
• Therapy appointments. Therapy appointments following the evaluation are charged as therapy, at $125 per 45 minute session. Occasionally, usually when we are nearing the end of our work together, we may meet for less than the full time. The fee will be reduced accordingly. For therapy appointments that last 55 minutes or more, the fee is $140.
• Administrative fee. There is a one-time fee, payable at the first session, to cover part of the cost of behavioral assessment instruments, tests and online scoring services. In most cases the fee is $5. For evaluations of learning problems involving formal testing, the fee is $25. This fee must be paid at the time of the first session, and cannot be billed to insurance.
• Consultations. These include my attendance at meetings outside of regular therapy appointments, such as face-to-face meetings with school officials or physicians and other professionals. They are charged at the therapy rate.
• Written reports. If you were referred to me by a physician, I am happy to send them a brief note describing my findings. For more detailed evaluation reports, or for a report on testing for learning problems, I charge for the amount of time I spend writing the report, at a rate of $20 per 15 minutes. The fee must be paid before you, or your child’s physician or school if you wish, can receive the report.

I do not participate in most insurance networks. At the moment Aetna is the only insurance network in which I participate.

Other insurance carriers may cover some portion of my fee under out-of-network benefits. If you plan to use insurance to pay for my services, you should contact your insurance company prior to seeing me to determine what coverage you will have.

Payment for my services is expected at the end each session. I accept Visa, Mastercard, Discover, checks or cash. I am happy to file a claim with your insurance if you wish. I can also provide you with a statement that you can file with the insurance company on your own.

I do not offer a sliding fee scale. However, I am willing to discuss gradual payment plans. In order to do this, I will generally ask that you pay some amount that is comfortable for you at the time of each session, and that you provide me with a credit card number which will be used to charge a set amount that we agree on each month until the balance of the account is paid. Please let me know if you are interested in this option when we set our first appointment.

Life can be hectic, and I know that unexpected things can come up. If you find that you must cancel a session, please give me as much notice as possible. I do not charge for missed sessions if you cancel in advance. If you simply fail to attend an appointment, without calling to cancel, you will be charged the full cost of the session.

If you have any questions at all about my fees or policies, please do not hesitate to ask me.