Policies - A to Z Speech Therapy

Attendance and Cancellation Policy

We understand that sometimes it is necessary to cancel or reschedule an appointment. In order to protect the time of our clients and employees, please read our attendance and cancellation policy below.

If you or your child are unable to attend a session for any reason, we request that you provide at least 24 hours of notice prior to your scheduled session to cancel your appointment.
Clients should arrive to their appointment with enough time to ensure sessions will begin at their scheduled time. If you are late to your scheduled arrival time, the therapist will conduct the session until the end of the originally scheduled time. Where possible, we will try to provide the originally allotted amount of time for the session, but cannot guarantee this in the event of a late arrival.
If three cancellations or late arrivals occur within an eight week period, clients are subject to being removed from the A to Z caseload.
All clients will be asked to sign a statement acknowledging these policies prior to receiving services from A to Z Speech Therapy.

Client Code of Conduct Policy

The staff at A to Z Speech Therapy is fully trained to answer all of your questions regarding scheduling and logistics related to the office. It is of great importance, to all of us, that you be treated with the utmost of respect as demonstrated in our communication style and our willingness to be of assistance.

In turn, we ask that you return the same level of respect back to our staff and our other patients. This is including but not limited to:

Refrain from yelling or raising your voice at any staff member.
Refrain from speaking in a confrontational, disrespectful, threatening or condescending tone to any staff member.
Refrain from speaking, unsolicited, about personal issues in the waiting room.
Maintain supervision of all minor children when they are not being seen in a therapy session. Attention Parents/Guardians: YOU are responsible for any damages caused by your children when not in a therapy session.
While we have toys & materials to keep children entertained when waiting for their session to start, to the greatest extent possible, please try to keep your child’s noise to a minimum out of respect for other clients who may be in session.
Please be patient if your appointment, for reasons related to patient care, starts after the scheduled time. Please know that our therapists and clinical staff are making every effort to respect your time and get the appointment started as soon as possible.

Client Financial Responsibility

We appreciate the confidence you have shown in choosing us to provide for your health care needs. The service you have elected to participate in implies a financial responsibility on your part. The responsibility obligates you to ensure payment of any charges not covered by your insurer, payment of any deductibles, co-pays and co-insurances as determined by your contract with your insurance carrier.

Commercial Insurance Carriers – You are required to present a valid insurance card at every visit and as needed throughout care. As a courtesy, we will verify your coverage and bill your insurance carrier on your behalf. Any outstanding balances, co-payments and deductibles are due prior to checking into your appointments. Since your agreement with your insurance carrier is a private one, we do not routinely re-search why an insurance carrier has not paid or why it paid less than anticipated for care. If an insurance carrier has not paid within 60 days of filing the claim, fees are due and payable in full from you. We understand that sometimes our clients may experience financial difficulties. If this should be the case, please communicate with our Financial Manager so that we may assist you in making payment arrangements. A $25.00 late fee will be incurred for any past due balances.
Co-Pay & Co-Insurance Policy – If your health insurance carrier requires you to pay a co-pay for services rendered, your payment is expected and appreciated at the time of service at each visit. If your co-insurance coverage is 50% or greater, we require a down payment prior to services being rendered.
Medicaid – Our office is a Medicaid participating provider and we will bill Medicaid for you. Any outstanding balances and deductibles are due prior to your appointments. Any co-insurance and non-covered services will be due at the time services are rendered.
Self-Pay Policy – In the event that (1) you do not have health insurance, or (2) you know in advance that a specific service will not be covered by your insurance company, or (3) A to Z Speech Therapy is not contracted and does not submit claims on your behalf, you will be responsible for payment prior to services rendered on the date of service at A to Z Speech Therapy and agree to pay the full and entire amount at each visit.
Terms of Payment – A to Z Speech Therapy requires a credit card on file to process payments. Payment is expected within 15 days of statement date. Any balances beyond 60 days will be referred to an outside collection agency. In the event that your account is turned over for collections then the client or responsible party agrees to pay all additional fees accessed in the collection of the debt. These fees include collection agency fees and attorney fees.
Returned Checks – A $75.00 service charge will be charged for any checks returned for any reason for special handling.
Cancellation/No-Show Policy – We understand there may be times when you miss an appointment due to emergencies or obligations to work or family. However, there will be a $220.00 charge for an initial evaluation if you cancel or are a no show within 72 hours prior to your New Client Intake appointment. You will incur a fee for missed appointments of $50.00 for each clinician visit if you have not notified A to Z Speech Therapy within 24 hours prior to your appointment time.

Termination

While we continuously strive to provide complete treatment programs designed to meet enthusiastically satisfactory goals, there may be times where it is necessary terminate services. In the unfortunate event that this required, we will not do so without first discussing and exploring the reasons and purpose of terminating. We reserve the right to terminate services for the following:

Clinical determination that the therapy provided is not being effectively used
Default on payment (including non-payment from insurance providers)
Breach of any A to Z Speech Therapy Policies
Disparaging or slanderous commentary in online/social media
Failure to schedule an appointment for three consecutive weeks (unless other arrangements have been made in advance)

Should we be forced to terminate services, or if you voluntarily elect to find another provider, we will provide you with a list of qualified Speech Therapists to treat you.