2026 will be here before you know it, and with it, another year of evolving practice demands. As 2025 winds down, we’re seeing the same story across the mental health field: growth brings opportunity, but it also brings new billing complexities.
At Anchor Point Billing Solutions, we partner with mental health providers of every size to streamline revenue cycles, minimize denials, and remove the administrative friction that slows practices down. After supporting mental health practitioners coast to coast, one thing is clear: the same costly billing mistakes continue to surface.
Nearly all of them are preventable with the right awareness, systems, and support. Below, we break down the biggest billing pitfalls we’ve seen in 2025, why they occur, how they impact your practice, and what you can do now to avoid bringing them with you into 2026
DIY Billing: When Handling It Yourself Costs More Than You Think
Many mental health practitioners start out managing billing on their own, believing they can “figure it out.” It’s completely understandable, after all, you know your practice best. But DIY billing can quickly become a drain on both time and revenue.
Why it happens:
- Billing is highly detailed and time-intensive. A small oversight can trigger denials or delays.
- Insurance policies and payer rules are constantly changing, making it hard to stay current.
- Documentation standards evolve frequently, and missing or incomplete information can block reimbursements.
The impact:
DIY mental health billing can result in delayed or denied claims, write-offs, and hours of uncompensated administrative work. And let’s be honest, that time that could be better spent focusing on clients and growing your practice.
Example:
We often see mental health practitioners spend a significant amount of time causing a provider to have timely filing issues by submitting claims manually, only to face repeated denials for missing authorizations or coding errors. By the time they catch up, the administrative hours lost far outweigh what a dedicated billing system or service would have cost, showing that “doing it yourself” can actually end up costing more than seeking help.
Overreliance on Software to Do It All
Billing software can be a powerful tool, but it’s not a substitute for human expertise. Many practices assume that purchasing a platform will automatically prevent errors and guarantee reimbursements, but the reality is more complex.
Common pitfalls:
- Inconsistent support and not being able to work with an actual human.
- Incorrect diagnosis-to-procedure pairings can go unnoticed by automated systems.
- Expired or missing authorizations often slip through the cracks.
- Changes in location, credentials, or provider status may not be flagged correctly.
- Telehealth billing rules are evolving rapidly and can be misapplied without oversight.
Example:
A common scenario we see is heavily relying on software, only to hit a roadblock when a claim is denied. With limited or slow customer support, they often end up trying 20 different ways to resolve the issue on their own. Repeated calls and emails may lead nowhere, while system glitches or coding errors remain unresolved. In some cases, support may even mark issues as “solved” even though the problem persisted, turning what should have been a simple fix into hours of frustrating, uncompensated work.
Using a Billing Company That Doesn’t Specialize in Mental Health
Medical billing and mental health billing are not interchangeable. While both involve submitting claims and tracking reimbursements, mental health providers navigate a distinct set of complexities that demand specialized expertise. From session-based coding to evolving telehealth regulations, accurate billing requires an understanding of the nuances that are unique to behavioral health. These challenges, if not handled correctly, can result in delayed payments, denials, and unnecessary administrative headaches. Key areas that require attention include:
Key areas that require careful attention include:
- Time-based coding nuances for therapy sessions
- Evolving telehealth regulations
- Detailed session documentation requirements
- Authorization tracking
- Network participation verification
Example:
A practice partnered with a billing company that primarily served medical clinics. The company submitted claims using hospital-based CPT codes and failed to account for the correct unit-based billing. For instance, a 60-minute therapy session should have been billed as 1 unit, but the claims were submitted incorrectly as 60 units. As a result, claims were repeatedly denied, delaying revenue for nearly a year and creating a backlog of uncompensated work that could have been avoided with a mental health–focused billing partner.
Leaving Insurance Panels and Going Private Pay Without a Plan
It’s understandable: dealing with insurance is and can be a nightmare. Denied claims and unclear payer communication can be frustrating. Many providers consider leaving insurance panels in favor of private pay, hoping it will simplify billing. But giving up on panels prematurely or transitioning to private pay without a clear strategy can significantly impact revenue and practice stability.
Why it matters:
- Insurance panels provide a steady client flow that can sustain your practice.
- Many issues with panels, denials, authorizations, or slow reimbursements, can be resolved with proper follow-up, systems, and support.
- Moving to private pay shifts the challenge from billing to marketing: attracting clients now requires outreach, niche positioning, and a referral network.
- Private pay patients often require more proactive communication, and practices must justify their rates while competing with insurance-covered options.
Example:
In 2024, about 92% of Americans, roughly 310 million people, had health insurance coverage for some or all of the year. (https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2025/income-poverty-health-insurance-coverage)
Insurance still plays a central role in accessing mental-health services. For practices, this means maintaining participation in insurance panels remains an important way to connect with the majority of individuals seeking help.
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Moving Locations and Assuming You’re Still In-Network
Where you are credentialed, where you practice, and even the type of insurance your clients use can greatly impact whether you are considered in-network. Even a move within the same state can change your network status, affecting your ability to bill and be reimbursed properly.
Take the Kansas City metro area, which spans both Kansas and Missouri. Insurance coverage can vary depending on the state, county, and the specific insurance plan:
- BCBS Kansas — serves the state of Kansas broadly, covering individual, family, employer, and Medicare plans.
- BCBS Kansas City (BCBSKC) — covers the Kansas City metro area, including select counties in both Kansas and Missouri. Some plan types under BCBSKC apply to residents on either side of the state line, depending on the county.
This means that a provider who moves even a short distance within the metro area could unintentionally fall out-of-network for some clients. Without proper verification, claims may be denied or delayed, creating administrative headaches and impacting revenue.
Key takeaway: Always verify your network status whenever you change locations or work with clients across state lines. What counts as in-network for one plan in one county may not apply just a few miles away.
Wrapping Up
2025 brought both opportunities and challenges for mental health practices. From DIY billing to overreliance on software, leaving insurance panels without a plan, and overlooking location-specific network rules, the mistakes we’ve highlighted can have real impacts on revenue, administrative workload, and client access.
We want to hear from you: what’s the biggest billing or practice mistake you made or witnessed in 2025? Send us an email at info@anchorpointbillingsolutions.com, we’d love to hear your story and continue the conversation about how to make 2026 smoother and more profitable for your practice.