Can you bill two therapy sessions on the same day?
Asked by: Prof. Elinor Mohr | Last update: November 6, 2025Score: 4.5/5 (56 votes)
Can I bill for two visits on same day?
If you see a patient in separate settings on the same date of service, you should not add the time together, even if you were accustomed to billing that way for years. Instead, you can report two separate E/M codes with modifier 25 appended.
Can you bill 90847 and 90837 on the same day?
Can you get 90837 and 90847 the same day? You can bill 90837 (individual therapy) and 90847 on the same day if, and only if, the services were separate and distinct.
Can you bill two clients at the same time?
Double billing is not a shortcut to more billable hours, and it contradicts ethical guidelines. While it may be tempting to bill multiple clients for shared legal services, it undermines professional integrity and client trust.
Can you bill 2 units of 90834?
To report prolonged services, [therapists] may now report two units of 90834, individual psychotherapy for 45 minutes, for … 90 minutes. When providing prolonged services beyond 50 minutes for 90847, family therapy with the patient present, report two units also.
Here Is What You Need To Know When Billing Psychotherapy Sessions
Can I bill two therapy sessions on the same day?
Typically, insurance plans won't reimburse more than one of the same service for the same patient on the same day, so simply billing two shorter sessions isn't an option. But that doesn't mean you can't get paid for extended sessions. Try these tips: Use prolonged service add-on codes.
Do you bill 2 units with a 50 modifier?
If a procedure is authorized for the 150 percent payment adjustment for bilateral procedures (payment policy indicator 1), the procedure shall be reported on a single line item with the 50 modifier and one service unit. Whenever the 50 modifier is appended, the appropriate number of service units is one.
Is double billing illegal?
Double billing is one of the most common billing mistakes that lead to healthcare fraud charges, along with unbundling and upcoding.
How do you avoid double billing?
If both professionals charge for overlapping time without a clear distinction, it may lead to double billing concerns. To avoid this, firms should ensure clear communication and structured billing practices that track individual contributions accurately.
What is an example of double billing?
Charging for work while traveling
That could be considered double billing. In this instance, if the lawyer spends two hours on a plane for client A while simultaneously doing two hours of billable work for client B, they cannot bill both client A and client B for that same two hours each.
Can 90853 be billed twice in one day?
One-Time Billing Per Day: You can only bill CPT 90853 once per day, per patient. This holds even if a client participates in multiple group therapy sessions on the same day. Billing more than once for a single patient can result in claim rejections.
How to bill for a 2 hour therapy session?
How do you bill a 2-hour therapy session? For a 2-hour therapy session, you can use 90837 CPT code for the first 60 minutes and 90838 CPT code for each additional 30 minutes. This method adheres to standard therapy billing units and ensures appropriate compensation for extended sessions.
Can I bill 90837 for 50 minutes?
Time Requirements and Service Criteria for Billing 90837
Code 90837 is for 60-minute therapy sessions, defined as 53 minutes or longer. Anything less than 53 minutes would use code 90834 (45-minute session). For 90837, the actual session time must be documented in your notes. Rounding up or down is not allowed.
What is the modifier for two services on the same day?
Modifiers 51 and 59 are both used when multiple services are performed during a single encounter, but they serve different purposes.
What is the 7 minute billing rule?
If eight or more minutes are left over, you can bill for one more unit; if seven or fewer minutes remain, you cannot bill an additional unit.
What is two billing periods?
Two-cycle billing is the balance computation method that allows credit card issuers to apply interest charges to two full cycles of card balances, rather than the most recent billing cycle's balances.
Is double billing ethical?
Deliberate double billing involves a lawyer or law firm intentionally billing a client multiple times for the same work. This is a serious ethical violation and can lead to disciplinary action or legal consequences.
What is a false billing?
False billing is a fraudulent act of invoicing or otherwise requesting funds from an individual or firm without showing obligation to pay. Such notices are, for example, often sent to owners of domain names, purporting to be legitimate renewal notices, although not originating from the owner's own registrar.
What is the problem with double billing?
Double billing: Companies cannot attempt to collect on medical bills that have already been paid by the consumer, insurance, or a government program such as Medicare or Medicaid. This practice can coerce consumers into paying twice for the same service, causing significant financial harm.
What are unethical billing practices?
These may include sudden and significant bill increases without transparent explanations, discrepancies between agreed-upon rates and invoiced amounts, and vague or inconsistent billing practices.
How do I dispute double billing?
- Write to the issuer. ...
- Send your letter so that it reaches the issuer within 60 days after the first bill with the error was sent to you. ...
- Within 30 days of getting your complaint, the issuer must acknowledge it in writing, unless the problem has been resolved.
What are billing rules?
By Gabriel Temporal, Nicholas Ribeiro, Diana Viotti and Rafael Freire. Billing Rules are tools for planning and formalizing the collection actions that an organization must implement to recover overdue amounts.
Can you bill 2 units of 90837?
It's important that you should have two separate sessions that last for at least 60 minutes. Each session must meet the criteria for billing 90837, including a minimum of 53 minutes of direct patient contact and appropriate documentation. You must bill each unit separately on your claim form.
What is the modifier 52 rule?
Modifier -52 is used to indicate partial reduction or discontinuation of radiology procedures and other services that do not require anesthesia. The modifier provides a means for reporting reduced services without disturbing the identification of the basic service.
What does the 59 modifier mean?
The CPT Manual defines modifier 59 as: “Distinct Procedural Service: Under certain circumstances, it may be necessary to indicate that a. procedure or service was distinct or independent from other non-E/M (Evaluation/Management) services.