now accepting insurance: what this means, how i got here, and what i expect moving forward
The time has come. I am now officially an insurance-based private practice. And let me tell you, it has NOT been easy getting to this point.
Approximately 8 months ago I decided to quit my 9-5 corporate job with the goal of me starting my own private practice. It was 8 months ago when Nicole Baker Nutrition LLC came to life.
The first few months of private practice work consisted of me forming an LLC for my business, obtaining a business bank account, obtaining an EIN with the IRS, obtaining NPI numbers for both myself as an individual as well as the entity of my business, building my website, obtaining a HIPAA-compliant electronic medical record system, email, and fax number, having professional brand photos taken, developing marketing materials, and getting an account created with CAQH.
Roughly 3 months later, in July of 2024, I decided to officially launch my private practice. I was so excited to share what I had been working on (for the 3 months prior) with the world that I couldn’t wait any longer to make the announcement—I just did it. My service offerings at the time primarily consisted of me taking on private-paying 1:1 clients for nutritional counseling in addition to me doing some consulting work for a local health and wellness clinic. I was not able to directly bill insurance at the time of my business launch due to me not being credentialed with any insurance companies… and if I am being fully transparent with you all, I wasn’t sure (at the time) if I even wanted to venture down the path of direct billing. There are a lot of dietitians out there that don’t accept insurance and strictly work with cash-paying clients… due to the complexities that come with working with insurance companies. I had a lot of thinking to do in this regard as there are significant advantages and disadvantages to both paths of which I could’ve taken.
Approximately a month into me launching my business I only had one cash-paying client. I did however have several others reach out to me expressing that they would LOVE to meet with me, but only if I was able to bill their insurance. That is when it became 100% clear to me that I needed to transition to being an insurance-based private practice. By doing this I knew I’d be able to diversify the population that I serve, making it so the financial burden is relieved for some, ultimately bringing in more clients for me. I also knew that I needed to have the capability to directly bill if I wanted to get doctor’s to send me referrals.
Early August of 2024 I started working on getting credentialed with insurance companies. As you all can probably imagine, the credentialing process was NOT FUN—lots of blood, sweat, and tears were shed during this chapter of growing my private practice. Going through the application process was extremely frustrating, to say the least. I think I probably worked on my Medicare application for around 20 hours before finally submitting… and this is not an exaggeration. There were several times that I was tempted to pay somebody to do my credentialing, however, I decided to stick it out and do it myself because I knew that I was capable. I just had to learn to be patient when it came to the credentialing process.
By the start of December I was successfully credentialed (and contracted) with Medicare, Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, and United Healthcare. Why only 4 insurers you ask? Due to licensure limitations in Michigan there are only a few insurance companies out there that currently reimburse dietitians for their services—and these 4 insurers were ones that I found (when doing research) that reimburse Michigan dietitians for MNT. This is however expected to change in the coming years due to Michigan just recently signing a bill into law, one that will allow for Michigan dietitians to have licensure. When that day comes, I expect a lot of other major insurers to begin reimbursing dietitians for their services. And when that day comes, I will work on getting credentialed with more insurance companies… but for now, just starting with the four!
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So that is where I am at. I have only been seeing private-paying clients up until this point. And full transparency with you all, I have only had a few cash-paying clients book with me since launching my private practice back in July. I expected this though… who wants to pay $150 out-of-pocket when most insurance companies will cover a session with a dietitian? I sure wouldn’t. I knew that I needed to be able to accept insurance if I wanted to begin increasing my client volume. Especially in the area that I live…for the population that I serve.
Now that I have the capability to directly bill I expect my client volume to increase. I expect this growth to be exponential, especially compared to the last several months of me only accepting private-paying clients. The ultimate goal is to establish a partnership (or several) with physicians and/or family practices and get referrals coming in that way. By taking this approach I will ensure that I have a steady flow of clients coming my way and will also increase my chances of being reimbursed by insurance companies (as most insurers require proper HMO forms/referral forms from the clients PCP prior to providing reimbursement to dietitians for their services).
I am incredibly optimistic that there are physicians and family practices out there in-search of telehealth dietitians to refer their patients to. It is now my job to go out there and find these physicians… once I am able to do that, game is over— my dreams will have come true and Nicole Baker Nutrition LLC will have officially become a SUCCESSFUL insurance-based private practice.
Thanks for joining me on this journey— the one where I quit my job and start my own business—your support is much appreciated. <3
Until next time, friends!
Are you looking for tips on how to improve your health? Are you experiencing symptoms that can be improved with diet and exercise? Interested in meeting with a registered dietitian? Nicole Baker Nutrition LLC is here for those in need! Click the link below to book a session today! $0 out-of-pocket with insurance!!! https://www.nicolebakernutrition.com/work-with-me.